What to do when you have a sick child, can't take off (lkwd)

amother

Turquoise

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 4:35 am

amother wrote:

Honestly, I live in Lakewood and this is the reason I stopped working. If you don’t have family here to help you out with sick kids it’s so, so hard. I think the babysitting situation has gotten better after I stopped working. It used to be only until 2:00pm... what was one to do if they had to work till 5???
Op, I’ll be home tomorrow with my chid who has been throwing up all night. I know what it feels like to be stuck in this type of situation. If you want I can pm you to look after your child.

That's so sweet of you. Boruch HAshem my child is feeling better this morning. I'll take him to work to let him have more time to recuperate (he can rest and sleep in my office; it's quiet.)

amother

Chartreuse

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 6:28 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I would consider this an emergency in that it is last minute that your child is sick and could not be helped. These things happen and thats part of working and being a parent.

I could see some jobs harder then others

Lawyer scheduled to be in court
Surgeon
Obgyn - with women in labor
Or any other job where the persons presence is critical.

Sometimes being a working parent is making arrangements for your child.

My parents didn’t have ‘critical’ jobs but we always went to grandparents when we were sick, they never took off. It’s just hard when grandparents can’t or aren’t local.

I have 5 sick days a year and save them for emergencies like broken bones, surgery etc. I used them all that way. I’d lose my job if I took more.

It’s really difficult when those not in professional fields critique parents and tell them to do the impossible.

amother

Fuchsia

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 8:06 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I would consider this an emergency in that it is last minute that your child is sick and could not be helped. These things happen and thats part of working and being a parent.

It would be an emergency if the plans that I have set in place to deal with 'child wakes up sick' aren't viable that day.

OOTforlife

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 8:43 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I would consider this an emergency in that it is last minute that your child is sick and could not be helped. These things happen and thats part of working and being a parent.

In many professional fields, run-of-the-mill childhood illness is not considered an emergency, but a foreseeable part of parenthood (as you seem to agree) and therefore the professional is expected to have measures in place to deal with it.

This wouldn't apply to something truly unforeseeable like getting hit by a bus, chas veshalom, or something extremely serious like a bursting appendix.

It is a reasonable expectation for highly-paid professionals, but I believe it is unreasonable to expect the same of middle and lower income earners. Unfortunately many employers disagree with me.

amother

Amethyst

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 8:49 am

Just another example of people voting blindly for the anti-family policies of the Republican Party versus Democratic politicians who have attempted to get family friendly policies in place such as paid leave for family emergencies (or at least the ability to juggle time without fear of losing job for lower rung employees) or more day care facilities subsidized by government as much Western democracies have.

Can anyone name a single program that provided a safety net for working and middle class families that wasn't enacted by Democrats and fought by Republicans - I.e. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security.

Chayalle

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 8:53 am

ectomorph wrote:

Someone should start a babysitting group for sick kids. Good money there

You can't just mix different sick kids together. They could catch multiple things....

but this reminds me of the time I was in Dr. Shanik's office with DD - she's a hs senior now B"AH. I think she was in the first grade then....we met a kid in her class, who was also sick.

Sure enough, the two of them both got positive strep test results, at which point the mother asked me what I was gonna do. I work from home, so I took the other kid, with her antibiotics and a dose of motrin, home with us. The two of them kept each other busy, and I got my work done.

We still laugh about that when we meet, to this day.

amother

Purple

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 9:03 am

ectomorph wrote:

As a sahm I cannot figure out how other families do it. I get called to pick up my kids if theyre sick or need stitches... Doesnt happen too often but what if I was working??

You'd pick yourself up and leave. That's what I do. It's what I use my PTO time for.

groovy1224

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 9:04 am

Learning wrote:

Is there no one hat can replace you for few fats and take orders from you? You need to learn to delegate. You can’t be tied up completely to your job

I don't know why I'm bothering to engage, but I'm not someone who is completely tied to my job, and yet there are certain days and certain things that I must be there for (under threat of death? No, but it is extremely extremely important), and no one can easily replace me. I don't work for fun, I do it because I have to and I get paid to do my job well. I'm pleased to report it's not so easy to delegate away the tasks to which I'm assigned.

To answer OP's question, many people who have that sort of job have a babysitter that comes to the house, who can come even if your child is sick. Group day cares obviously won't take a sick child due to the risk of him infecting other children but a private adult babysitter can still come.

Otherwise, DH and I have a few contingency plans. We take turns taking off, or bringing the kids to work for a few hours, or some combination of that.

We do have some family in the area we can ask, but only occasionally. So sometimes we'll try that.

I do have some SAHM friends, whom I have offered to pay on days both DH and I really needed to be at work.

If all else fails, one of us would just have to deal and stay home. Sometimes you just have to do what you gotta do.