Work demands and a lack of village mean keeping a child at home from care every time they have a sniffle can be a dilemma for many parents.
And with sickness so easily spread in childcare settings, it's a decision caregivers are regularly faced with — especially in the first year or two.
"Parents have my sympathy on that, there are a lot of demands on time and it can be really hard to judge what is best to do, both for child in the context of all the other dynamics, and commitments a family has," says Cathryn Hester, Queensland chair at Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
She says sometimes it seems like kids experience several illnesses "all at once or in quick succession".
Upper respiratory tract infections, along with vomiting and diarrhoea bugs, are what Dr Hester sees most commonly in her young patients.
"There are just a lot of kids running around, and they don't have the best hand hygiene or sneeze-covering practices. Also, they have a developing immune system," Dr Hester says.
So, what can help you determine if your child is fit for child care?
When a sick child can't attend child care
When determining exclusion periods for a child, Australian childcare centres follow guidelines from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), explains Nesha Hutchinson, vice president at the Australia Childcare Alliance.
In most cases, time away from child care will be based on symptoms.
"Although some infections can be spread before the person becomes sick, people are usually most infectious when they have symptoms," a NHMRC spokesperson says.
For example, for diarrhoea or vomiting, it's recommended a child is excluded from care "until there has not been any diarrhoea or vomiting for at least 24 hours".
"If the diarrhoea or vomiting are confirmed to be due to norovirus, exclude until there has not been any diarrhoea or vomiting for at least 48 hours."
Respiratory symptoms such as cough, runny or blocked nose, and sore throat, are to be assessed based on severity and what other symptoms they're combined with.
The full guide and fact sheets are available on the NHMRC website.
The NHMRC spokesperson says people should also refer to their relevant state or territory health authority, as some exclusion requirements may vary.
In addition to the guidelines, centres have the option to adopt director discretion, says Ms Hutchinson.
"For example, at a centre I worked at we had a child who was immunocompromised, going through cancer treatment, and we explained to families up front that our exclusion guidelines were going to be much stricter."
Is my child well enough to attend child care?
To determine whether their child should be excluded, a parent should check whether the symptoms or diagnosed sickness have an exclusion period listed in the childcare service's policy, the NHMRC spokesperson says.
"Parents should also inform the service of their child's symptoms when reporting their absence."
Kids who have fevers, rashes, vomiting and diarrhoea, are weak, or not eating and drinking as much should "never be sent to day care", says Dr Hester.
"That child needs to stay home and have a medical assessment."
She says while children often "bounce back really well" from viral infections, they can also get "very sick very rapidly" and are best cared for at home.
If parents have any doubts, Dr Hester says they should consult with their family GP.
"They know you and your family history — they also know what viruses and illnesses are circulating in the community."
She says parents can book a consult via TeleHealth if they are finding it hard to physically get into a clinic.
"They can help give advice about whether they should be staying home or if it's something they can soldier on with."
Ms Hutchinson says she understands it can be tempting for parents to send their child and just "see how they go", but the impact can be far-reaching.
"Dosing them up [with pain relief] just masks the symptoms, and they've just infected however many other children and therefore other families with struggle too.
"And the child is miserable … they want to be home with a primary carer and just to get rest and that one-on-one attention, which you can't get in a childcare setting."
Myths about illness and child care
Parents are given plenty of anecdotal advice when their kids are sick, and some of it can be misleading, says Dr Hester.
For example, if the mucus coming from their nose is clear, they are fine to attend child care. If it's green or yellow, they are not.
"As a doctor I am not even remotely interested in the colour of snot," Dr Hester says.
"Some kids can have perfectly clear snot and be very unwell, or even starting to develop serious conditions like whooping cough."
Ms Hutchinson says she also hears parents talking about children becoming sick from running around in cold air.
"That's not the case."
She says it's important parents remember childhood educators are not medical health professionals.
"They do not have the ability to determine if your child is sick or not, all they can do is respond to the symptoms in front of them and respond according to the guidelines."
Dr Hester says the best thing parents can do is try to prevent illness in the first place by making sure children are up to date with their vaccinations.
"With flu especially — I am seeing so many little kids with Influenza A at the moment, which can be largely prevented with vaccinations."
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