Why do you send your sick child to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people who send sick kids to school are probably not on this board. This board is full of high income white collar workers. People who send very sick kids to school are probably hourly wage earners who cannot afford a sick day.

Not even close to true. The wealthy entitled do this in similar or greater numbers to the Walmart cashiers.

[Anonymous]

The vomiting there is literally no excuse for, because it spreads so easily and the kid is miserable. I have more sympathy for the fever in kids whose bodies react to illness with 5-7 days of mild fever every time. There is virtually no link between the contagiousness or severity of an illness and the length of fever in kids. If a kid feels totally fine when the fever is broken by tylenol and all other symptoms have resolved... I totally get it. Parents of kids who only pop fevers for 24-48 hours from the exact same bugs that cause other kids 5-7 days of fever are just lucky that they don't have to make the choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people who send sick kids to school are probably not on this board. This board is full of high income white collar workers. People who send very sick kids to school are probably hourly wage earners who cannot afford a sick day.

In high wage white collar who admits to having done this. I also think many people here just want to believe they are perfect. Here's why I've done it, knowingly - my kid is super type A with a touch of anxiety. When she does get sick I don't allow her to go in with a fever above 100 (hard non-negotiable house rule). Sometimes her fever isn't that high and she's still sick, but I let her make the call. Sometimes she tricks the thermometer so she can go in. When I know she's done this, I ask her to stay home. She hates missing school, like she'd rather not miss for any reason!! Sometimes I force her to stay home and she gets angry with me. Sometimes I cannot have that battle.

[Anonymous]

Former school nurse here.

It cuts across all socioeconomic categories.

There is a rush within the first few minutes of school - kids get off the bus, panic and show up to the clinic or they get to class, teacher notes or is told they are “sick” and they come see me. Or, 10:40 the meds you gave at 6 a.m. have worn off so the fever or nausea or body aches have returned.

Or, your kid tells me exactly what’s up, “my mom said to just go to school and come see you if I get worse.”

Some parents are terrified that their precious DC will miss instructional time - most evident in earliest elementary years (not HS).

I delivered an epi-pen for an anaphylactic reaction with required 911 response and transport at 9 a.m. and was shocked to see same kindergarten student return with mom circa 1 p.m. (still wearing hospital band) and demanding return to school. Protocol dictates this is not allowed.

[Anonymous]

11:53. I should do an AMA. The things I’ve seen…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People will blame “but I had to go to work!”

Nope. You chose to have kids. Kids get sick. Have a plan. Have a backup. Hell, have two. A job is no excuse to be a self-centered jerk.

What’s your excuse? People get sick, kids are nasty. You being a self righteous A of a (most likely) hypocrite is a choice.

If people only left the house when they felt 100%, society wouldn’t function. What is an acceptable level of detriment is up to the individual people and no one else has the right to set it for them. If any of you are so damn immune compromise or scared of others with a runny noses or even the flu then may I suggest it is you who should shelter in place. Your level of acceptable risk has no barring on mine and vise versa. If the gov didn’t have the right to keep typhoid Mary out of the kitchen then kids out of a classroom is a stretch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People will blame “but I had to go to work!”

Nope. You chose to have kids. Kids get sick. Have a plan. Have a backup. Hell, have two. A job is no excuse to be a self-centered jerk.

Single moms who fear staying home from work means losing their jobs, without which they can't pay rent or put food on the table, are not self-centered jerks. Your position is very privileged and out of touch with many Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the PP above with my friend who is the kindergarten teacher - this is a very upper class school in a very wealthy neighborhood. Most of these kids going to school do not have parents with inflexible jobs or without other options.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People will blame “but I had to go to work!”

Nope. You chose to have kids. Kids get sick. Have a plan. Have a backup. Hell, have two. A job is no excuse to be a self-centered jerk.

Single moms who fear staying home from work means losing their jobs, without which they can't pay rent or put food on the table, are not self-centered jerks. Your position is very privileged and out of touch with many Americans.

Not PP. don’t hide behind single moms and low paid wage workers. You’re not one of them. You probably work from home.

[Anonymous]

I would never send my kids to school with a fever or if they had been vomiting. I use the same 24 hour rule as we had in preschool. One time my kid did go to school and then vomit (on picture day) but that was the beginning of his illness and I couldn't have known that before sending him.

[Anonymous]

My daughter gets anxious about school and one year told me she had a stomach ache every morning. So there have been times when she tells the school she’s not feeling well and then gets sick later in the day and they probably wonder why i sent her . It’s because otherwise she’d have never gone to school. I would not send her if she had vomited.

I don’t think minor colds are worth staying home so if she had sniffles without a fever she goes In.

[Anonymous]

I would never intentionally send my kid to school sick, but one of my kids said she was sick constantly even when she wasn't one year. We didn't want her to miss school every time, and you can't always tell when a kid is sick, so she did sometimes go when she turned out to be actually sick. If you'd asked her what was happening and why she was at school that day, I don't think she would have accurately given you that context.

[Anonymous]

Short of camouflaging a fever, it’s not usually something people do deliberately. And some people might have to consider which is worse: sending a sick kid to school or losing a job or money needed for vital things.

Count yourself lucky if that doesn’t apply to you.

[Anonymous]

Kid was home sick for seven school days (fever, etc.) this fall. DCPS sent an attendance letter about the absences even though they were excused by the school with a doctor's note (the letter marked the absences as excused). If keeping the kid home is the right thing to do, then why does DCPS complain when I do it? I've never heard of anyone getting a letter from DCPS complaining that they keep sending their kid to school with a fever.

[Anonymous]

I’m a middle school teacher who wants them there more. Tylenol away for minor things.