“Why Did We Ever Send Sick Kids to School?”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colds and runny nose can last for weeks in kids, so it’s hard to keep them out for that long.

The AAP does not recommend school exclusion for colds, as long as the child is well enough to participate in activities.

[Anonymous]

Some people don’t have the luxury of affordable childcare, sick leave, or flexibility at their job. Trust and believe that the boss at your minimum wage job doesn’t give a sh*t about your sick kid, no one will cover your shift, and you’ll get fired if you miss a day of work.

[Anonymous]

When you think about it, a lot of things we did before covid were pretty gross

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you think about it, a lot of things we did before covid were pretty gross

I can't believe I smoked joints being passed around at shows.

[Anonymous]

Probably I shouldn't do that anymore.

[Anonymous]

Attendance rules have to be strict at school because for all of the kids who are sent to school no matter how sick they are there are kids who miss 45 days of school a year. That is really who the rules are for.

[Anonymous]

I have worked in an elementary school supporting sped kids in reg ed classrooms for many years. Every year I could pretty much count on having one or two colds and probably the flu too.

This past year, since mid-March of last year, I have had no colds and no flu. No illnesses whatsoever.

Some of you send your sick kids to school and then bitch and complain about teachers missing days, lousy substitutes, etc. Kind of stupid, eh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because I’m not letting my kids miss 7 days of school for a low grade temperature.

If they continue to offer online classes I will keep them home.

If your kid has a fever for 7 days, you need to keep them home and take them to the doctor. WTF is wrong with you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can honestly say that in 31 years of parenting five children I have never knowingly sent a child to school sick. Parents who do this are just the worst.

+1 I have four kids. But I also work from home.

The households where both parents work outside the home, who don't have family close by, and who have multiple kids are in an extremely tough position. Just with dentist appointments and well visits and other standard stuff I could have an appointment once a week. Add in sick kids, few weeks go by in the winter without interruptions. I have a flexible schedule but people who don't have to make complicated decisions.

[Anonymous]

I thought it was a cultural thing. Work til you drop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can honestly say that in 31 years of parenting five children I have never knowingly sent a child to school sick. Parents who do this are just the worst.

+1 I have four kids. But I also work from home.

The households where both parents work outside the home, who don't have family close by, and who have multiple kids are in an extremely tough position. Just with dentist appointments and well visits and other standard stuff I could have an appointment once a week. Add in sick kids, few weeks go by in the winter without interruptions. I have a flexible schedule but people who don't have to make complicated decisions.

But it was your choice to have four kids in a dual income household. You had them knowing what your responsibilities are. I had two coworkers going through chemo last year, with kids coming in sick because, “I have a meeting,” parents don’t realize the implications of their actions. You have a moral obligation to keep your sick children home and have a babysitter/family member care for them. The classroom is not a warehouse for sick students. When the nurse tries to send them back to class, I’m happy to let her know that the child is welcome to stay with her or sit in the front office for the remainder of the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colds and runny nose can last for weeks in kids, so it’s hard to keep them out for that long.

+1

And kids can be over dramatic so it's sometimes hard to guage . And we are a " suck it up buttrrcup" type family and I imagine most others are too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With younger kids it’s lack of child care/lack of job flexibility. With older kids (8th grade and up I’d say) it’s the teachers. They are so inflexible with making up work or helping kids get caught up. Kids who are at all serious about academics, or in any advanced classes at all with higher workloads, feel the pressure to show up sick or fall behind.

This, have a 10th grader miss a week for a cold a couple of times in a semester and see what their grades look like

+ they have a nervous breakdown making up all the work.

That whole culture REALLY needs to change. Looking back on my life, I was never more stressed than I was in high school. College sometimes approached that level, but that was really on me for taking on too many EC activities and my college job along with regular classes. But my HS teachers 100% did not give even a single f*** about absences. I got a 0 on an in class assignment in 9th grade geometry for being at a funeral because it wasn’t an immediate family funeral, it was my great uncle and that wasn’t an excused absence.

Most adults in office jobs have the flexibility to work from home if they’re sick ... we should give kids that option if they’re sick too so they can get work done at home. Or create policies at schools so teachers don’t relish giving kids 0’s when they’re out sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you think about it, a lot of things we did before covid were pretty gross

I can't believe I smoked joints being passed around at shows.

You should probably knock that off for reasons other than germs. How do you know what's in it? Thats how you end up high on boat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colds and runny nose can last for weeks in kids, so it’s hard to keep them out for that long.

+1

And kids can be over dramatic so it's sometimes hard to guage . And we are a " suck it up buttrrcup" type family and I imagine most others are too.

Yep. Stay home with a fever or stomach bug, but you CANNOT stay home for the entire duration of a cold. The best possible takeaway will be for parents to be more likely to keep their kids home for say, two or three days with a cold, AND for teachers to post work online and be more lenient about accepting makeup work.