Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Should school-aged kids be kept home for a cold? I mean a regular old cold- runny nose, coughing but no fever or vomiting.

Personally I think that keeping a kid home from school due to a cold (runny nose, coughing, no fever or vomiting) is a bit much. I cannot imagine how many days of school a kid would miss!

Our nursery school has a "no fever, no puking" rule. Any fever of 100 or higher or vomiting within 24 hours, stay home. otherwise, bring em in. They do discourage school if there is green snot though-

Now- with pre-K I suppose I could agree with keeping home because really, how much "work" are they missing? But in regards to regular school I cannot imagine keeping a kid home for a run of the mill cold.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Yes. Personally, I think a kid should be kept home for any illness, especially one like a cold that is highly contagious.
If parents kept their kids home when they had a cold, then they wouldn't miss so many days, because the kids wouldn't be passing the cold back and forth to each other, KWIM?

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

At both of my DDs' schools the teachers' thought is if you were going to take a kid out of school for a runny nose, they'd all miss half the year. I would not keep my girls home for a simple runny nose (sorry! ), but if there were other factors like a hacking cough, etc, then I would.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

The preschool my kids go to sends home a letter asking you to keep them home for runny noses, but a lot of people send them in anyway.

DD has a friend whose older sister finished up treatments for leukemia a few months ago. I guess our family just got in the habit of keeping sick kids away since it was such a big deal for them. The year before we met this family I think I sent her in with a runny nose.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I was JUST reading in Kiwi Magazine about "When should you keep your child homesick?"

And it was directed towards 4-5 year olds...but they suggest keeping them home when the child has:

Fever
An undiagnosed rash
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
Flu-like symptons
Cough and sore throat

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

If my kids understand about using tissues, covering their mouths, wiping or using the Purell after sneezing, I will send them to school. Since my older 2 understand this, I would send them if they are otherwise in good shape and not miserable.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

If my child's cold was bad, such as green snot, or a cough, I would keep her out of school. It's not fair to infect the other kids esp since she's young and who knows if she's sneezing on anyone, even though we tell her not too. I would never send her to school with a fever, diarehhea, or sore throat.

I know you can't keep your kid home for every runny nose (if it was just a runny nose i might send her to school) but at the same time, I don't want my kid to catch your kids germs and vice versa. That said, I know it happens and I deal with it.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I send both my kids to school (nursery and elementary) and/or daycare a cold as long as their nose is running clear, their cough isn't too bad and no fever. Flame away.

Last week my ped diagnosed my son with a sinus and ear infection in the evening and told me to send him to school the next day. He is in kindergarten.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

If my son didn't go to school when he had a cold, he would never go and neither would any of the other kids there. Yes he goes to school with a runny nose and a cough. I'm another one with a child with asthma whose cough lingers long after his cold symptoms are better. Daycare has the same fever/puking/pooping policy, otherwise they go or the place would be out of business.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I take it case by case. I don't ALWAYS send my kids in with a runny nose and sneeze.. but I HAVE done it.

Basically - I see how sick they are:

Thick, green mucus? They stay home.

Clear snot and a few sneezes? School.

Fever? Home for at least 24 hours after fever breaks.

Cough? They go to school UNLESS they have a fever within 24 hours.

Sore throat? They go to the doctor and I follow his recommendation for the next school day.

Maybe I am inconsiderate - but my kids are 6 & 8 and missing school really effects what they learn so unless they are truly ill - they are going in.

ETA: I've also sent the kids to school FINE in the morning and had a call come in from the nurse saying 'Robbie puked' or 'Noah has an earache'. So no matter how conscientious you are and the other parents are - your kids ARE going to be exposed to germs in a school setting. They know the drill to wash hands and use tissues. Yeah - I know a few people who send their kids to school contagious because they simply have no choice. I'm not gonna waste time getting angry about it though.

Message edited 9/21/2009 2:13:13 PM.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

My DD's nursery school has a strict sick policy which I have mixed feelings about. They don't allow runny noses and will send your child home if they present with a runny nose. I have mixed feelings about the policy b/c DD has bad seasonal allergies and for 2 springs in a row she had a runny nose whenever we took her outside from March thru June (she did get a virus end of May - but the rest was allergy - clear discharge no fever). I was told even though it is documented by my ped on her medical chart with the school that I will have to get a ped's note each time. While I don't want kids coming in sick - and yes I think a cold is sick, I think that is extreme. Esp b.c you can have a runny nose and not be contagious. I do understand that they really can't tell what is a cold and what is allergy when there isn't a fever present but still.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Posted by sfp0701

Posted by MrsFlatbread

Posted by chelle


Cough and sore throat

my son has asthma and almost always has a cough. He goes to school with his nebulizer daily. They only send him home with "out of the ordinary" symptoms for him...ie...cough and loose stools

I was just going to say that as a kid, I would get a cold and due to my asthma, it would turn into bronchitis..always.. After I was "better", I would cough for weeks on end. If I had to stay home I would never have graduated.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

last winter, i swear i wanted to make shirts that say "don't worry, its asthma"

i got dirty looks everywhere we went.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I don't think a child should be kept home for a cold.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

It's funny....cause you get soooo many people saying different things.

Cause there were 2 other threads...one being one I started...and most people on that thread won't send there kid to school.

I don't know....I don't want my kid (I know she is young still...I am just stating a point)... to learn that everytime she doesn't feel good that she can stay home. But in turn I don't want her to get others sick....so I was asking what would make you determination of not sending your child...

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I have to admit that my main concern is for my child, if he seems too sick to go to daycare, I keep him home. I do care about the other kids getting sick, but I also think that the kids are more contagious before you know they are sick. I think by the time he has a full blown cold, he probably got someone sick anyway. I will be honest and say that if he has a really bad cold, I ususally keep him home more so he can rest and recover than to keep the otehr kids from getting sick.

If I stayed home everytime he had a cold, I would no longer have a job. this first year in daycare was rough - I have almost no sick time left and the few vacation days I do have are being saved for the upcoming cold and flu season. I do follow the daycare rules, never bring him in within 24 hours of a fever or vomiting, or with diarreha. I do take him to the doctor whenever I am in doubt. Unfortunately, I just don't have the ability to stay home every time he has a cold and I don't see this changing by the time he is in school.

I am hoping that by the time he is school aged, his immune system will be rock solid from daycare and he will only have to stay home once in a while.

When I was a kid, my mom didn't let us stay home from school unless we had a fever or were throwing up. I never remember getting sent to the nurses office unless I told my teacher I thought I had one of the above. I honestly think this has affected my attendance as a worker. I stay home only if I am legitimately sick. I had a roommate who was allowed to stay home as a kid any time she had a cold. She did not have a good attendance record as an employee. I really believe these things are related.

Where do you draw the line? Is it age? I just wonder when this changed - when a kid at school got sent home with a cold? I honestly don't remember this happening when I was a kid.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

As the mom of the kid that catches everything and is on the nebulizer, yes it bothers me when I see kids with a runny nose. I do think a cold is being sick.

Yet, I don't want my kid to get sick because it's an inconvience to parents of a child who is sick and they have to keep their kid home. Because I think in a lot of cases it's moms who don't want to (or can't!) take a day off work or they don't want to deal with a sick child all day long at home. In the end, MY kid gets sick. I can't protect him 100%, he is on preventive meds but it really irks me when I see people not caring that their kid is sick. I am the mommy who cancels playdates when DS is sick, cancel sessions when his therapists are sick or DS is sick. It goes both ways at my house. I don't expose my sick child to others because I don't know what health issues they may have. I expect the same from other people.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I don't know what the right answer is.

when josh catches a cold, its a week where no one sleeps, we pay for specialists and his rX doses double.

so for that reason...he won't be in school for awhile.

we had our library class this am. if there would have been a runny nose kid, we would have left. my sanity and my pocket can't handle a cold.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Posted by chelle

Posted by sfp0701

Posted by MrsFlatbread

Posted by chelle


Cough and sore throat

my son has asthma and almost always has a cough. He goes to school with his nebulizer daily. They only send him home with "out of the ordinary" symptoms for him...ie...cough and loose stools

I was just going to say that as a kid, I would get a cold and due to my asthma, it would turn into bronchitis..always.. After I was "better", I would cough for weeks on end. If I had to stay home I would never have graduated.

Don't kill the messenger! I was just writing what I was reading

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

If it's just a cold and her temperament is good, I'll send her in.

If she is mucusy, hacking cough, fever, throwup, achey-no, I don't send her.

Kids get colds all the time, not much you can do about it.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

my kid would be going to school. day care and nursery have those rules only bc as a PP said, they are a business and want to keep running!