Teacher vent--If your child is sick, keep them HOME!

[MM27]

I had a child like that one year. His mother refused to pick him up if he went to the nurse for anything and he was not allowed to stay home. They were more concerned with the perfect attendance award than infecting everyone with his germs.

One afternoon I noticed that his eyes were very red and he said they were itchy. I sent him to the nurse and she said it looked like pink-eye. Mother refused to come get him and to top it off, they sent him back to my class. Sure enough, the next morning, I woke up with it. When I called out that morning the secretary told me that I would need to stay out for at least 24 hours after going to the doctor. I ended up staying out for 3 days, but the kid never missed one. When I got back, several other kids had been out too with it and my in-class support teacher as well.

 

[RangerPooh]

I too teach Pre-K and have had some sick kids that parents keep returning to school with symptoms regardless of the rules or of others health. Lats week we had one student sent to the nurse and it tool 2 hours and several calls for the parents to pick up the child!

 

[golfgal]

Not for me. My son had 10 excused absences and then we had to get doctors notes. Which was HIGHLY offensive to me. As if they didn't trust MY judgement. And then I actually took him to the doctor to get a note for some stupid little virus with fever and the doctor himself said "oh he'll live, you should just send him." Sooooo ok. Today I have a sick kid at school and log in here to read this "teacher vent."

This is why people homeschool, I kid you not.

Maybe it's me, but I think that 10 days seems excessive for half the year. That means he's out over 10% of the time. I can understand the teacher being concerned about it.

I agree, 10 is a LOT of days to miss even for a full year. I don't think my kids have missed 10 days COMBINED ever.

It's excessive, but not uncommon.

Early in the year with the change of seasons, a kid gets sick and can stay sick for 3 days. Then everything starts going around and before you know it, the child has stacked up 3 - 3 day absences.

Schools are breeding grounds for illness. Especially schools that don't have the 24 hour fever-free rule.

No, it is NOT common to have a child miss 10 days of school before Christmas for being sick. Ok if they have surgery or something major but 10 days for colds????

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I agree, 10 is a LOT of days to miss even for a full year. I don't think my kids have missed 10 days COMBINED ever.



No, it is NOT common to have a child miss 10 days of school before Christmas for being sick. Ok if they have surgery or something major but 10 days for colds????

I hate to say it but some kids simply cannot take a cold well. I have had the child that missed tons of school due to a cold. It hits their lungs hard and is unrelentless and then it turns into pneumonia.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I had a child like that one year. His mother refused to pick him up if he went to the nurse for anything and he was not allowed to stay home. They were more concerned with the perfect attendance award than infecting everyone with his germs.

One afternoon I noticed that his eyes were very red and he said they were itchy. I sent him to the nurse and she said it looked like pink-eye. Mother refused to come get him and to top it off, they sent him back to my class. Sure enough, the next morning, I woke up with it. When I called out that morning the secretary told me that I would need to stay out for at least 24 hours after going to the doctor. I ended up staying out for 3 days, but the kid never missed one. When I got back, several other kids had been out too with it and my in-class support teacher as well.

Why didn't you call the Department of Children and Families? Clearly--mom was neglecting her son and if she didn't want to abide by your schools clear policy, perhaps she would listen to a judge.





Another twist on this staying home when sick....

My brother was uninsured in his latter high school years. His school must have had issues with too many kids ditching so all absences were unexcused unless their was a doctors note. It would cost him $85 to get a doctor's note. He presented to school when otherwise sane people would stay home. It's stupid to have a doctor confirm what is essentially a cold.

Now that was high school--but I would imagine that perhaps that might be another twist to why parents send their kids in.


The strict attendance policies seem to make it difficult for parents to decide if their child is ill or not. Heaven forbid the school miss their money for the day on the sick kid.


For me--I remember vividly having to be sent home for what turned out to be the flu or a nasty stomach bug. I actually felt fine when I went to school and didn't fall ill until later in the morning. My mom was not able to come and get me (enlisted military) so her husband at the time (also enlisted military, but several ranks higher than her) came and got me. She did stay home with me later in the week. But she just wasn't able to leave that day.

Not all children who end up with a 102 degree fever at school seemed sick that morning and not all parents sending their kids in to school are attempting to send a "sick" kid. I remember vividly not having any issues and then just suddenly during class felt wretched.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Maybe it's me, but I think that 10 days seems excessive for half the year. That means he's out over 10% of the time. I can understand the teacher being concerned about it.

While a valid observation--it certainly presents the catch-22....teacher's complaining that sick kids get sent to school when they shouldn't and then complaining b/c the said sick kid gets sick too much.

 

[Minniemama350]

Here's some stay well vibes for all of the teachers (and kids!)

 

[englishteacha]

I had a young lady in school today who I'm sure had a fever. She was miserable-pasty complexion, clammy, and obviously sick...but wouldn't call home or go to the office. Come to find out, she had a soccer game today she didn't want to miss. Arg.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Teacher here-

To me a cold is no big deal. I get two or three colds a year. I just bought my own boxoes of Puffs at just for myself and a whole bottle of hand sanitizer at the beginning of the year. Yeah, a cold is miserable, but you're able to function.

It's when the fevers hit, a child is throwing up, or they're just too miserable to function that I don't want them in my classroom.

I am frankly terrified of getting sick this year. I have a rough class and God forbid I ever get sick. I don't know how the sub will cope. But I know it's going to happen. I have a child who spits when he's mad, he has spit in my eyes on numerous occasions. This is a daily occurrence. All the Lysol in the world won't save you if a child is spitting in your eye. I pray that child is never sick because if he is, I am screwed. So I can see it from both ends.

 

[golfgal]

I had a young lady in school today who I'm sure had a fever. She was miserable-pasty complexion, clammy, and obviously sick...but wouldn't call home or go to the office. Come to find out, she had a soccer game today she didn't want to miss. Arg.

My DD wanted to go to school so badly because she didn't want to miss marching band. She asked if she could go if she felt better and I agreed-usually if they miss school we don't let them go to after school activities-figuring she wouldn't feel well enough to go. Well, I wasn't home when it was time to go and Dad let her go. She said she was just going to watch though. They have a big show and she feels like she is letting the band down by not being there to learn whatever new stuff they put in tonight. They had a retreat for the 9th graders in school today so she didn't miss any classes.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I hear ya.. My preschooler has been home all week. He had a fever from saturday till Wednesday. He lost his voice sunday. Had him to the doctor and than the ER. Both said Viral. Fever is now gone but he still doesnt have much of a voice. I have never had one of my kids be sick for this long. He has a trip pumpkin picking tomorrow which my younger sister is going with him. Depending on how he wakes up I will probably send him. He is only half day and at this point I think the voice just needs time to heal.

I will never have a kid with perfect attention.. its just not realistic.

 

[daisyduck123]

I will never have a kid with perfect attention.. its just not realistic.

I think you mean "attendance".

 

[LisaNJ25]

I think you mean "attendance".

Yep, that also.. It has been a really long week.

 

[Tinkmom75]

My DS11 missed a lot of school in early elementary for colds, sinus infections and ear infections. He also has allergies and asthma. If I would have kept him home for every runny nose he would never had been in school. His cough sounded terrible, but that was the asthma. We saw a pediatric pulminologist every 4 months for several years ever since he was around 9 months old. You cannot tell a kid is contagious from a green snotty nose by the way. He was my super sicko. He's much better now!

My DD got the flu last year. We didn't know it was that bad until I took her to DR on friday. She had headache and real bad stuffy nose so I thought it was her sinuses (she has allergies and asthma too). She was out a day or two (no fever), then she went back to school only to come down with a fever that night. So she stayed home and I called the Dr. It's not always clear cut. Also, a common cold can last 14 days the flu can last that long too. My DS3 got a fever on Friday night (after my DD had been to the Dr and diagnosed with the flu). We called in and got him on tamiflu. His fever was gone Saturday night so I sent him to daycare on Monday. There was another parent that wouldn't send her kids to daycare for that entire week because the flu can be contagious up to 7 days after you get sick. So she didn't like the 24 hour rule which I followed.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/spread.htm

From CDC website "The Flu Is Contagious
Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5-7 days after becoming sick. Children may pass the virus for longer than seven days. Symptoms start one to four days after the virus enters the body. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick. Some persons can be infected with the flu virus but have no symptoms. During this time, those persons may still spread the virus to others. "

For a fever no way would I send a kid to school, but I was also told by a pediatrician that anything under 100° is not really considered a fever anymore.

I agree with the poster that said teach proper handwashing, cough into arm not hands, try to avoid touching your face. Obviously there is no way to tell how or where you got sick. Especially since people may spread the flu and not even have symptoms.

 

[golfgal]

I think you mean "attendance".

Yep, that also.. It has been a really long week.

Perfect attention would be nice too .

 

[MushyMushy]

I hate to say it but some kids simply cannot take a cold well. I have had the child that missed tons of school due to a cold. It hits their lungs hard and is unrelentless and then it turns into pneumonia.

Yep, exactly. My DD gets 101-102 degree fevers with colds -- glassy eyes, body aches, chills, etc. Every cold. She's been like that since she was a baby. Plus, it's not uncommon for kids to just keep passing things around in our schools. Like I said, I'm convinced it's because our district pushes and pushes kids to fill the seats, sick or not. The elementary and middle schools have been in danger for years of not meeting AYP for attendance because kids are missing even more than my daughter has to.

On a related note, it was found that our elementary school was a sick building. It was built in 1995-96 and within a year or so, kids and teachers started coming down with all kinds of ailments. They worked on that problem for years before fixing it, but I think it also contributed to high absenteeism!

 

[Stacerita]

Maybe it's me, but I think that 10 days seems excessive for half the year. That means he's out over 10% of the time. I can understand the teacher being concerned about it.

Excessive, but not unheard of. When my DD was younger, she missed lots of school time. Due to allergies and asthma, as well as colds and such. One semester she missed all but 9 days. She also broke her leg during that sememster and was unable to go to school. So missing lots of days does happen. Granted if people kept their "sick" children home, DD would not have missed as much. Kids just keep passing around the germs.

She's older now and has yet to miss a day this year, and missed none last year either. Thank goodness for immunities being built up and a lot of luck.

 

[KAMLEM]

My DD wanted to go to school so badly because she didn't want to miss marching band. She asked if she could go if she felt better and I agreed-usually if they miss school we don't let them go to after school activities-figuring she wouldn't feel well enough to go. Well, I wasn't home when it was time to go and Dad let her go. She said she was just going to watch though. They have a big show and she feels like she is letting the band down by not being there to learn whatever new stuff they put in tonight. They had a retreat for the 9th graders in school today so she didn't miss any classes.

I'm surprised that the school allowed her to go. In my DD's school, if you are absent you are not allowed to participate in any after school activities.

 

[declansdad]

Just to play devils advocate here.
How about the 2 teachers that see every kid at school, librarian and computer teacher, who both had mono (diagnosed by a dr) and still came to work every day. One teacher was so sick she would literally fall asleep at her desk with students in the room. Now 2 students are down with it, the mom keeps them home and she gets yelled at by admin because they've missed 10+ days of school so far. That happened here, in our school.

If the fever has passed and they have no sore throat, there is no reason they couldn't be a work.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

teacher here

my favorite is when parents say, "it's just allergies" when my little ones come to school obviously sick with green goo filled to the end of their nostrils and runny eyes. Then, surprise! They look even worse in the pm when, guess what? the motrin wears off!

So why am I a teacher and posting at 1:13pm on a school day? I'm home with MY kid who has H1N1.