Request to parents.....

[CanBeGrumpy]

On the flip side of this coin, if my child is in school and starts to not feel well, CALL ME TO COME GET HIM!!! I will NEVER forget one day when my son was in kindergarten (was completely fine that morning--no sign of illness whatsoever) I pick him up at the end of the day and he could barely walk to the car!! He had a fever and he fell asleep immediately upon sitting down in his car seat! He missed the next 3 days of school he was so sick! He was a shy little guy and I'm sure would never have told the teacher he was sick, but in this case it should have been obvious!

I now tell my kids that if they feel the slightest bit ill to tell their teacher to call me! I, for one, do not want my child sitting through school when he doesn't feel well! I do sympathize with working parents, though. I am lucky that my job is completely flexible--I can work any schedule I want as long as I get my hours in and get the job done. So I am always available to get my kids. It would be really tough if both Dh and I had full-time jobs with strict schedules.

 

[Aidensmom]

BTW, love the new pic you posted in your signature!

Thank you!

 

[tiff211]

ITA! Not only does it makes others sick but the child is also sick longer because they are not getting the rest they need to make them well. And because they are sick, the system is weaker, making them target for other germs and illnesses that are floating around.

 

[cepmom]

I agree that kids with fevers and/or vomiting/diarrea should not be in school. My two younger DD's have coughs ~ that's it and I feel badly that they are still going to school, but what am I supposed to do? Keep them home for the next two weeks until the cough goes away?

Now at DD16's school, sick days without Dr's notes are "unexcused" so if she is vomiting, has a bad cold or bad menstrual cramps and I keep her home, the only way it will be an excused absence is if I take her to the Dr's and get a note. She only gets 5 unexcused absences per term. Apparantly, a parent's ability to decide her child can stay home isn't good enough in her school.

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

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.

That would be the day someone tells me I HAVE TO send my dd to school.
I am a parent in total agreement of the OP....My daughter goes to a small Parocial school were everyone knows each other. Our schools policy is if they have a fever, keep them home today and possibly tomorrow.....Of course not all parents do that. My DD suffers from cronic sinus infections, migraines, and allergies....She also has a low amune, so she catches almost everything the other kids bring to school..If she is has a migraine, fever, or is sick the night before, she doesn't go to school the next day...She vomitted 1 time during the night on Monday night. She stayed home yesturday. She was fine. but, slept until 11:00am, what does that tell you. It takes to much out of them, and they can't bounce back that fast. Also, not to mention possibly infecting the others at school. My DD's school knows that if she tells someone once that she has a headache, they are to call me and I will come and get her and take her home.
I think to many parents are to rapped up in their jobs and don't have their prioritys straight..I quit a very well paying job because the employer thought my job comes before a very sick child. I am now very Blessed to have an employer who is flexable when my DD needs me. ( I let them know at my first interview that NOTHING will come before my child, and they agreed)
I am very active in my DD's school and have seen first hand children coming in off the school bus sick and saying "I've been sick for a couple of days....but, don't tell my teacher my mom doesn't want the school to know." One year the children were outside mid morning making snow sculptures and I sent a child inside because he was burning up..When I got back in the school I asked how he was. I was told that Mom was called and she said to leave him in the nurses office until school got out, she couldn't pick him up now. Later that night was our open house. I asked the mom how her son was doing. Her response was "boy, he has a fever all week (this was Thursday), and he can't seem to shake it. I was shocked, and asked then why has he been in school everyday and not staying home were he belongs. Her answer was "well I do work you know and I can't stay home JUST because he's sick, I go to work when I'm sick and he has to learn it's not ok to fluff off your responsibilities...I went off on her, explaining that my daughter had just returned to school after only being in school 6 days out of 6 weeks because of iresponsible parents like her.
Over the past 6 years I have gone into my DD class room and disinfected each and every desk at different times just to help with the germ control.
So, not to vent, but, parents remember.....You choose to have these children and they should be the first priority...think of them and keep them home. Not that you have to stay home also, but, set up a system for sick day day care.

Let's hope everyone stays healthy this year.

 

[mom2boys]

I agree that sick kids don't belong at school. Our household has also been dealing with cold & "crud" (actually M.D.'s "diagnoisis") for over a month. The problem is the kid's grades suffer when they are out because the teachers are under such pressure to meet the standards. My 6th grader currently has a C- in Life Skills (Home Ec to those of us over 40) because he was at the orthodondist when the class had a sewing quiz. He hasn't been able to make it up - requires the class sewing machine, so it is entered a zero. Hopefully he will get it done at lunch today.

 

[mickeyboat]

I think to many parents are to rapped up in their jobs and don't have their prioritys straight..I quit a very well paying job because the employer thought my job comes before a very sick child. I am now very Blessed to have an employer who is flexable when my DD needs me. ( I let them know at my first interview that NOTHING will come before my child, and they agreed)

You choose to have these children and they should be the first priority...think of them and keep them home. Not that you have to stay home also, but, set up a system for sick day day care.

I think the overwhelming majority of us parents are doing the very best we can. We put our children first, but it is always a balancing act, being influenced by a variety of sources. I would never assume I know all the circumstances surrounding a parent's decision to send a child to school.

Here's an example. Hannah seems to vomit at the drop of a hat - it seems to happen when she eats a lot of chocolate. If she vomits during the evening and seems fine in the morning, I send her to school - and I might mention to her not to tell anyone. Don't tell me I am not putting her first because I choose not to take a personal day to sit home with a child who in my opinion is feeling fine and not a danger to other children. I work for an employer who is very understanding about my desire to put my children first, but taking advantage of that flexibility still requires some balancing.

And I will in most cases send my kids to school with a cold. Colds don't seem to bother them very much - more of a nuisance than anything else. They probably contracted the cold at school in the first place, and by the time they get noticeable symptoms, they have already been contagious for a while. I think it is also valuable for them to learn that you can't run home every time they have the sniffles.

Denae

 

[Marseeya]

I think to many parents are to rapped up in their jobs and don't have their prioritys straight..

It's not always that simple! Some families (especially single parent families) rely on that income and some employers aren't all that forgiving about taking a day off for a sick child. And what daycare will take a sick kid? (as should be)

Maybe these parents are doing the best they can and have to make the tough decisions -- whether to lose a day's income (which could potentially be very bad or even mean loss of a job) and keep the child home, or go to work and earn their pay, but sending the child to school where they know it's warm and the kid will be fed. I'm not saying I think this way, but there's more to the story than just a workaholic who won't miss work when a child is sick. Their priority is to provide for that child the best way possible.

In cases like that -- take it up with the companies, not the poor harrassed parent who's probably worried sick about their child, but has to go in to work anyway.