If your child was sick would you cancel the party?

[tiggerlover]

Your child is sick with a fever the day of her birthday, you give her Tylenol the fever goes down, do you go on with the party and expose everyone else?

Next day you keep your child home because the fever is still staying down with Tylenol, however she is still laying around not quite up to par.

Next day is Christmas, you feel a little lump on the side of her neck, only other symptom is a fever, that you are keeping down with Tylenol, do you still go to the family gathering? At the gathering someone mentions that the child could very well have strept, but mother says, oh, no, she only had a fever.

Fast forward to the day after Christmas, mother finally takes child to doctor, the diagnosis......STREPT! And you have yet another party at your house that night and expose a bunch of kids and adults once again. ARGH!!!! Am I the only one (well my DH too) that thinks this mother is selfish?!

What would you have done if you were the mother of the sick child?

 

[mcnuss]

Cancel.

 

[Pop Daddy]

the party must go on

 

[LaLa]

This really bugs me too. SIL always brings her kids around no matter what. We all wound up with the stomach bug over Thanksgiving because of this very thing.

If it just pops up and you honestly don't know they have something contagious, that's one thing. But to bring them around other people knowing full well they are contagious just really bothers me to no end.

IMO, once the diagnosis is made, the child should be kept away from other children. No exceptions.

 

[barkley]

if anyone is sick they should be kept away from others, and to invite others into a social situation with a sick child is in my opinion horribly irresponsible. the children attending (or their family members who they will then pass on anything they've come into contact with) may have medical issues that could be severly compromised by exposure.

on a side note, strept is not taken seriously enough. there are 2 strains which closely mimic one another, one being deadly (i've had 2 friends, one in her 20's and one in her 30's who like muppet founder jim hensen died of this strain-they had felt ill with sore throats and swollen lymph nodes but figured it was something that would pass-a couple of weeks later when they felt run down enough to go into the doctor their hearts were ravaged by the illness). if someone has a sore throat and a fever they need to see a doctor immediatly, a 5 minute strept test can reveal the problem so it can be treated timely and appropriatly.

 

[lbgraves]

Just plain ignorance on the part of the mother. The poor kid was put in danger by being kept from medical care when they should have...along with every person who came in contact with them.

 

[Regina]

This brings back bad memories of a trip to FL when my kids were much younger. My FIL's wife's son dumped off his two sick kids at their house during our annual visit. (His wife could have stayed home with them.) Luckily, my three didn't get sick, but it was a mess.

There have been special occassions when one of my kids was too sick to attend the event. Its not fair to expose others and its not fair to force your kid to take part in something when they're feeling miserable.

 

[leight]

DD5 was sick every New Years' for the first 4 years of her life. (from an innocuous flu to pneumonia) and I recall having to cancel going to more than one party; wouldn't leave a sick child with a sitter. I can't imagine bringing my kids around other kids if they are obviously fighting an infection.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Cancel

 

[minkydog]

This kinda thing roasts me. There is no reason to expose healthy children to illness, not even for a birthday party. Strep throat is not the scourge it once was, but it is still something to take seriously. For people with immune problems it can be very serious indeed. I hope she realizes how selfish and immature her decisions were(but she won't...)

 

[PaulaSue]

Honestly with a mild fever (no other issues and not laying around) I prob. would have had the b-day party but NOT after I found out what it was (second party mentioned).

 

[UrsulasMyHero]

on a side note, strept is not taken seriously enough. there are 2 strains which closely mimic one another, one being deadly (i've had 2 friends, one in her 20's and one in her 30's who like muppet founder jim hensen died of this strain-they had felt ill with sore throats and swollen lymph nodes but figured it was something that would pass-a couple of weeks later when they felt run down enough to go into the doctor their hearts were ravaged by the illness). if someone has a sore throat and a fever they need to see a doctor immediatly, a 5 minute strept test can reveal the problem so it can be treated timely and appropriatly.

Very true. Many doctors are unwilling to do a simple throat culture. They do a throat exam but just throw antibiotics at it, which is why we have so many resistant strains.

The mother should be ashamed of herself. How many children and adults were needlessly exposed and have now exhibited symptoms, 3-5 days later and are becoming sick with strep themselves? It's PINATA time for this mom. (you know, string her up by her heels and beat her with a wiffle bat J/K )

Honestly, she sounds like she was too concerned with social status to stay home for the night and didn't want to miss out on the festivities herself. So Forget anyone else, I'm gonna drag my sick kid along. Poor little one, probably felt miserable.

 

[AFMom]

Volunteered at my kids' school (they only go 1 day a week - homeschooled) - 2 kids were seriously ill (fevers about 102 !!!!!) and were still brought to school. Lo and Behold - I end up with influenza - turns into pnuemonia... I've been sick for almost 3 weeks. One of the parents didn't want to come get her sick child that WE were taking care of because she was too busy Christmas shopping! Thanks lady!
Always cancel!!!!! Not fair to the child that is sick - no matter how minor it may seem, or how much the meds might help.
And it certainly isn't right to put the rest of us through this!

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

Cancel. I have had alot of strep throat and the only thing I wanted to do is stay in bed. You feel just lousy. That poor kid.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

What is strept??

 

[epcotfan]

This kinda thing roasts me. There is no reason to expose healthy children to illness, not even for a birthday party. Strep throat is not the scourge it once was, but it is still something to take seriously. For people with immune problems it can be very serious indeed. I hope she realizes how selfish and immature her decisions were(but she won't...)

 

[transparant]

I would cancel - my sister however would take her kids. She takes them everywhere and around other children when they are sick. It drives me nuts!

 

[tiggerlover]

What is strept??

What is strep throat? What are the signs of strep throat?
Strep throat is an infection caused by bacteria. It is called "strep" because the bacteria that causes the infection is called streptococcus.

Adults with strep throat may have a sore throat, a fever and swollen neck glands. They usually don’t have a cough or a runny nose.

Children with strep throat have a sore throat and may have tummy pain or a red rash with small spots. The rash is worse under the arms and in skin creases.

How is strep throat treated?
Your doctor may give you or your child an antibiotic. Antibiotics kill bacteria, which helps strep throat go away a little faster. It can also prevent a few rare but serious conditions that people with strep throat might get. It is important to take all of the medicine your doctor gives you.

What tests can tell I have strep throat?
Your doctor may use a test called the rapid strep test. For this test, the doctor uses a long cotton swab to take some material from the back of your throat. The results of this test can be ready in about 15 minutes.

Your doctor may also do a culture of the throat material. A sample of the throat material is sent to a laboratory. This test is called a throat culture. It takes more than 24 hours to learn the results of a strep culture.

The rapid strep test and the culture can tell your doctor if you have strep throat. If something else is causing your sore throat, these tests do not tell what it is.

Can other people catch my strep throat?
Yes. You can give the infection to other people until you have been treated with an antibiotic for 1 to 3 days. Children with strep throat should not go back to school or day care until their fever has gone away and they have taken an antibiotic for at least 24 hours.

 

[tiggerlover]

Honestly with a mild fever (no other issues and not laying around) I prob. would have had the b-day party but NOT after I found out what it was (second party mentioned).

In the early stages on Friday I would probably agree, as the only signs were the fever and just being a little off. Once the Tylenol was given she was fine. But after staying home with her the next day and then finding the lump on the neck Christmas day, I would have cancelled.....much to many disappointments for the other kids and family members, but that would have been the right thing to do. As for the second party on day #4, no way, she was only on the antibiotic for one dose!

 

[tiggerlover]

I hope she realizes how selfish and immature her decisions were(but she won't...)

You are absolutely right, this is just the kind of person she is.