Why can't a school trust my kid to take meds on her own during the day?

[Anonymous]

Does she not carry them anyway? Aleve is OTC, I wouldn't balk at her carrying them and taking them when she needs to.

[Anonymous]

I would not worry about being suspended. Stupid rules are for stupid people.

[Anonymous]

How would you ever get caught?? This is ridiculous. Take two pills at lunch and don't draw attention to yourself. Is it that hard??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This is not a hardship, for an elementary student (as I work with) or for a high school student. Go to the clinic, take your Aleve, move on.

There are lots of good reasons for this rule and the hardship it poses to the student is minimal.

I'm not a high school student, so I don't know how much of a hardship it would be -- but it seems like it would be an inconvenience at least.

If I feel a cramp beginning to start the best time for me to take ibuprofen (my medication of choise) is immediately... not in 45 minutes, or at the end of 4th mod when I have lunch... and if I only have a short amount of time for lunch (including time to buy it, etc.) it would be so much quicker just to take 2 pills immediately (with my water bottle, water fountain, etc) rather than walk all the way to the other side of school and wait at the nurses office while she deals with the 12 other students in line. Or worse, have to ask around at the front office, "Have you seen the clinic aid? I need my meds...."

For medication that a one time occurrence, or just for this week, it's one thing to have to go through all that. But for something you take routinely, what a pain. Especially if you didn't know when you left home that you were going to need it.

Thanks to whomever posted the link to the article about the student who got suspended for having a bottle of antibiotics in her locker. If I had a teenagein HS right now who wanted access to medication for occasional cramps I'd say this:

1) Keep a bottle with the school nurse, along with her doctor's note for "as needed" access. That covers you for emergencies.

2) Do NOT keep a bottle in your locker or bring a bottle in your purse.

3) If you know you will need it that day, take it before you leave home in the AM, and take just two and hide them in your purse. Don't tell your friends you have them, and take them in a place where no one can observe you. What no one sees, no one will be able to report, and the school will not be required to take action.

Yes, this is "sneaking" but it isn't in any way immoral. The rule that you cannot have OTC drugs in school is a stupid rule. It exists to protect the school, not to protect your high school aged child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How would you ever get caught?? This is ridiculous. Take two pills at lunch and don't draw attention to yourself. Is it that hard??

If someone sees you taking the pills at lunch and wants to report you, you would be suspended.

[Anonymous]

This has always been true, but why would you tell the school. Keep the pills in your bag (maybe just a few in a ziploc so they aren't noisy) and palm them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's dumb but as a PP said, it's CYA for the school.

OP, you can be outraged (and I agree with you) but however much you want to buck this policy, be aware that .if your child is reported by other kids as being seen with any kind of pills, she could end up suspended, at least if you're in FCPS. The fact the pills are OTC may not matter one bit. She could lose classroom time that as a senior she really needs. See this:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-discipline-under-scrutiny-after-teens-suspension-for-medication/2011/03/08/ABZBiZQ_story.html

That article is really scary, but it refers to events in 2011. Has anything changed in Fairfax County schools since then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's probably a legal liability issue ...

Obviously X 100!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a CYA- the one time another kid shares meds (even OTC's) with another kid that has an allergy, has a bad adverse event, etc. you'll be the first to want to sue the school system.

If my 10th grader has a bad headache and asks a friend during lunch for some Tylenol and takes it, and then has a bad reaction to the Tylenol, why would I sue the school district?

Has that even happened anywhere?

[Anonymous]

As said before, if OP wants her daughter to chance it. Go for it. I wouldn't allow my child to do it. There is a good reason for the rules. Yes, it is inconvenient, but there is a reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she exercise? is she overweight? These are key in terms of reducing monthly pain. Much more important than taking drugs.

No, no they're not. These things are not connected at all.

[Anonymous]

This is obviously a legal liability issue. You can trust your kid to take Aleve but the school doesn't know if it's Aleve or Adderall or something else, and doesn't know if your kid is sharing the pills with classmates, and doesn't know whether every kid deserves that same trust. It's annoying when rules are written for a few bad actors but I can definitely see why this rule would make sense - it's just an effort to keep kids safe. Can you not imagine a situation in which a kid might get some kind of dangerous pill from a classmate who told her it was just generic Aleve or whatever?

There are a million good suggestions on this thread for how to handle this but also, life is not always about what is most convenient for your kid all the time. Sometimes you do things a certain way for the good of the group. Not a bad lesson for her (and you) to internalize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmmm...I think if my kid were suspended for taking an OTC medication necessary to treat menstrual cramps, that would give them kind of a great college essay about any of the following topics:
1) the need for mitigating circumstances to be taken into account when determining punishment;
2) the problems of rigid adherence bureaucracy in large systems; or
3) how much the patriarchy sucks, when a problem that is universal to basically 50% of the population is criminalized.

Okay so you think if a kid needs to bring OTC medication to school just for menstrual cramps that is okay, but if it's for a headache, or pain related to a sports injury or allergies or whatever they should have to go to the nurse's office? So there should be an exception just for women? Otherwise, clearly this rule applies to everyone. And how would the school know a kid taking a pill is taking something OTC and not prescription? And even if it's prescription, where do you draw the line? Prescription antibiotics okay but prescription ADHD medication or painkillers not okay? This is nuts. It makes perfect sense that the school draw a reasonable bright line rule. If your kid is smart and discrete, no one is going to interfere with someone popping Aleve for cramps. But also, you know, following rules is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it's about setting an example of respect and thoughtfulness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a CYA- the one time another kid shares meds (even OTC's) with another kid that has an allergy, has a bad adverse event, etc. you'll be the first to want to sue the school system.

If my 10th grader has a bad headache and asks a friend during lunch for some Tylenol and takes it, and then has a bad reaction to the Tylenol, why would I sue the school district?

Has that even happened anywhere?

You might not but I am sure there are people out there who would and who have. And what if someone gives your kid something that looks like Tylenol but isn't. Would you freak out then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is not a hardship, for an elementary student (as I work with) or for a high school student. Go to the clinic, take your Aleve, move on.

There are lots of good reasons for this rule and the hardship it poses to the student is minimal.

I'm not a high school student, so I don't know how much of a hardship it would be -- but it seems like it would be an inconvenience at least.

If I feel a cramp beginning to start the best time for me to take ibuprofen (my medication of choise) is immediately... not in 45 minutes, or at the end of 4th mod when I have lunch... and if I only have a short amount of time for lunch (including time to buy it, etc.) it would be so much quicker just to take 2 pills immediately (with my water bottle, water fountain, etc) rather than walk all the way to the other side of school and wait at the nurses office while she deals with the 12 other students in line. Or worse, have to ask around at the front office, "Have you seen the clinic aid? I need my meds...."

For medication that a one time occurrence, or just for this week, it's one thing to have to go through all that. But for something you take routinely, what a pain. Especially if you didn't know when you left home that you were going to need it.

Thanks to whomever posted the link to the article about the student who got suspended for having a bottle of antibiotics in her locker. If I had a teenagein HS right now who wanted access to medication for occasional cramps I'd say this:

1) Keep a bottle with the school nurse, along with her doctor's note for "as needed" access. That covers you for emergencies.

2) Do NOT keep a bottle in your locker or bring a bottle in your purse.

3) If you know you will need it that day, take it before you leave home in the AM, and take just two and hide them in your purse. Don't tell your friends you have them, and take them in a place where no one can observe you. What no one sees, no one will be able to report, and the school will not be required to take action.

Yes, this is "sneaking" but it isn't in any way immoral. The rule that you cannot have OTC drugs in school is a stupid rule. It exists to protect the school, not to protect your high school aged child.

I mean, even in adult life there are a million reasons why you can't do something the exact second you want to. A cramp comes up in the middle of an important meeting or presentation, do you leave to take Advil? Maybe there is some value in teaching our kids to a) be patient or b) plan ahead. If it's an emergency, I am sure a teacher would excuse a student to get medication. But if the onset of cramps is causing emergency pain monthly, might be time to see a doctor about why and address the larger problem because that is not normal.