Do you take your sick child to the park?

[Anonymous]

NOOOOOOO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she's vomiting or has bad diarrhea, no. Runny noses, fine.

Agree with this. Or if kid has a fever. Stick your kid in a stroller and walk around instead.

Diarrhea can be a sign of those horrible stomach bug for the PP who asked. It's best not to spread this around. It's also very difficult to stop very young children from putting their hands in eyes, nose, or mouth while they're playing even if you wash hands after the playground.

[Anonymous]

I saw a kid with the chicken pox at the playground the other day. The father was speaking in code to the mother and asking her if she really thought it was "CP." Why the hell would you have your child running around, oozing chicken pox germs on the slides where other children play? Disgusting and selfish.

[Anonymous]

Definitely not. I'll take her if she's at the very tail end of a cold since the runny nose can last for a week or more after any other symptoms but otherwise I keep her home or we do things outside that don't expose her to other kids. I'm grateful when other people do the same since we all know having sick kids is pretty crappy.

[Anonymous]

Runny nose/head cold is fine. Anything else, probably not. But I've been lucky in that DS hasn't had anything but runny nose. I'm from the school of thought that says outside at any weather. I think that if the child acts well, they are well enough to be outside.

[Anonymous]

ditto what other people say. if you are allowed to bring child to school (ie minor colds, NOT stomach virus or fevers), and child is feeling up to playing, ok. but if you're not allowed to bring your child to school/daycare that way, you shouldn't be bringing them to the park or having them touch all the toys in the drs offce. that is just inconsiderate and rude, not to mention that a child with a fever should be resting, not running around on the playground.

i'm so appalled that someone would take their chicken poxed child to the park. i have a friend who got chicken pox while she was pregnant, from some kid at a birthday party whose parents apparently didn't believe in leaving their child at home. she was hospitalized and ended up having a preterm and severely disabled child.

[Anonymous]

Runny nose - yes to the park. Our peds office has a well section and a sick section (with separate entrances), so touching things there doesn't concern me either (DD washes her hands before we go back to the room). This is also why some very smart person invented antibacterial lotion, cream, and wipes. Make your kid wipe/wash their hands immediately after playing at the playground.

[Anonymous]

Runny nose, sure, as long as we can chase DS down to wipe his nose as needed. Anything more serious and potentially contagious, I stay away from playgrounds. If DS feels well enough to want to play, we go run around the athletic fields but stay away from other people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:but if you're not allowed to bring your child to school/daycare that way, you shouldn't be bringing them to the park or having them touch all the toys in the drs offce.

I disagree. Park is different than daycare.

And it is your responsibility to make sure your child doesn't touch the (possibly infected) toys at the dr's, or wash your child's hands. I am not going to spend my time trying to keep a cranky (sick) child from having a go at the toys at the dr's.

I find it hard to believe that everyone who has an "unwell" child stay cooped up at home for days at a time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:but if you're not allowed to bring your child to school/daycare that way, you shouldn't be bringing them to the park or having them touch all the toys in the drs offce.

I disagree. Park is different than daycare.

And it is your responsibility to make sure your child doesn't touch the (possibly infected) toys at the dr's, or wash your child's hands. I am not going to spend my time trying to keep a cranky (sick) child from having a go at the toys at the dr's.

I find it hard to believe that everyone who has an "unwell" child stay cooped up at home for days at a time.

You are a peach. You think it's not the job of a sick person to take basic steps to prevent the spread of germs, and instead that the rest of society should mask and glove up and let you run amok?

(Don't you have a backyard? Sidewalks near your house?)

[Anonymous]

Why don't you stay in your backyard then? The park is a public space. I am not talking about a child who has Ebola for God's sake, but I will take my child to the park with a runny nose.

Something tells me you don't wear a mask on the metro when you have a cold..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't take our sick DD to the playground or let her play with toys in the doctor's office. We try to follow the Golden Rule - and you never know who might be immune compromised, or have a newborn sibling at home.

Same here.

[Anonymous]

Why is a park different that daycare? I don't understand the reasoning. Too sick for daycare=too sick for other public places (excluding doctors office of course).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you stay in your backyard then? The park is a public space. I am not talking about a child who has Ebola for God's sake, but I will take my child to the park with a runny nose.

Something tells me you don't wear a mask on the metro when you have a cold..

Nobody is saying to keep a child with merely a runny nose at home. We are saying of it is something worse (fever, diarrhea which can be sign of a stomach virus (ie not diarrhea due to an allergic reaction), chicken pox, strep, and other things that would keep your child out of daycare) for the love of god keep your child at home or at worst if they must go out in public not to somewhere they will be touching everything. Go for a walk in a stroller, play in your backyard. But decency and public health guidelines dictate that you not selfishly expose the rest of the world to your nasty germs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:but if you're not allowed to bring your child to school/daycare that way, you shouldn't be bringing them to the park or having them touch all the toys in the drs offce.

I disagree. Park is different than daycare.

And it is your responsibility to make sure your child doesn't touch the (possibly infected) toys at the dr's, or wash your child's hands. I am not going to spend my time trying to keep a cranky (sick) child from having a go at the toys at the dr's.

I find it hard to believe that everyone who has an "unwell" child stay cooped up at home for days at a time.

And I find it hard to believe you have never considered keeping an unwell child at home, rested, not spreading germs around. Wow.