Keep Your Children at Home

[luvmy3jewels]

As a parent of 3 young children (2nd grade, Kindergarten, and Pre-school), I totally agree that people should not send their children to school with fevers or when they are vomiting!!

However, I will admit that I have struggled many times over the decision of whether to send my kids to school when they have colds...which in the winter is at least once a month. Yes, they are coughing and yes, they don't feel 100%, but if I kept them out every time they have a cold they would miss more than 1/2 of school time. I guess it is sometimes hard to figure out where do you draw the line. Should you just send them when they are 100% healthy??

 

[NY_MOM]

As a former pre-k teacher I agree that sick children should be kept home, for the benefit of the other children in the class. I can honestly say that for the first six months when I first began working, I was sick every month. I guess I built up immunity over the years because I've only been sick "just a litttle" only 2 times in the last 7 years. Although, I've been out of work since DD-5 was born whenever she's gotten a cold i've been ok. Although I do understand that people have to work, if the kid is sick and running a fever before they get to school don't think that giving tylenol is going to magically make it dissapear and the teachers won't notice. If you get a call at 11 a.m. that your child is running a 104 fever don't leave him lying on a cot in the office until 5:30p.m. I had so many instances where the child was clearly ill enough and needed a day at home, but was given tylenol or motrin and brought to school anyway, only to have their illness get worse and fever go up again.The parent is not at work, but out shopping or doing other things(especially during the holidays). DD did not go to pre-school or daycare and was home with me; she usually only got 2- 3 colds a year. She just started Kindergarten this year and is as we speak on her second cold since school started. This one which began yesterday, the other was only 2 weeks ago. So there is alot to be said for sick children who are brought to school and end up infecting the others.

 

[princessmom29]

As a parent of 3 young children (2nd grade, Kindergarten, and Pre-school), I totally agree that people should not send their children to school with fevers or when they are vomiting!!

However, I will admit that I have struggled many times over the decision of whether to send my kids to school when they have colds...which in the winter is at least once a month. Yes, they are coughing and yes, they don't feel 100%, but if I kept them out every time they have a cold they would miss more than 1/2 of school time. I guess it is sometimes hard to figure out where do you draw the line. Should you just send them when they are 100% healthy??

I think the issue here is wether they are spreading the germs. If thier nose is pouring green stuff, they wiil probably spread it to others no matter how careful they are. If they are just coughing, probably not if they cover their mouths.

 

[squirrel]

I have a daycare and I have one little boy that started in Sept.

I got home from WDW on Sept. 19th (Fri), by Monday I was sick. I thought I just picked up a bug from the airplane-still could have. But then I saw the new little boy on Monday and he had a green nose. It still hasn't stopped running green since I have been back. After his nose not clearing I did mention to his dad that he should take him to the doctor. The doctor apparently told Dad to bring him back next week after the long weekend if it wasn't better.

I have had a cold since I have been back-no green for me, but still! I start feeling better on the weekends but then it gets worse as the week goes on.

 

[Missin'Disney]

However, I will admit that I have struggled many times over the decision of whether to send my kids to school when they have colds...which in the winter is at least once a month. Yes, they are coughing and yes, they don't feel 100%, but if I kept them out every time they have a cold they would miss more than 1/2 of school time. I guess it is sometimes hard to figure out where do you draw the line. Should you just send them when they are 100% healthy??

I completely agree it is hard to know where to draw the line....
& I know that many parents also realize that even if they keep a sniffly kid home today there are 5 other parents who sent their kids to school, so keeping their's home doesn't really solve the problem of germs in the class. And we all know that a kid with a runny nose doesn't necessarily feel sick, so they are going to want to play and run around the house as usual and then they've lost a day at school, but are in the exact same position the next day b/c of course the runny nose is not gone.

The fact of the matter is, kids have germs. They get sick and aren't necessarily running a fever, vomiting, etc. you are not gonna keep them home every time they have a cold. They need to be taught how to use a tissue properly, to wash their hands properly and to sneeze into the crook of their arm instead of their hands.

I personally just wash everybody's hands constantly and that works wonders! I'm shocked to find out that my dd's teachers at both preschool and elementary school don't have the kids wash their hands before snack and lunch!! that is just plain crazy to me!!

 

[brymolmom]

I will respond as I sit working-from-home with my sick Kindergartener. No doubt she was staying home for this though - it was a throwing-up thing.

Colds/some coughing (not really wet coughing all the time but occassional) - YES, I do send them to school if they don't have other symptoms. I live in Rochester, NY and likely I'd have to homeschool or be willing to let my kids miss WAY too much school if I kept them home every time.

I look at it this way - the kids in the classroom will get colds - whether or not my kid is there. THere will be kids who are not showing any visible symptoms yet who are still transferring germs (and who will likely have runny noses tomorrow), they will be going to the grocery store to run errands with mom or dad and will get the germs there, they will be going to scouts and same thing there, etc.

It is a fact of life especially around here in the winter that noses run frequently.

Oh and I NEVER send my child to school when he/she is sick. I usually don't consider a cold a true sickness if it is just runny nose and some slight coughing. My daughter is sick right now and is home with me.

BTW- I don't think the school administrators would agree with many in this post - don't they get funding based on attendance? MAN - if you removed every child in the school who has a cold you'd likely have about 50% attendance all winter long.

 

[jensen]

I'm going to go ahead and chime in on this one... when my DS was about 1 he was diagnosed with "chronic rhinitis". His nose ran constantly and when he didn't blow it often enough it turned green and gross. Both the allergist and the ENT doc told me it wasn't contagious and that it wasn't caused by allergies... it was something he simply had to outgrow. We gave him meds twice a day for three years and he's finally getting over it.

So, not every kid with a runny nose is a contagious bag of germs.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

My pediatrician told me that green runny nose with no other symptoms (e.g., no fever) is not a problem and there is no reason to keep him home. Any other symptoms and keep him home. I lean towards the conservative side of that and if he seems to be feeling bad, no preschool.

I know it is a hassle to keep him home when he has something contagious, but how could I expect all the other parents to keep their sick and contagious kids away from mine if I wasn't willing to do the same?

 

[genius118899]

My pediatrician told me that green runny nose with no other symptoms (e.g., no fever) is not a problem and there is no reason to keep him home. Any other symptoms and keep him home. I lean towards the conservative side of that and if he seems to be feeling bad, no preschool.

I know it is a hassle to keep him home when he has something contagious, but how could I expect all the other parents to keep their sick and contagious kids away from mine if I wasn't willing to do the same?

I agree- I worked at my dad's pediatrician's office over the summer (I was essentially a medical assistant without the certification). The parents who brought their children in because of a little bit of green boogers when the child felt fine really just seemed to be overreacting. The child was almost always ok to go to school if they didn't have any other symptoms or if the runny nose had only been going on for maybe a day.

 

[RMulieri]

While I do agree sick kids should be at home, not every parent that brings a sick child to school should be publicly flogged.As a pp pointed out not all employers have to offer FMLA.Also if you work less than a certain amount of hours per year, you are not entitled to FMLA( alot of part timers with really strict absentee policies,and just short of the req hours for fmla get well,screwed)Things happen, for example...I live 3 hrs from the closest family members,both sets of grandparents work ft, all my friends and neighbors also work ft.My job allows 3 abscences per year, and No fmla for me since I am just under the required amt of hrs.You see my point? now luckily my dh has a lot of flexibilty and will stay home with my sick daughter.but not everyone is as fortunate. Yes, there are some moms that drop their kids off sick for selfish reasons ,because of nail appts etc..but that is not the norm.As for kids learning how to wash their hands,use tissues, how to shield their mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing i am all for it, maybe next we can teach some adults the same thing

 

[Mickey'sfriend]

Hate to say it, but the most contagious time is BEFORE the symptoms actually arrive. Those sick kids already shared their "bug-of-the-day" several days before the symptoms arrived.

 

[HGD24]

We must be odd parents - our DD is only 8 months old, but if she's not feeling well, we keep her home and work from home. She had a tummy bug last month (week of Labor Day) and DH and I each stayed home with her for a day because we knew it was going around the classroom and didn't want anyone else there to get it from her and we knew she needed rest in order to recover and she doesn't rest well at school. She had a bad cold (cough/congestion - no green runny nose stuff) in July, I stayed home with her for a day and while at home, I realized that something just didn't seem right about that cold. I took her into the dr and found out she had an ear infection.

If it's runny green stuff it indicates an infection - that's what I read the OP as trying to stress - runny green stuff should stay home. Of course there are going to be all sorts of runny noses and coughs, especially during the Fall & Winter, but when it's green, your child should be staying home and seeing a dr.

In this technological age that we live in, most parents can work from home and remotely access work files, e-mail and call into meetings.

 

[jellybeans0607]

In this technological age that we live in, most parents can work from home and remotely access work files, e-mail and call into meetings.

This is so, ridiculously not true.

 

[HGD24]

This is so, ridiculously not true.

OK - most parents who work in offices can work from home for a day or two. Either that or DH and I and most of our friends work for some of the most technologically advanced companies and universities in the world.

 

[Jenvenza]

This is so, ridiculously not true.

No, not true at all for a lot of parents.

 

[snickerboo]

Oh, I so agree w/ you OP. I hate people who send their kids to school or activities when they're really sick. A cold is one thing but flu, RSV, stomach flu or even (yes, this happened to me) when they've been exposed to meningitis and you don't know yet if it was viral or bacterial. I know it's hard for working moms to get off work when their children are sick but that sick child's RSV can kill someone who is immunocompromised. When did we become a society that didn't care if our child's illness killed someone? And if you think it doesn't, and I'm exaggerating, I'll direct you to friends of ours who lost their daughter, who was immunocompromised, because a mom just couldn't keep her RSV-infected child home. Sorry, this is my pet peeve. I am personally very effected by stomach viruses and end up in hospital dehydrated with every stomach virus. In my dd's first year of school, I got the stomach flu 6X and, each time, it was directly after a child had thrown up at school and, in general, it was the same couple of kids whose parents kept sending them to school sick!

 

[jacobsmom]

I'm a special needs mom. When my son has a cold--he's home. The flu--he's home. When I get a call that he isn't feeling well, has watery eyes and a stuffy nose (no green mucus) --I go and get him. He's been home 5 days already this year, but I know we are helping keep the other kids in his class room healthy. I get upset when there are parents who send kids to school with pink eye and refuse to come and get them! (This happened twice last year and I got called in to get my son because he can NOT get pink eye due to his artificial cornea---but seriously the other parents should have been fined or something for not coming to get their contagious child) It's frustrating to me. I take others into consideration, but my son catches things very easily and I wish other parents would car about that.

 

[DisneyKT]

Just this past week my DD classmate ran out of the classroom to throw up. She didn't make it to the restroom. Not only that she told the teacher in front of the class. I told my Mom I wasn't feeling good. Ahh I just love it. Plus the poor kiddo was embarrassed because she in 4th grade.

 

[brymolmom]

Just this past week my DD classmate ran out of the classroom to throw up. She didn't make it to the restroom. Not only that she told the teacher in front of the class. I told my Mom I wasn't feeling good. Ahh I just love it. Plus the poor kiddo was embarrassed because she in 4th grade.

WOW - Now you think we should always keep our kids home every time they say 'I don't feel good'. The number of days my kids will actually attend school is getting down into the single digits with this addition. My son very frequently says 'his tummy hurts' for a little while before he has to use the bathroom.

I wish this had worked with my mom. I disliked my first grade teacher and went to the nurse almost every day with some sort of 'I don't feel good'. I could have spent the year in the comfort of my home!

 

[DisneyKT]

WOW - Now you think we should always keep our kids home every time they say 'I don't feel good'. The number of days my kids will actually attend school is getting down into the single digits with this addition. My son very frequently says 'his tummy hurts' for a little while before he has to use the bathroom.

I wish this had worked with my mom. I disliked my first grade teacher and went to the nurse almost every day with some sort of 'I don't feel good'. I could have spent the year in the comfort of my home!

Yes I do think you should people should keep kids home if they say "I don't feel good." Don't people know anymore when their kids are really sick or making excuses. Plus these kids are in 4th grade 9 and 10 year olds.