Request to parents.....

[Kteacher]

If your child is too sick to come to school, do not send them because " they said they really wanted to go to school " I'm getting out of bed for the first time today at 7 p.m. after catching a chest cold from one of my students. I know it's hard to scramble for child care when you have a sick child and your employer expects you to be at work, but please think of all the kids at school as well as the adults who are being exposed to your child's illness.

 

[Lanshark]

I totally agree. I got the flu last year from a student that was sent to school running fever. When the mom picked her up she indicated she knew the child was not feeling well but sent her anyway.

 

[ladycollector]

Wow thankyou for saying that.. Most of the teachers here want you to send your kid I guess, because they never believe they were really sick.

You must be a great teacher! Hope you get better soon.

 

[dazeddaisy]

By sending a sick child to school you are not doing them any favours. I know when I am sick at work I do not work as well and am prone to more mistakes and I am sure the same is true for a child.

I read somewhere that you take longer to recover from an illness if you go about your life normally, than you would if you were in bed.

That said just because my child (or me) has the sniffles does not mean a day off.

 

[wvjules]

I agree with you about not sending sick kids to school. But how do you konw that you got it from one of the kids at school? Its that time of year. You could have gotten it at the market, the mall, from a family member, etc.

 

[monarchsfan16]

By sending a sick child to school you are not doing them any favours. I know when I am sick at work I do not work as well and am prone to more mistakes and I am sure the same is true for a child.

Very true. Going through my binders at the end of last year I knew exactly which tests I took when I was sick, or after a unit where I had been sick. They were the ummm significantly lower grades.
My mom never sent me to school if she could tell I was sick. But as I got older, and got sick more often, I became a pro at concealing the fact that I was sick if I truly had to go to school. Poor mom would be so confused when she came home from work at 3 PM and found me passed out on the couch, when she had thought that morning that I was fine. It's not that I wanted to get anyone else sick, or even wanted to be in school. The school had an attendance policy that was a nightmare to deal with, and honors classes are unforgiving when it comes to making up work.

 

[dizluvr71]

I totally agree! Three weeks ago my DS8's school was closed for an entire day because 1/3 of the children and staff were or went home sick. The day before my son only had 9 of 24 kids in his class show up, he said they were dropping like flies - kids were throwing up left and right. They also had to bring the 5th graders home from Outdoor School early. Keep those sick children at home!!

 

[ReggieB]

What would your definition of too sick for school be? I am never sure. We have had a cold running through our family for the past month, we have all had it and still do. So should I have kept my DS off school for a whole month? Fortunately we had some teacher days so I only kept him off for a week. It could have been longer if he hadn't already had those days off. I have a sinus infection now, and my son is still coughing, but you have to asume that at some point he stopped being infectious. The worse thing with colds/flu is that you are usually the most infectious even before you realize you have it.

Completely appreciate what the OP is saying. Just wanted some input into what you all think is the right time to keep them at home. Obviously a fever would make me keep him at home. Hope you are feeling better kteacher, if it's the same thing that I have I feel your pain.

 

[Jennifer S]

We were just talking about this on another thread. There were some doozies about how parents give their kids medicine to keep the fever down so they can go to school.

What do some people think? or aren't they. Sorry you are sick. My son keeps catching stuff in kindergarden. One day 1/3 of the class was out.

 

[LBAK]

Amen, Kteacher. These parents just don't get it. Don't you love it when the child says at circle time,"My mom told me not to tell you that I threw up last night." Or when you mention the green nose to the parent and they said,"Well Suzy didn't have a green nose this morning." I just want to scream.

 

[daisyduck123]

This is one way to tell when a child is too sick to be at school....

when a child comes in to class & hands you a note from mom asking to please not let Mary play outside at recess today because it's too cold out & she's not feeling 100%.

I'm sorry but if your child is too sick for outdoor recess, then she's too sick for school. Everyone goes out for recess, weather permitting.

 

[MinnieM3]

We were just talking about this on another thread. There were some doozies about how parents give their kids medicine to keep the fever down so they can go to school.

What do some people think? or aren't they. Sorry you are sick. My son keeps catching stuff in kindergarden. One day 1/3 of the class was out.

This is done a lot at my school. The kids are honest that Mom gave them tylenol when they woke up with a fever so it would not "show" at school. Then the poor kids feel awful at school. You can tell in a heartbeat.

 

[Marseeya]

Too bad our school doesn't have that attitude.

For my kids' schools, it's all about attendance. Their goals for attendance didn't quite meet state standards, so they're really cracking down on it, even to the point of harrassing parents of sick kids to bring them in. My DS missed his whole first week of high school this year because he was very sick (doctor ordered him not to go to school) and the school called my house every single day and in one day called me three times and DH one time at work.

My rules of thumb for them: 1) fever -- they don't go 2) severe congestion -- they don't go 3) throwing up -- no go. It also depends on their general demeanor. You can just see it in their eyes when they're truly sick as opposed to just not feeling like going. I don't keep them out for general colds, except right at the beginning when they're feeling totally lousy, or see above for severe congestion.

At any rate, I always err on the side of caution, much to the school's ire.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

As a teacher, I agree with the OP. For those of you asking how do you know what is too sick? I think if you're using your judgement and trying to decide, then that is enough. I think the negativity goes towards the parents who send a kid that just threw up that morning with some tylenol to try to hide the fact that their kid had a 102 temp. They're not sitting there trying to decide whether or not their kid is well enough to go - they just want them at school regardless. Make sense? IMHO

 

[Marseeya]

As a teacher, I agree with the OP. For those of you asking how do you know what is too sick? I think if you're using your judgement and trying to decide, then that is enough. I think the negativity goes towards the parents who send a kid that just threw up that morning with some tylenol to try to hide the fact that their kid had a 102 temp. They're not sitting there trying to decide whether or not their kid is well enough to go - they just want them at school regardless. Make sense? IMHO

I really feel for working parents and they should never have to make a choice between a sick kid and maybe losing their jobs. But that's something to take up with the company rather than sending in a sick kid.

 

[Aidensmom]

I have never sent my child to school sick, I am sorry if you caught something from one of the children.

(Warning, the next is a bit of a rant)

I just want to say however that I have had a bad experience with my son's school (he is in the state Pre-K program that is contracted out to a private preschool) trying to tell me he was sick when he was not. I do understand that some parents sent their kids to school when sick, but please never make the mistake of telling a parent you know more about their child's health than they do. A few weeks ago, I dropped my son off at school and 20 minutes later I got a call at work saying I needed to pick him up because he had pink-eye. Pink-eye that he showed no signs of 20 minutes earlier. I let the director of the school know his allergies were bad that day, and he had probably rubbed his eye because it was itchy. She said I had to pick him up. I got to the school, and was told his eye was crusty and red. In reality, he had a speck of crust in the corner of his eye (his allergies cause blocked tear ducts, as do mine) and his eye was maybe a SLIGHT shade of pink right in the corner. I wiped out the offending crust speck, and 30 seconds later his eye was white as snow. I was told he could not come back until he had a doctors note confirming he did not have pinkeye, or until he was on antibiotic eye drops for 24 hours. I then had to drive an hour to my MIL's house so she could watch him for the day, an hour to pick him up, and then take him to the after hours clinic (and pay for the appointment) so they could ask what the heck we were bringing him in for.

The next day I took him to school with the note that he was OK to return to school, he did not have pink eye. They still tried to make me take him home because the note did not have a date specified on which he could return! The whole episode actually made me seriously consider sending him to another school.

 

[MoniqueU]

Schools are really cracking down on attendences here. We get 10 absences excused or unexcused before they start turning you into the DA. So you better bet if my kid is sick for the 9th time he is headed to school and can call me to pick him up After they count him as there for the day. I don't need the kind of noise the schools want to give to me and I will make sure the office knows WHY I sent them just for attendence.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

I have never sent my child to school sick, I am sorry if you caught something from one of the children.

(Warning, the next is a bit of a rant)

I just want to say however that I have had a bad experience with my son's school (he is in the state Pre-K program that is contracted out to a private preschool) trying to tell me he was sick when he was not. I do understand that some parents sent their kids to school when sick, but please never make the mistake of telling a parent you know more about their child's health than they do. A few weeks ago, I dropped my son off at school and 20 minutes later I got a call at work saying I needed to pick him up because he had pink-eye. Pink-eye that he showed no signs of 20 minutes earlier. I let the director of the school know his allergies were bad that day, and he had probably rubbed his eye because it was itchy. She said I had to pick him up. I got to the school, and was told his eye was crusty and red. In reality, he had a speck of crust in the corner of his eye (his allergies cause blocked tear ducts, as do mine) and his eye was maybe a SLIGHT shade of pink right in the corner. I wiped out the offending crust speck, and 30 seconds later his eye was white as snow. I was told he could not come back until he had a doctors note confirming he did not have pinkeye, or until he was on antibiotic eye drops for 24 hours. I then had to drive an hour to my MIL's house so she could watch him for the day, an hour to pick him up, and then take him to the after hours clinic (and pay for the appointment) so they could ask what the heck we were bringing him in for.

The next day I took him to school with the note that he was OK to return to school, he did not have pink eye. They still tried to make me take him home because the note did not have a date specified on which he could return! The whole episode actually made me seriously consider sending him to another school.

Oh, that would have me so ticked off, too! Plus, my Dr. gave me tons of pink eye medication to last awhile one time so if my son ever got it again we wouldn't have to go back! So who says you'd have to go to the dr. with it anyways? Geez.
BTW, love the new pic you posted in your signature!

 

[Marseeya]

Schools are really cracking down on attendences here. We get 10 absences excused or unexcused before they start turning you into the DA. So you better bet if my kid is sick for the 9th time he is headed to school and can call me to pick him up After they count him as there for the day. I don't need the kind of noise the schools want to give to me and I will make sure the office knows WHY I sent them just for attendence.

Do absences with a doctor's note count towards the 10?

We get 10 in our district too, but if the child has a doctor's note, it doesn't count towards that. I'm fortunate in that my kids' pediatrician understood all that and would take my word for it that they were sick enough not to go to school, but not so sick they needed to be seen, so he'd give us an excuse. He has since retired, but now my kids are seeing my family doctor and he's pretty much the same way. I certainly haven't abused that privilege, so he's been fine with it.

Would that be something that could work for you?

Anyway, I understand your frustration with the 10 absences thing, but I think you'd be going about it the wrong way by sending in your child sick. Take it up with the school board or superintendant before it becomes a problem.

 

[delilah]

Schools are really cracking down on attendences here. We get 10 absences excused or unexcused before they start turning you into the DA. So you better bet if my kid is sick for the 9th time he is headed to school and can call me to pick him up After they count him as there for the day. I don't need the kind of noise the schools want to give to me and I will make sure the office knows WHY I sent them just for attendence.

Keeping this in mind, statistically speaking, the average person has about 5-6 viral colds a year. A cold lasts about 7-10 days on average. It is possible to shed virus (be contagious) for some viral infections without being symptomatic. Just because of various factors, the peak months for viral colds occur during the school year. So: 1. What school district is going to allow 35-60 excused absences a year for the average school child, if we in insist they stay home if they have any sign of infection? 2. What parent can stay home with a sick child that many days without losing their job?