Low Fever Do you keep them home?

[skw444]

I wish my kids would get a 99 degree fever instead of the 105-106 they alway spike!

My oldest dd is like this. When she was younger, she suffered from the febrile seizures. She has asthma and anytime she runs a fever she starts wheezing, so we keep her home. Our school rule is 100 degrees or higher gets sent home.

 

[shoney]

at our schools kids are sent home for:

fever over 100
vomiting
weird rash

They tell us to send coughing, sneezing, stuffy kids to school unless the other top 3 are present!

 

[Colleen27]

With no other symptoms I doubt I'd even notice a fever that subtle, but for a low grade fever coupled with something like ear pain or a sore throat or that general glassy-eyed ick feeling I would keep the child home.

 

[LilyWDW]

When I was a child, my doctor actually had to contact the school for my mom. This was because the school refused to contact her unless my fever was over 100. Problem was that, for me, a fever of anything over 99 was a big deal. It was just how my body was wired. However, the school refused to believe her until the doctor actually called and spoke to them.

So yes, I would have been kept home with a fever of 99.6.

 

[Leajess99]

Our county policy is 24 hours with no fever and NO fever reducing medication. I know it can be difficult to arrange childcare when they are sick, but if more parents would actually follow our policy, we wouldn't have soooooo many sick kids at school.

Not all kids run a fever or act like they are sick. Some kids are perfectly fine in the morning and get sick at school. I know my daughter went to school several times this year feeling fine and then after school she was not feeling well and when she went to the doctor she was sick. She rarely runs a fever.

The worst so far this year was when I got called by her teacher to tell me her chest was hurting which I assumed to be because of her asthma and having been out in the cold the day before doing Punt Pass and Kick at the Bengals game. I made her an appointment as I always do for chest pain if it is bad enough for her to complain and need to come home. Anyway, we went to the doctor and the tested her for strep and guess what?? She had strep throat. No sore throat, no temp, nothing that would even have had me thinking strep. I let the teacher know and she had to stay home from school for 24 hours while getting the antibiotics.

Now if she is complaining of her throat or having a bad cough than I will take her to the doctor and keep her home from school. There are some parents who do knowingly send a child to school sick (parent whose child threw up in the hallway at school during dropoff that was trying to just leave him at school and got mad when they made her take him home) but because kids react differently to illness one never really knows if they came to school really sick or just got it through the day. I do wish those parents who know their child is sick would keep them home. I wish the same for the teachers and even outside of school for the sports the kids participate in.

 

[indimom]

Low temp combined with complaints of pain or discomfort or a lightly unhappy stomach, yes I'd keep them home. I don't like being seen as the parent who sent a sick kid to school.

I do have to agree with the PP who said that some kids do not come across as sick. It can be a hard call sometimes. I have a perfect case in point.

When my son was 1, he had what I thought was another of countless ear infections. No fever just cranky and sleepless. After about three days of this, he woke up exhaling hard on every breath. His temp was normal, but he was very lethargic. I took him in and he was diagnosed with pnuemonia, and was in the hospital for 3 days, then sent home.

18 hours later he had a fever of 101, but was acting fine. I called the ER because even though he was happy and playful, I didn't think he should have a fever again when he was still on all kinds of meds. They said bring him in and they would check him. I took him to the ER and he was toddling around the waiting room, playing, flirting with other people who were waiting. He was acting totally normal and I felt like we were completely wasting our time.

They checked his blood and his white counts were off the charts, worse than when he was first admitted with pnuemonia. They readmitted him and we ended up spending 18 more days in the hospital with a nasty blood infection. (He didn't start "acting sick" until later that evening.)

So I can see how sometimes this is a very hard call to make and I try not to judge parents harshly when they make a bad call. (Oh, and I'm a day care provider, so I do totally get how annoying it is when a kid is given tylenol and sent in for the day. Been there, done that. Just had to play devil's advocate and say that occasionally it may not be the case. )

 

[indimom]

Not all kids run a fever or act like they are sick. Some kids are perfectly fine in the morning and get sick at school. I know my daughter went to school several times this year feeling fine and then after school she was not feeling well and when she went to the doctor she was sick. She rarely runs a fever.

The worst so far this year was when I got called by her teacher to tell me her chest was hurting which I assumed to be because of her asthma and having been out in the cold the day before doing Punt Pass and Kick at the Bengals game. I made her an appointment as I always do for chest pain if it is bad enough for her to complain and need to come home. Anyway, we went to the doctor and the tested her for strep and guess what?? She had strep throat. No sore throat, no temp, nothing that would even have had me thinking strep. I let the teacher know and she had to stay home from school for 24 hours while getting the antibiotics.
Now if she is complaining of her throat or having a bad cough than I will take her to the doctor and keep her home from school. There are some parents who do knowingly send a child to school sick (parent whose child threw up in the hallway at school during dropoff that was trying to just leave him at school and got mad when they made her take him home) but because kids react differently to illness one never really knows if they came to school really sick or just got it through the day. I do wish those parents who know their child is sick would keep them home. I wish the same for the teachers and even outside of school for the sports the kids participate in.

My niece has had strep countless times and her only symptom EVER is a headache. Her mom now knows if she's complaining of a nasty headache. She better have her tested. She's 14 and has never said her throat hurts when she has strep. No fever either.

 

[lisaross]

Pretty much depneds how they r acting...

if they feel and look fine i might give them tylenol in the morning and send them...if they don't feel well then they stay home or if its more than 1 day i might keep them home to rest up and fight it off...

Just curious as my dd has a 99.6 fever so I will keep her home from pre-school tomorrow (I had her at the doctor since she said her ear hurt) no infections just fluid in the ear due to post nasal drip.

When your child has a low grade fever do you keep them home? I know many times I see kids in dd's class that are pale and just look sick and am curious as to why they didn't stay home?

 

[jackie101]

As a nurse I don't know that I necessarily call 99.6 a fever. But if a kid doesn't feel well or acts sick he or she should stay home if possible even if afebrile. If 99.6 and acts fine and is up and playing (without fever reducer) then I think they are okay to go, esp after being seen by a doctor who diagnoses something non-infectious.

this is what I do too

 

[goofyisinphilly]

I would apply the same thing to school as piano lessons.

I am a piano teacher and I say PLEASE if you child is running a fever leave them home. It is not life or death. If your child gives me an illness, 35 other students will miss their lessons because I am not teaching. That not only means they miss lessons, but I am going to spend the next 3 months teaching makeups.

 

[Nina1]

As a pre-k teacher I bow down and offer my endless gratitude. Most parents are unable to keep their kids home because they have to work so I get kids who are incredibly I'll in my room every day. Mist times they are visibly sick but their temp is under 100 so we cant send them home. Around 11:30 or 12:00 the meds start to wear off, fever spikes, and we call home. By that time parents say that the day is almost over, can't they just lie down in the class? So thank you for doing what you do. It helps

I cannot believe any parent would be so selfish and irresponsible to ask if their child could just lay down in class!!!! That is unbelieveable. My son is in preschool and I wouldn't ever send him to school with a fever, low or not. It's my responsibility to care for him when he's sick, not his teacher. If a child has a fever, they are sick. Why risk making your child sicker or send them to school when they don't feel good in the first place? Not to mention, why would any parent so carelessly risk getting someone else's child sick? Especially preschool kids. They'll just keep passing it around.

Our son is just getting over a virus. He had a fever early Sunday morning. He felt better Sunday, but I kept him home from school yesterday (he goes to preschool Mon., Wed. and Fri.). 24 hours without a fever is my rule. He'll go back to school on Wednesday. And to all the preschool teachers on this board, thank you for all you do (and put up with).

 

[SleepyatDVC]

When my girls were in pre-school and even up until 2nd grade, I kept them home anytime they had any sort of fever or if they weren't feeling well.

If missing school for vacations was no big deal at those grades/age, missing school for being sick or not feeling well was justified even more so.

Now once the homework started piling up and being in class was important I no longer take them out of school for vacations at all. They will be out enough during the year for sick days as it is.

I think that in the beginning of the school year, I am more liberal about keeping them home. Slight fever, don't feel well? Haven't had a sick day in 3 months, ok I'll keep you home just in case.

Towards the middle to end of the school year, I dole those sick days out sparingly. Lol. If it is a slight fever and they are acting normal and bouncing around, I probably will send them in. But if they are feeling miserable and feverless, I'd probably keep them home. I can usually tell when my kids are coming down with something even without checking their temperature.

They usually get REALLY sick at least once a year and when they are like that, they can miss almost a week of school.

 

[tiggger1]

I probably wouldn't know if my son had a fever of 99.6, honestly.

I tend to go by how he's acting. If he's acting fine I send him. If he's acting ill, even if he doesn't have a fever, I don't send him.

same here. If they are acting sick, then they usually stay home, fever or no fever.

 

[blanq]

I probably wouldn't know if my son had a fever of 99.6, honestly.

I tend to go by how he's acting. If he's acting fine I send him. If he's acting ill, even if he doesn't have a fever, I don't send him.

This. Exactly.

A low grade fever can mean absolutely nothing at all. When my DS was little, he used to routinely run a low grade fever, and had swollen glands, with no other symptoms and they never developed into anything beyond that. I learned to go by his eyes (they would get a particular glazed over look) and his activity level (which was normally bouncing off the walls, so when he became lethargic I knew something was going on) to tell if he was sick or coming down with something that I actually needed to pay attention to.

 

[horseshowmom]

I would apply the same thing to school as piano lessons.

I am a piano teacher and I say PLEASE if you child is running a fever leave them home. It is not life or death. If your child gives me an illness, 35 other students will miss their lessons because I am not teaching. That not only means they miss lessons, but I am going to spend the next 3 months teaching makeups.

Agree completely! As the librarian, I see every kid in the school at least once a week and some much more often than that. When I'm sick (and I catch everything ), the library is closed.

I cannot believe any parent would be so selfish and irresponsible to ask if their child could just lay down in class!!!! That is unbelieveable.

I work in an elementary school. We have parents who think the children should be able to just lay down in the office. Further, we have parents who send their kids to school sick and then won't answer their phones when we call them to come get them.

same here. If they are acting sick, then they usually stay home, fever or no fever.

Same here. You can be sick without having a fever, but I would definitely stay home with a 99.6. I would probably assume it will go up once the child gets active at school.

Concerning fever, both my daughter and I are sick if we have 99 degrees, and we feel bad. I've heard medical personnel say that anything under 100 isn't a fever, but in our case that certainly doesn't apply.

 

[kamik86]

When I was little my parents went by two things.

1) If I wanted to stay home. I had colds almost constantly but they didn't affect me more then being a bit stuffy or having a runny nose. If I wanted to stay home because I wasn't feeling well though that got attention since I normally wanted to be there.

2) If I was pale. When I'm sick even the slightest bit I get pale. If I'm really sick my face has almost no color at all. This is how I got caught a few times when we were supposed to be doing something cool at school and I was trying to get to go even though I was sick.

 

[2disneyboys]

fever is not a good indicator for my kids at all... both of them rarely have a fever (when my oldest son ended up getting his apendix out, he didn't even run a fever over 99 then!)

I gauge it by how they are acting. if they act sick, then I keep them home, if they don't act sick, then they go to school.

I'm a sunday school teacher @ my church. a few weeks ago, I spent the entire hour holding a trash can under one of my student's face's while she puked... I had the teacher next door come get my other kids so they were not in the room.

 

[thebeesknees]

It depends on their behavior. The school has called me twice this year to come get my daughter, who had a temp of 99.4 both times. School policy is that they can't be there if the temp is over 100, but I figured that if she felt sick enough to go to the office, then she needed to come home. Both times she was fine in the morning, but felt unwell in the afternoon, so it's not like I sent her knowing she was sick. She loves school, so I knew something was really off if she wanted to come home, even if she didn't technically have a fever. I'd rather keep them home unneccessarily than find out later that they were really sick and infected the rest of the class. But I guess that comes from years of working in the church nursery and getting annoyed at other people bringing their obviously sick kids in, dropping them off, and then infecting 10 other people.

 

[MinnieForMe]

When my kids are sick they are home from school and activities. However, I'm a stay at home mom so I have the ability to do this if my kids are under the weather. I can understand how hard that can be for a working parent if it's not a clear cut case of a child being sick so I would never judge. However, I do judge when it's an after school activity. Why would you bring a child with glazed over eyes and coughing up a lung to a dance class or swimming? I wish more parents used common sense.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

I would never, ever send a sick child to school with a fever. A fever means something's wrong, something that could infect others. Even if it's not infectious, a fever can make a child miserable. How effective is school going to be for a child that's sick and miserable? No, I'd never do it.