Please stop sending sick kids to school!

[Anonymous]

We had a cold run through the week after school started. The 5 year old was off Friday to Monday with cold symptoms. We sent him in on Tuesday but the nose was still running. If we had waiting for it to completely stop he would have been out the whole week waiting on a runny nose. That’s not sustainable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, we can’t afford to miss more school when the kids are simply congested.

Yes, you can and its called parenting.

In many jobs, no you can't. You will get fired. You can't stay home for every cold.

You take leave without pay. Somehow I doubt you are an hourly minimum wage worker.

You can’t do that in every job w/out risking losing your job! Even if you’re not an hourly minimum wage worker. You seem completely clueless about what many jobs in this country are like if you think most people can take off every time their kid has the sniffles. I’d be taking off at least a week each month if I had my kids stay home every time they had a runny nose or were congested.

You only keep kids home for fever, vomiting/diarrhea, and/or if they test positive for flu/covid/strep.

Or I should add if they just clearly feel miserable—fatigued, achy, etc bc then you know they’re probably about to come down w something a bit more serious than a cold. At least for my kids this is the case. They will be super fatigued for a day or so right before they come down w a bad virus/fever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep my kids home for fever, vomiting, unexplained rash, diarrhea, Covid, Strep, and flu. I am not keeping my kid home for congestion or a runny nose.

If your family gets sick for 7-10 days and misses
work due to a cold or if your whole family ends up on meds for a routine illness, perhaps you should talk to your Dr. about your immune system. That’s not normal.

OP here. I agree. Why are we so sick and everyone just considers it no big deal? We definitely don’t get that sick every time but it happens and it sucks.
Of course my youngest brought home Covid too but that had mild symptoms. We were better in days. I do worry about long Covid if we catch it too often but I’m probably alone in that concern too I think.
I’m not being a martyr as someone suggested. I’m just so tired of being sick.

What I’m trying to say is that my approach is admittedly really different from other parents and perhaps I’m the one who (reluctantly) needs to change.
I’m gathering that keeping my kids home to prevent spreading it is overkill.
It clearly makes me resentful but I guess if I send my sick kids back like everyone else, the resentment will lessen.

We are getting X-rays of my son’s tonsils because he snores and gets sick way too much. I have terrible sinus issues and my husband has some minor lung damage that can cause respiratory issues when he gets sick. Colds often are pretty bad for us. I also have a parent with incurable cancer she lives with so that’s stressful. She’s been to the hospital twice from viruses she caught from us. Though we consider ourselves relatively healthy, it seems these colds are affecting us more than others - I was curious about that. Seems like overall - people just don’t care about getting sick all that much. I really didn’t know that.

Thank you to everyone for your input - it’s helpful.

[Anonymous]

I don't send kid to daycare when fever. vomiting, diarrhera, fatigue, look miserable etc. And, everytime my kid is sick, I send back my kid with a negative pcr test result plus doctor note even though it means he could still have some sniffling, coughing or runny nose. I stay at home with kid for at least 2-3 days each time to get over the tough time, and pediatrican says cold symptoms can last for weeks even past contagious phrase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree, missing 7-10 days for a cold isn't normal. That's a personal problem of your own and the world can't function by catering to your abnormal immune system.

OP here. I get that you aren’t a nice person but try to think about what someone is going through.
I didn’t expect anything from others I wasn’t willing to give/sacrifice myself.

Just be nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, missing 7-10 days for a cold isn't normal. That's a personal problem of your own and the world can't function by catering to your abnormal immune system.

OP here. I get that you aren’t a nice person but try to think about what someone is going through.
I didn’t expect anything from others I wasn’t willing to give/sacrifice myself.

Just be nice.

Is this the same OP who was telling everyone "it's called parenting" "just get a nanny" "you can miss work"? Because LOLOLOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high school students are passing around several different viruses, as far as I can tell. Covid is definitely in the mix, and I know that because two students are now out with it. There also seems to be a remarkably nasty cold hitting several of my classes. I’d say 1/5 of my students are showing some type of symptom, and yet they are in class.

I can’t enforce anything, but I sure wish at the very least they would be wearing a mask when they tell me they have sore throats. I’m just counting the days before I’m out sick at this point. I just hope it’ll be minor because I can’t let my classes fall too far behind.

You say you don't want your class to fall behind, but guess what? All those sick kids are also at school because they don't want to fall behind either.

I can help them if they are home. I can do virtual office hours. I can edit their documents and send feedback. There’s a lot I can do to keep kids from falling behind. I’m doing it right now for the responsible kids staying home. (Yes, they are being responsible.) The ones in class are just keeping this little Petri dish of a classroom active.

If I get sick, I can’t help the ones at home or the ones in class.

I’m a big fan of doing what’s best for the group, not what’s best for me.

Off topic - sorry
Your students are so lucky to have you.
In case you are wondering - your students do appreciate what you do. And so do their parents!!

- Mom of a high schooler who adores his teachers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep my kids home for fever, vomiting, unexplained rash, diarrhea, Covid, Strep, and flu. I am not keeping my kid home for congestion or a runny nose.

If your family gets sick for 7-10 days and misses
work due to a cold or if your whole family ends up on meds for a routine illness, perhaps you should talk to your Dr. about your immune system. That’s not normal.

OP here. I agree. Why are we so sick and everyone just considers it no big deal? We definitely don’t get that sick every time but it happens and it sucks.
Of course my youngest brought home Covid too but that had mild symptoms. We were better in days. I do worry about long Covid if we catch it too often but I’m probably alone in that concern too I think.
I’m not being a martyr as someone suggested. I’m just so tired of being sick.

What I’m trying to say is that my approach is admittedly really different from other parents and perhaps I’m the one who (reluctantly) needs to change.
I’m gathering that keeping my kids home to prevent spreading it is overkill.
It clearly makes me resentful but I guess if I send my sick kids back like everyone else, the resentment will lessen.

We are getting X-rays of my son’s tonsils because he snores and gets sick way too much. I have terrible sinus issues and my husband has some minor lung damage that can cause respiratory issues when he gets sick. Colds often are pretty bad for us. I also have a parent with incurable cancer she lives with so that’s stressful. She’s been to the hospital twice from viruses she caught from us. Though we consider ourselves relatively healthy, it seems these colds are affecting us more than others - I was curious about that. Seems like overall - people just don’t care about getting sick all that much. I really didn’t know that.

Thank you to everyone for your input - it’s helpful.

It’s not that other people don’t care about getting sick. It’s that people have to be practical. In the US, most jobs do not have enough paid leave or even the option to take much unpaid leave. And most people can’t afford to get fired from their jobs and don’t have other options for childcare so they need to send their kids to school majority of the time. It’s also because most people don’t get as sick as you and your family seem to from a routine cold. In my family when we have a cold, we do not feel great—we have congestion and we feel tireder than usual. But we’re not getting awful sinus infections or respiratory issues and we don’t have anyone we come into contact w who gets seriously ill and needs hospitalizations as a result of us having a cold. So I understand how you feel but know that most people both can’t afford to take off time from work every time someone in the family gets a mild illness and also most people don’t get as sick as your family unfortunately does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, we can’t afford to miss more school when the kids are simply congested.

Yes, you can and its called parenting.

+1,000,000. What they really mean is THEY “can’t” miss work. Frankly, too damn bad. Your kid, your problem.

[Anonymous]

Pre-school post pandemic kids getting small colds and other germs is actually important for their health. There was not enough exposure to germs past few years due to staying home and not being in person and limited exposure to various kids and their various germs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, we can’t afford to miss more school when the kids are simply congested.

Yes, you can and its called parenting.

In many jobs, no you can't. You will get fired. You can't stay home for every cold.

That is not the school’s problem. Don’t have kids unless you have plans for sick days and backup plans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pre-school post pandemic kids getting small colds and other germs is actually important for their health. There was not enough exposure to germs past few years due to staying home and not being in person and limited exposure to various kids and their various germs.

Yes, they are 2 years behind in building up their immune system. So sending in kids with some mild illness is doing all the children a favor in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, missing 7-10 days for a cold isn't normal. That's a personal problem of your own and the world can't function by catering to your abnormal immune system.

OP here. I get that you aren’t a nice person but try to think about what someone is going through.
I didn’t expect anything from others I wasn’t willing to give/sacrifice myself.

Just be nice.

Is this the same OP who was telling everyone "it's called parenting" "just get a nanny" "you can miss work"? Because LOLOLOL.

OP here. No that’s not me. I didn’t say ANY of that. Please stop assuming that. I identified myself with each post and I’d never say things like that - they are dismissive and insensitive. I certainly don’t agree with those comments and especially the way they are written.
There are many people on here who have said really mean things. I don’t appreciate it either. Missing work is tough- I acknowledged that and sympathize. It affects us if we keep kids home when sick and when we get sick ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep my kids home for fever, vomiting, unexplained rash, diarrhea, Covid, Strep, and flu. I am not keeping my kid home for congestion or a runny nose.

If your family gets sick for 7-10 days and misses
work due to a cold or if your whole family ends up on meds for a routine illness, perhaps you should talk to your Dr. about your immune system. That’s not normal.

+1 what is the school/daycare's policy? We follow that.

[Anonymous]

If this bothers you, send to a stricter daycare/preschool. The one we had our infant in sent home for persistent runny nose. Once she was three we moved her to a preschool with a more permissive policy (no fever, covid, pink eye, vomiting, diarrhea, flu, etc.) You will pay more for a stricter daycare.