Need advice on birthday party when one of the kids is sick.

Please don't quote

My DD's first bday party is this weekend. This morning my DS woke up with a low fever and a cough/cold. Since it's still days away this is really just a hypothetical question Only if DS is still sick or if DD catches it will it be an issue but, now I'm super worried about it. We are having the party at our house with about 50 people. Things are already booked that I will have to pay for if we cancel $$.

So my question is this - if the birthday child or another child in your house is sick what do you do when you have a party planned? Do you cancel the party? Tell everyone and see who still shows up? Say nothing upfront and only as needed?

We were at a bday party this past weekend and the sibling of the birthday party child was sick - it was not obvious and, I got the sense they were trying to hide it. The child was being given tylenol at regular intervals and then went back out to play with the group. Now, DS is sick SURPRISE SURPRISE.

That said, I'm just not sure what is the right thing to do in this situation.

TIA!

Edited to clarify: My DD (the birthday girl) is not sick right now at all - its just her brother. He has a fever and slight cough once every few hours and a little congestion but, otherwise is acting and looks completely normal - you would never think he was sick.

Message edited 2/2/2011 11:37:55 AM.

Re: Need advice on birthday party when one of the kids is sick.

I would make an appt with the Ped. When Mason has a little cold it always leads to an ear infection... always

They put him on meds and they say after 24 hours of being on the meds and no fever they should be ok. Better be safe and take her now since it's only Wed and she should be fine by the weekend.

Re: Need advice on birthday party when one of the kids is sick.

Posted by EricaAlt

I would make an appt with the Ped. When Mason has a little cold it always leads to an ear infection... always

They put him on meds and they say after 24 hours of being on the meds and no fever they should be ok. Better be safe and take her now since it's only Wed and she should be fine by the weekend.

Re: Need advice on birthday party when one of the kids is sick.

Posted by itsbabytime

Posted by EricaAlt

I would make an appt with the Ped. When Mason has a little cold it always leads to an ear infection... always

They put him on meds and they say after 24 hours of being on the meds and no fever they should be ok. Better be safe and take her now since it's only Wed and she should be fine by the weekend.

It' not DD that is sick. She is 100% fine right now. It is her 3 yr old brother. He has never had an ear infection and, my ped rarely gives antibiotics - only if really warranted which, judging from his symptoms there would be no way they would give it to him nor would I want him to get them. I'm pretty sure its just a minor virus since you would never know he was sick to look at him.

Thank you though!

Re: Need advice on birthday party when one of the kids is sick.

I would take him to the dr, just to see due to teh party! There is alot going around right now...

With that said...fever I would not have him attend the party. Keep the party, ask your parents or someone to keep him at their house. Not ideal but Fevers IMO are not to be messed with. Congestion I would have him there and as a guest wouldn't have an issue with it either. Its winter and I feel like everyone I see is sniffling and has a runny nose.

Re: Need advice on birthday party when one of the kids is sick.

There's a LOT going around right now. In your case, if he still has a fever or has not been fever-free for 24 hours by the day of the party, I would keep him away from the other guests. If he's been fever free for 24 hours, then that's usually the go-ahead to interact with others.

Hopefully your DD doesn't get sick!!!

Re: Need advice on birthday party when one of the kids is sick.

If he's not fever free for 24 hours by the party, I would ask someone else to watch him and then scrub down the house for germs.

Also-I'm big on telling people. A cold or cough, no big deal really because my kids always have this, but anything else including fevers, I let people know and then they can make their own decisions.

Are you having a lot of kids? I would want to know if the child has a fever in the last 24 hours. Then I can make an educated decision. It stinks, but it's life. If it was adults I wouldn't really be concerned, but kids is another thing.

Re: Need advice on birthday party when one of the kids is sick.

Re: Need advice on birthday party when one of the kids is sick.

This just happened to us last month. DD woke on Saturday w/ fever and croupy cough. Her b-day party (at Atlantis Marine World) was scheduled for Sunday. We took DD to the ped, who gave us antibiotics and told us w/ 2 doses (on Saturday) before party she would be fine and not contagious.

I sent everyone that I had contact information for a note letting them know and giving them the option to come or not as each parent saw fit.

Ultimately, everyone came and decided that given the location of the party, their DC could potentially contract anything that day regardless of DD's actual medical condition.