Do you say something to a mom in public with a sick kid?

[Anonymous]

who can afford staying home from work every time they have a little cough/runny nose/??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would venture to say that most of these germophobes are SAHMs with one or 2 very very young children. I cannot even imagine a working mom who's child is in daycare would look twice at a runny nose or a hacking cough.

wow, getting on the case of SAHM. alot SAHM sacrifice making the money to take care of their kids. day cares turn kids around who are sick...i'm not sure what daycare you go to.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the heads up ladies. i'm like the OP and worried about my kid getting sick. i guess i'll keep them away from libraries, coffee shops etc... again, thank you for letting me know how insensitive women are out there.

[Anonymous]

me too. it's disgusting that women will take out their sick children. i'm going to keep my kids home. thanks again for the insight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:who can afford staying home from work every time they have a little cough/runny nose/??

we're not saying that. we're saying don't go to coffee shops and libraries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would venture to say that most of these germophobes are SAHMs with one or 2 very very young children. I cannot even imagine a working mom who's child is in daycare would look twice at a runny nose or a hacking cough.

wow, getting on the case of SAHM. alot SAHM sacrifice making the money to take care of their kids. day cares turn kids around who are sick...i'm not sure what daycare you go to.

Daycares turn kids away who have fevers, vomiting, or diarrhea. Not common colds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If a baby that is less than 2 mos old catches an infection and it results in a fever...in some instances they will need to do a spinal tap to determine the cause of the infection. Have you ever been a witness to a spinal tap. It is the worst thing to witness. A baby cries during a spinal tap like it is being tortured to death. It is extreeemely painful.

So this is why its important to keep your sick kids away from others and especially away from babies less than 2 mos old.

But the point here is that, to the extent possible, newborns should be kept home and away from potential germs, particularly in winter (as any pediatrician will advise)... not that every child with a cough or the sniffles needs to be banned from public places.

Look, I don't understand why this is so tough. It's common sense. No one here has argued that a really sick kid (strep, chicken pox, nasty stomach virus, whatever) should be tossed into the mall playspace like Typhoid Mary. But most adults recognize that you cannot expect to avoid any contact with people who have everyday colds or other minor bugs - particularly if you have or are around children. Shooting dirty looks or nasty remarks at the parents of every coughing kid in public place is just plain rude and ridiculous.

And note to the obsessive Purell crowd: If you expect to quarantine your child away from other children who may have colds, you ought to be planning to home school. In an air-tight bubble. Good luck on that.

hey, i'm going to start using purell after reading your strand. wow, can't believe how inconsiderate some moms are. this does not apply to the woman whose son has an internal issue. this is for those moms who have sick kids with a virus and just don't give a damn about anyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:me too. it's disgusting that women will take out their sick children. i'm going to keep my kids home. thanks again for the insight.

the funny thing is that the mom of the sick child won't tell the nanny to stay home...
they make the nanny work with the sick child.

is it fair?

[Anonymous]

Everytime one of you moms takes your very contagious child out into public places (and come on, most of the time these kids DO have a fever, you just may have not bothered to check the temp) my child winds up catching a ride in an ambulance to Children's ER.

Why?

Because as I noted in another thread, every time my child gets sick with a virus, he has one or more seizures. So yes, to me it is bothersome when I see parents take very sick children out to public places.

I really don't mind the colds, they are harmless... but what really gets me is when kids come to school who cough like they just smokes a pack of cigarettes, with snotty noses and obviously miserable. They should be HOME!

[Anonymous]

if you moms just knew that purell is not what you're thinking it is...

ha ha ha

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:me too. it's disgusting that women will take out their sick children. i'm going to keep my kids home. thanks again for the insight.

Good idea. Maybe wrap them in cotton wool while you are at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everytime one of you moms takes your very contagious child out into public places (and come on, most of the time these kids DO have a fever, you just may have not bothered to check the temp) my child winds up catching a ride in an ambulance to Children's ER.

Why?

Because as I noted in another thread, every time my child gets sick with a virus, he has one or more seizures. So yes, to me it is bothersome when I see parents take very sick children out to public places.

I really don't mind the colds, they are harmless... but what really gets me is when kids come to school who cough like they just smokes a pack of cigarettes, with snotty noses and obviously miserable. They should be HOME!

i'm sorry your child has a seizure disorder. but honestly, and i say this as a person with a chronic illness/disability, the rest of the world does not and should not accommodate exceptions, such as your son.

[Anonymous]

There is such a false sense of security with the chronic use of Purell or quarantining marginally ill children. Of course you need to stay close to home with an acutely ill child (fever/ malaise) but antibacterial soap and isolation is not going to prevent your child from catching something at some point. You are better off devoting time to ensuring that your child's immune system is strengthened- healthy foods and sleep pattern, washing hands before eating, braving through a few colds each year. Eventually, your child is going to be immersed in an environment where the conditions are less than sanitary- have you ever witnessed elementary school children when there is no hovering adult to remind them to wash their hands or cover their mouth- it's appalling. The world is not a clean place, if you don't like it, stay at home. Unless your child is immune compromised, you have to trust that nature will take its course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is such a false sense of security with the chronic use of Purell or quarantining marginally ill children. Of course you need to stay close to home with an acutely ill child (fever/ malaise) but antibacterial soap and isolation is not going to prevent your child from catching something at some point. You are better off devoting time to ensuring that your child's immune system is strengthened- healthy foods and sleep pattern, washing hands before eating, braving through a few colds each year. Eventually, your child is going to be immersed in an environment where the conditions are less than sanitary- have you ever witnessed elementary school children when there is no hovering adult to remind them to wash their hands or cover their mouth- it's appalling. The world is not a clean place, if you don't like it, stay at home. Unless your child is immune compromised, you have to trust that nature will take its course.

Yes, nature will take it's course, we will all live, blah blah blah. Being sick is just a huge freakin' drag. I'd rather avoid it and have my kids avoid it. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

You can't avoid being sick forever. It's good to let your immune system get a chance at bat and to slow down your life when you get the first inkling that you are getting sick. People just want to proceed with their business as usual when they should be taking better care of themselves so that a common cold doesn't spiral into pneumonia etc.