I pick up this 2 year old from day care Monday-Thursday and babysit him for a couple of hours until his parents get home from work.  Well, tonight, I had a little scare.

He had this really strange look in his eye when I picked him up from day care and I thought that it was just because he didn't want to leave.  However, when we are usually outside, he likes to run down the hill to the car and he wouldn't do it today so I thought that was a little strange.  Then, he was completely silent on the ride home and still had the look in his eye.  When we got home, he just stood by the door and didn't move.  I fed the dog and walked over to him to pick him up and see what was wrong.  He just laid his head on my shoulder and in a few minutes, he was asleep.  After a few minutes of just sitting with him in my arms, my shirt was wet with sweat and when I felt his head and back, he was burning up.  I carried him to the bathroom to take his temp and it was 102.3.

I had no idea what to do so I called his parents to let them know what was going on and they came over right away.

I gave him some Motrin and when they got home, we put him to bed.

Do yall have any advice for what I should do when I have to deal with this when I start nannying?  Thanks.

Kids run fevers for a lot of reasons, and for no reason. When you start nannying you will have your first aid certification, right? And in your li'l notebook you'll have the info set up when you signed on with the family - when to call the parent/call the nurse/ take kids to the clinic, what meds they can take (or not) etc, etc. You've already got the primary thing -remaining calm- down just fine!

Operator! Give me the number for nine-one-one!

i agree with taurus--remaining calm is the first thing

second thing, which you did also, is be aware of what seems to be going on--like he seemed less peppy than usual, etc...

look for First Aid and CPR training in your area--maybe at a Y or childcare agency



ya did good, babe  

gonna have to agree, you did great, you first off noticed there was a problem, then when problem was diagnosed, you remained calm and made some calls. As a parent, I always want to be notified if something is wrong with my child.
get your classes in and keep a log of the families prefrences for things.

Quoted: Quoted: i agree with taurus--remaining calm is the first thing second thing, which you did also, is be aware of what seems to be going on--like he seemed less peppy than usual, etc... look for First Aid and CPR training in your area--maybe at a Y or childcare agency ya did good, babe   I've noticed that there are different CPR/1st Aid classes depending upon who your patient is going to be: Child, Adult, Occupational, etc.

yes, there are and adult and child CPR are very different

you did fine, what I or my wife as experienced parents would have done and my wife can always correctly diagnose the problems.

Motrin always for that situation you had(fever).

Call the doctor or take to after hours clinic to have checked.
(in your case, call the parents to do so since you are the nanny).

Good Job!

Essayons

The most important thing was that you immediately noticed something was out of sorts with the baby and you kept a close eye on him.  Awesome job.  

There's a book I had when my first two were little that I truly loved it was called Dr. Mom.  It was written by a pediatrician who was the mother of 8 children.  There is a lot of good practical advice on all sorts of things.  It will help.  

Patty

You did the right thing by notifying the parents. Before you begin your position as nanny, how to handle this along with any other emergency situation should be discussed with the parents.  Most of my parents want to be notified and since it is ultimately the parents decision how to handle their child's illness I am happy to oblige.

Quoted: The most important thing was that you immediately noticed something was out of sorts with the baby and you kept a close eye on him.  Awesome job.   There's a book I had when my first two were little that I truly loved it was called Dr. Mom.  It was written by a pediatrician who was the mother of 8 children.  There is a lot of good practical advice on all sorts of things.  It will help.   Patty

Patty is right, awesome job, also that book is a good read, I had one but misplaced it.

My wife is a nurse, so we have went thru this with our son a few times armed with her infinate knowledge.  Kids being small tend to heat up and cool down alot quicker than adults.  Anything over 102 is very serious as there is a possiblity for brain damage with the over-heat.  Motrin was an awesome first step, hoping that you stripped him down to diaper or undies to help cool him off also.  

Scary stuf with the little ones, especially when they clam up and wont tell ya whats wrong.

Well done.  Identify change in behavior, examine for cause, recognize problem, notify parents, manage issue.  Nothing else you can (or should) do.

Any kid that you care for you should know a little about, like is he/she allergic to anything before giving a medication.  A lukewarm to slightly cool bath can help a fever too, never, ever use an alcohol rub.  Kids can tolerate very high temps pretty well with no lasting damage, but over 101.5 the pediatricxian should usually be notified and 104 or greater deserves an immediate trip to the doc, or even the ER if the pediatricain is not available.  The younger the child, the less the wiggle room on the doctor visit.

Don't rely on an ear temp for accurate measurement, they can be off by 2 degrees or more, especially if the kid has an ear infection.

DONT PANIC, NO MATTER WHAT.  That will only make the situation worse, and don't ever forget, that if you are in over your head, and are starting to lose it, call 9-1-1.

Hope the teeth are feeling better BTW.

Fish

Well, he still isn't feeling well.  He doesn't have a high fever any more.  He didn't eat much yesterday.  He ate a pudding cup and some fruit and then had apple juice.  He's really tired now though.  Hopefully he's feeling a lot better today.

Luckily with the job that I'm starting on Monday, the mother will be home the majority of the time since she works out of the home.  So, when it comes to calling the doctor or going to the hospital, she will be there right away.


And thanks for asking Fish.  My teeth are still hurting and I'm exhausted from the medication that I'm taking.  As long as I'm on the pain killers, the tooth doesn't hurt as much.

Quoted: You did the right thing by notifying the parents. Before you begin your position as nanny, how to handle this along with any other emergency situation should be discussed with the parents.  Most of my parents want to be notified and since it is ultimately the parents decision how to handle their child's illness I am happy to oblige.

Definite important factor - let the parents know what is going on...make suggestions on how and what you can do to help the situation until they return...follow-up with necessary steps.

BTW - like the daycare couldn't tell something was wrong???  A child with that kind of fever is definitely not feeling up to running around and playing.  

Are you going to school to get an education degree?  It might be well worth it to take a few early childhood education courses.  The courses describe the different learning stages, different learning disabilities, and early detection.  They also teach many new ways of learning or games for children to enhance their learning environment.

Quoted: Quoted: You did the right thing by notifying the parents. Before you begin your position as nanny, how to handle this along with any other emergency situation should be discussed with the parents.  Most of my parents want to be notified and since it is ultimately the parents decision how to handle their child's illness I am happy to oblige. Definite important factor - let the parents know what is going on...make suggestions on how and what you can do to help the situation until they return...follow-up with necessary steps. BTW - like the daycare couldn't tell something was wrong???  A child with that kind of fever is definitely not feeling up to running around and playing.   Are you going to school to get an education degree?  It might be well worth it to take a few early childhood education courses.  The courses describe the different learning stages, different learning disabilities, and early detection.  They also teach many new ways of learning or games for children to enhance their learning environment.

I am going to school right now for my early childhood development degree.  I've taken the first part of the development class which covered birth to age 5 which is perfect for me because that the age group I'm working with so far.  When it comes to games and such, I'm feel very strongly about television.  I will not let the children I take care of watch tv because I feel its more important to read and play games and learn stuff instead of just staring at the tv.

Children are a passion of mine and I've been told that I'm very good with children so the majority of this stuff comes naturally to me.

Did they ever find out what was wrong with the child? was it strep or ear infection (most common).?

By the way,  I agree on limiting the TV, just don't be a TV nazi like a couple of my professors in grad school recently.  One would let her child watch any Tv, participate in birthdays at the daycare, etc.  Moderation is good, extremism is not.


Glad to hear he is better and you sound like you will be a good caring Teacher and Mommy someday.  Both of which are ALWAYS needed.

Essayons

Quoted: Did they ever find out what was wrong with the child? was it strep or ear infection (most common).? By the way,  I agree on limiting the TV, just don't be a TV nazi like a couple of my professors in grad school recently.  One would let her child watch any Tv, participate in birthdays at the daycare, etc.  Moderation is good, extremism is not. Glad to hear he is better and you sound like you will be a good caring Teacher and Mommy someday.  Both of which are ALWAYS needed. Essayons

They didn't tell me what it was.  They were on vacation the weekend before all this happened so I think it might have been the travelling and weather and all.

I don't ban TV at all.  Every so often I don't mind the children to watch TV...especially when it's something they can learn from.  Like Dora, The Wiggles, Barney and the such.

But, I feel that I can work with the children and help them learn more than a TV program can teach them.

 Frootie, one of the things you want to watch out for when wee uns run such hi temps is fevrile convulsions/seizures.  Again, you DON'T want to panic if this happens to you but you DO want to be aware of how to handle such situations. Forewarned is forearmed.  I am sure that many of the ladies here and some of the Docs can relate that better than I...but it is something I thought important to bring up...and something you may want to look up.

Quoted:  Frootie, one of the things you want to watch out for when wee uns run such hi temps is fevrile convulsions/seizures.  Again, you DON'T want to panic if this happens to you but you DO want to be aware of how to handle such situations. Forewarned is forearmed.  I am sure that many of the ladies here and some of the Docs can relate that better than I...but it is something I thought important to bring up...and something you may want to look up.

These tend to appear with a sudden increase or descrease in body temp was what our ped. told us.   My son threw one in my arms on Christmas night 2003.   This will definitely give you grey hair and nightmares to see your child convulsing in your arms.     I was told that if they throw one once, there is a good chance for more, but they tend to stop at age 5 or so.