Sick Days at Vuggestue: When Your Child Is Ill
It's 6:15 in the morning. Your child has slept badly, their nose is running, and their cheeks feel a little too warm. You're standing with the thermometer in one hand and your phone in the other, doing the maths in your head: Who can take the day off? What about that nine o'clock meeting? And is this even sick enough to stay home? If that morning sounds familiar, you're far from alone. Sick days are a completely normal part of life with a child in vuggestue (Danish nursery for children under three) – especially in the autumn and winter months.
When Sickness Season Hits
When little ones start vuggestue, they suddenly meet lots of new children and adults – and lots of new bacteria and viruses. That's why many families find that the first year in particular brings one cold after another. It can feel never-ending, but it isn't a sign that anything is wrong.
Children run a fever more easily than adults, and most infections in small children are caused by viruses that the body deals with on its own. Each time, your child's immune system builds up a little more resilience.
It's also worth remembering that every child is different. Some sail through the winter, while others catch everything that's going around. Both are completely normal.
Runny Nose or Actually Sick? How to Tell
A runny nose on its own is rarely a reason to stay home. For many vuggestue children, a snotty nose is practically part of winter. What matters isn't the runny nose, but how your child is doing overall – what health professionals call their general condition.
According to the Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen), a child is well enough to go to vuggestue when they:
have no fever
seem like their usual self
can join in the day's activities without needing extra care and attention – for example playing outside and going on outings
Signs that your child isn't feeling well can include being listless, clingy, unsettled or crying more than usual, eating and drinking less, or not wanting to play. A child with a runny nose who eats their porridge, laughs and wants to get out to the sandpit can usually go in as normal. A child who just wants to be held and lie on the sofa needs to be at home – even if the thermometer doesn't show a fever.
Fever and When Your Child Can Go Back
A child has a fever when their temperature is 38.0°C or higher, measured rectally. If your child has a fever, they need to stay home.
The Danish Health Authority suggests it can be a good idea to keep your child home for at least one day after the fever has gone. The body needs a little extra time to recover, and a child who goes back too soon is more likely to fall ill again.
With a stomach bug involving vomiting and diarrhoea, your child can go back once they're well and their poo is back to normal. With norovirus (known in Danish as Roskildesyge), however, the advice is to stay home for two days after the vomiting and diarrhoea have stopped.
A few illnesses have their own rules. If you're unsure, just ask your vuggestue or your own doctor.
How to Call In Sick for Your Child
Most vuggestuer would like you to let them know about illness as early as possible – often through Aula (the app Danish daycare and schools use to communicate with parents) or another app, or by phone. Check what your vuggestue prefers.
It helps to mention briefly what's wrong, such as a fever, vomiting or something contagious. That way, the staff can keep an extra eye on the other children. There's no need for a long explanation.
If your child becomes ill during the day, the vuggestue will call you so you can take them home. That can be stressful in the middle of a working day, but a sick child needs calm and care, which is hard to give in a busy vuggestue.
Feeling Guilty Towards Everyone at Once
For many parents, the illness itself isn't the hardest part. It's feeling caught in the middle. You feel guilty towards your child, because you wondered whether they could manage one more day. Towards your colleagues, because it's the third time this month. And towards yourself, because you're tired and really just miss an ordinary week.
Those feelings are completely normal, and they say nothing about how good a parent or colleague you are. Little children get ill. It's not something you've done wrong.
If you're worried about your child, always call your own doctor or the out-of-hours doctor (lægevagten).
