Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

For the "common cold", most kids have infected the entire class before their noses are runny, so after they show symptoms, it's too late anyway....

http://cold.emedtv.com/common-cold/common-cold-contagious-period.html

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

what i dont think ALOT of you are understanding, is that "school aged" children (5 and up) DO NOT usually run around with runny noses 16 times out of the year like babies (under 4) do..

Its a totally different world when your child is in "school" then when we're talking daycare, and whether or not i wanna miss a day of work..

the post WAS about SCHOOL AGED children..
My ds gets sick MAYBE twice a year..actually right now, hes had the sniffles for 2 weeks, we knew he wasnt "sick" since he never ran a fever, and had no other symptoms other then that and a not so bad cough here and there..we went to the ped last nite, and his Asthma is kicking up again..which was "Resolved" for the last 2 years..so they put him on an inhaler..

So according to what most of you are posting, i shouldve kept him home for the first 2 weeks of school?

This is my last post on this thread, but im TELLING YOU..in 6 years, when its your kid that may fail out of school because he has a "cold" a few times a year and for the benefit of "others" you keep him home for a week..id like to re-visit this post.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

sorry ladies, i just realized that i didnt "properly quote" the poster above me..

i actually am one who said i would tell other mothers who expected me to keep my school aged child with the sniffles home to "get a grip"
sorry for the confusion lol
i fixed it in my post now lol

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Posted by MommyAgain

sorry ladies, i just realized that i didnt "properly quote" the poster above me..

i actually am one who said i would tell other mothers who expected me to keep my school aged child with the sniffles home to "get a grip"
sorry for the confusion lol
i fixed it in my post now lol

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Posted by Porrruss

Posted by MommyAgain

sorry ladies, i just realized that i didnt "properly quote" the poster above me..

i actually am one who said i would tell other mothers who expected me to keep my school aged child with the sniffles home to "get a grip"
sorry for the confusion lol
i fixed it in my post now lol

You troublemaker!!!!!

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I have 2 school aged children.

I go into every school year with the assumption that my kid will likely catch some cooties during the course of the next 10 months.

Last year he caught pneumonia.. it ran through half his class. I could have looked to form a lynch mob and go after the awful mom who sent her kid in and infected my child.. but the fact is that the kid was probably not symptomatic while he/she was spreading the germs. Robbie was literally FINE the day before he came down sick and went to the doctor.

I go on the assumption that most parents want to do what is in the best interests of their families and children. That means keeping their kids home when necessary and sending them to learn when possible.

Absolutely there are exceptions to every rule, but I think those truly negligent and careless parents are few and far between. I didn't see a single parent note that they would send their child to school with the flu. I also didn't see a single person say you should keep your kid home with allergies.

The fact is that your kids WILL get sick in school. And if they don't ever go to school, they will probably get sick in the supermarket. Or the park. Or the train station. Or the zoo.

It's scary to have a sick child. I imagine it's even MORE scary to have a child whose sickness takes on a whole different level beyond the basic. So I feel for those parents who must deal with that. I try to be courteous, I try to be consistant. But I am not exaggerating when I say that last year Robbie would have probably missed a full 3 months of school if I kept him home every time he had a slight sneeze or a sniffle. As it was he DID miss almost a full month between pneumonia and stomache aches and illnesses that I felt I needed to keep him home for. And as much as I understand and appreciate that your children come first to you - I ask you to understand that MY child comes first to me. Missing 3 months of school would have resulted in my kid repeating the 2nd grade. I wasn't willing to see that happen.

I know it's difficult to understand if you haven't been in that position but I promise that your perspective might change when you introduce your child's education - rather than just socialization and 'daycare' into the equation.

ETA: Adding THIS information into the mix:

Message edited 9/22/2009 8:57:31 AM.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Goodness Quite an interesting read.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I didn't read the whole thread and I understand this is about school aged children and I hope to God that by the time he gets there, the stories are true and he isn't sick nearly as much as he is now. And when he's older, if all he has is a runny nose, then yes, he'll go to school with a box of tissues.

As for DS is daycare now, and also as a mom of a child with asthma who's on the nebulizer everyday for the last 2 years and now in singulair, I think it's unrealistic to think that I'm going to send him to a big daycare and not have him be sick all the time. I think it's our responsibility, as the parent of the child with the greater health problem, tomake the decision if that daycare is the right place for them, rather than assign responsibility to all the other parents to keep our children healthy. If my son's ashtma was worse, he would not be in a big daycare and I would find alternate means for him and adjust our lifestyle for what was best for him.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Message edited 9/22/2009 8:58:59 AM.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I know that the daycare DD attends gives you a sheet before you even register and it tells you what qualifies as "sick" to the daycare center. Sneezes and sniffles do not qualify and you can bring your child in.
If I was a parent who believed that those symptoms do qualify than I had the option of NOT putting my child in that daycare center.
Since I opted to send DD there, I know that there are going to be children, my own included, that are there with a "cold."

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I also wanted to add, my DD had a cold maybe 2x lastr year, so she definitely wasn't as sick as my younger children.

That being said, there are some parents who take advantage and DO send their kids in very sick. Coxsackie spread through half of her class, because a parent knowingly sent their kid to school with it. THAT annoyed me, because anyone who's been through coxsackie with their DC knows it s*cks a lot more than just a common cold.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Posted by Sweets13

Posted by smdl

Posted by Sweets13

Posted by smdl

Some of us happen to think that a cold is being sick.

How long would you keep your DC home with a non fever, non green mucus, non achy cold? Just a normal clear mucus cold?

Why are you jumping on the band wagon only quoting me when the last post above yours ALSO think the same I do?

It's interesting that only people are quoting ME!

Okay, now you are paranoid!!! I was reading the thread! It's obvious YOU consider a child having a cold as being sick and that they should stay home from daycare/school. Unless I am blind, aren't most of the posts from you?

I was asking you a question......I guess you felt it was more important to respond the way you did!

ETA: was I nasty in my post? did I say that I thought you should keep your son in a bubble? did I say you should home school your child? did I say anything to offend you? NOPE, I did not!

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Although I guess I shouldn't respond on this thread because I do not have a school aged child, I will anyway

I will never keep my child home because of a runny nose or other "common cold" symptom. IMO, it is just NOT practical for a number of reasons and I am a SAHM.

Like Shawn just pointed out, any child or person is (or can be) contagious before any symptoms even present themselves. Cold will happen. Germs are EVERYWHERE. You just have to do your best to protect
your own child. Teach them to wash their hands, give them chicken soup, vitamins, whatever.

I feel bad for the moms that have children that have medical issues that will turn a common cold into something more serious. I honestly do, and I can only imagine what a nightmare it must be. I know how much it hurts to see your child sick, so I empathize. Who knows, I may be one of those moms one day myself, but I would never expect people to take my child or my situation into consideration. Not only would it be near impossible, it is not realistic. The truth is that people will do what is good for THEM and their own families. bottom line.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Wow! Who needs trash magazines when you have threads like this? Seriously ladies, can't we all just get along?

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

ETA: I deleted what I wrote because It's not worth going back and forth over! I asked YOU the question because I was curious with what YOUR answer would be.

Message edited 9/22/2009 9:30:35 AM.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I wasnt going to respond on this thread, being my daughter JUST started pre-k. But I agree with the majority. Even though G started school about 2 weeks ago, she has already caught a cold from school, and I am not mad or upset about, but I am also not keeping her home. She has the sniffles, no green color, and her voice is slightly raspy. Thats it. I missed work 3 weeks ago when she was vomiting - there is no way I can miss again due to sniffles that can last a week.

I TRULY understand those of you who have children with compromised immune systems and why this would upset you. G's school has guidelines on what to keep kids home for (vomiting, fever within 24 hours). It seems, at least from this thread, that this is the norm for most schools. Are there other schools that have a different policy? I ask this in all seriousness and not to be nasty at all. I would assume that there would be schools or centers with stricter guidelines so that parents can make the right choice for them and their child, but I could be wrong.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Message edited 9/22/2009 9:35:43 AM.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

Oh for the love of god......its amazing how catty this post has gotten.

Kids are going to get sick....it happens, we have to live with it. Parents have dealt with this since the dawn of time. No one is sending their kids to school with the bubonic plague.

I dont understand where there is even room for debate, even if we ALL agreed that kids with clear runny noses should stay home, other parents not privileged enough to have been part of the fine showing of decorum that is this post will send their kids to school. People will go out in public sick, you run the risk of catching a cold WHEREVER you go. Even as parents we will probably each catch a cold over the winter, I cannot hide from my child until is passes, so even I run the risk of getting him sick.

IT HAPPENS PEOPLE. Everyone needs to get off their high horse (those that are on it) and just accept that the common cold, whether you like it or not it is part of winter. Its here to stay and there isnt much you can do about. Yelling at each other over who is right/who is wrong isnt going to stop the spread of germs.

This is so unbelievably ridiculous.

Message edited 9/22/2009 9:48:30 AM.

Re: Spin off the "keeping a kid home"

I was afraid this is what this thread would turn into.

My DS is in daycare, but I am assuming that if he wasn't, he would be getting all these illnesses once he started Kindergarten (at least that is what other parents tell me).

I have a job with a GENEROUS amount of time off, and flexibility in taking that time. However, just to make a point, I looked at the timesheet I keep on my computer just now.

In less than a year, I have taken 16 full days off for when DS has been sick, including 3 consecutive days for a stomach virus, 4 consecutive days for coxsackie, 4 consecutive days for roseola. This number doesn't include time off I have had to take for regular well visits and visits for DS to get his immunizations, or the times when I got a call at work and left early to pick him up when he has been sick. There is no way I could take more time off for a common cold or allergies acting up.

For our family, the choice was for me to keep this job, since I do have a good amount of time off and excellent benefits. I am sure I keep my kid home more than most moms at his daycare. However, since the original question was aimed at school aged children, I am going to agree with Jeanne and say once you are looking at an academic curriculum and thinking about how much time they would miss, I think it might change one's attitude about this.

I also think the rules and guidelines are in place for the average child, not for one that is medically fragile. I have a great deal of sympathy for you moms who have lots of medical issues to deal with, but I don't think it's realistic to expect that every school aged kids stay home with a cold. JMO.