I am a real germaphobe ( lysol door knobs, etc), but even I send dcs to school with runny noses. Fever, heavy cough - no. You can't keep a kid home for ten days because his nose is running!

I can tell my child until I'm blue in the face to follow proper hygiene-doesn't mean she will actually do it out of my care.

Just pointing out that parents might be telling their kids these rules and they just aren't following.

Way to accept responsibility! If they're not following them, maybe you're not teaching them well.

For a bad cold with a miserable kid, we stay home. For minor runny nose, cough, etc., business as usual.

She must also haveno other children. If kid A has a small cold, she doesn't take kid B to the bus stop? To activities?

Notice she says she has stayed home a week when reall ill. The question is if she or her kid had some sniffles and a runny nose that lasted a week how long would she stay indoors or outdoors where no one else is?

And for a cold, what kind of a doctor's note are you getting? I'm guessing she has one very young kid but in 4 years she will get what we are all saying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Minor communicable diseases are a fact of life. Kids are better off learning resilience, proper handwashing/not touching face hygiene, working when they're not feeling great, etc. than disrupting their (and our) routines to whine around the house. If you keep your kid home with no fever and they are well enough to eat and play at a near-normal level, they should be at school.

You just don't to be bothered with having to take care of a sick whiny child at home so you send him to school. So really, it's all about YOU. Because it's inconvenient for you. Selfish.

I secretly love it if my kid has to stay home because she's sick. I get a day with her to dote on her and have a day off, cuddling and coddling her. She still goes to school if she has a cold. Thankfully she's not a sickly kid and this doesn't happen often at all.

So if your kid has a cold, do you barricade yourself in the house too? Because you've been exposed, you can infect anyone you come into contact with. So you stay home for the 5 or so days, right?

Absolutely we stay home. If I get sick, then I stay home till I feel better. If we are all sick, we all stay home. If my kid is sick, he stays home. If I am really sick or my husband, we will stay with each other and care for the other one. I get so tired of people being inconsiderate and going out when they know they are sick/contagious. I have stayed home up to a week being really sick. My husband gets the kids to/from school or my mom will step in. Not a big deal. We order grocery delivery if necessary or a neighbor/family drop off food.

Luckily our school sends kids home at the first sign of illness.

For a mild cold, no fever? No major runny nose or cough?

Wow - and I thought I was a germaphobe! I get pissed when people do knowingly send their kids to school with a fever. Or worse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We follow the school recommendations. They don't expect kids with garden variety colds to stay home. I am a stickler about waiting 24 hours to be fever-free, and if my kid feels ill or has so much nasal output that he is constantly snuffling, sneezing and wiping his nose then he will stay home. But regular runny nose/ congestion means he goes to school.

+1.

+2

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So if your kid has a cold, do you barricade yourself in the house too? Because you've been exposed, you can infect anyone you come into contact with. So you stay home for the 5 or so days, right?

Yes, actually we do stay at home or go outdoors where there are no kids around. Imagine that. Because we don't want to infect others.

PP, do you work, are independently wealthy, or do you benefit from a spouse working the long hours for the house? If I were a SAH mom, I would, too, cherish a few days here and there with my not-quite-sick kid. As it is, my employer does not have a benefit package with a bottomless supply of sick days. 3 weeks a year is average for the private sector corporate job. Days off are hard to come by -- and days "worked from home" are quite unfair to both child and employer -- many times. Especially with a just shy of sick child, who is full of energy.

The school rules exist and need to be followed. That means *you* don;t get to tell another parent when to keep their child home. You don't get to call anyone lazy because they cannot let their employer hang at the first sign of snowflake sniffle. It seems to me the reason this seems to get you all in tangles is that you would prefer the entire world to not dare breathe a microbe in the direction of your own little one, for fear that she may have to stay home and interfere with your own gym and lunch routine.

I have a career to mind, and I have a child to educate. I'm well within the school rules when I send my child to school. And you're out of line to complain.

People are seriously advocating keeping your kid at home when they have a cold? Most little kids I know have chronic runny noses all winter long. If they don't get sick that often, then they are probably only children with SAH moms, because daycare, preschool, elementary school, ballet class, having older siblings, visiting your cousins, whatever, get a bunch of little kids together and they get sick.

If the average child gets six colds a year, and it takes two weeks for a cold to run its course, and most colds happen during the school year (because summer isn't really prime cold season), then your kid would literally miss 12 weeks of school. That's three months, or a third of the school year. You can't be serious.

My niece has autoimmune issues, and because of this my SIL is seriously considering homeschooling. Because unlike you nut bags, she realizes it is unreasonable to expect an elementary school to be a sterile place where no one will ever have a cold.

To all you loopy "don't go to school if you have a cold" people: please do the rest of us a favor the next time YOU have a cold...don't fill up the car with gas, go grocery shopping PLEASE don't touch the cart with your possible germs!, don't take your healthy child to soccer practice, etc. etc. please do not leave the house for the duration.

Colds: a week to come, a week to stay, a week to go away..

Also, this will surprise you...germs are actually good for you. They teach your body to fight invaders and get stronger so when the big attack comes around you are hopefully a bit more prepared.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Minor communicable diseases are a fact of life. Kids are better off learning resilience, proper handwashing/not touching face hygiene, working when they're not feeling great, etc. than disrupting their (and our) routines to whine around the house. If you keep your kid home with no fever and they are well enough to eat and play at a near-normal level, they should be at school.

You just don't to be bothered with having to take care of a sick whiny child at home so you send him to school. So really, it's all about YOU. Because it's inconvenient for you. Selfish.

I secretly love it if my kid has to stay home because she's sick. I get a day with her to dote on her and have a day off, cuddling and coddling her. She still goes to school if she has a cold. Thankfully she's not a sickly kid and this doesn't happen often at all.

So if your kid has a cold, do you barricade yourself in the house too? Because you've been exposed, you can infect anyone you come into contact with. So you stay home for the 5 or so days, right?

Absolutely we stay home. If I get sick, then I stay home till I feel better. If we are all sick, we all stay home. If my kid is sick, he stays home. If I am really sick or my husband, we will stay with each other and care for the other one. I get so tired of people being inconsiderate and going out when they know they are sick/contagious. I have stayed home up to a week being really sick. My husband gets the kids to/from school or my mom will step in. Not a big deal. We order grocery delivery if necessary or a neighbor/family drop off food.

Luckily our school sends kids home at the first sign of illness.

Anonymous wrote:
How do you handle your kids' chronic truancy? This does not in fact make you parent of the year, just in case you're wondering.

I don't have truancy issues. My child has only had maybe 2 colds this year so far. And you know you can get a doctor's note.

I can tell my child until I'm blue in the face to follow proper hygiene-doesn't mean she will actually do it out of my care.

Just pointing out that parents might be telling their kids these rules and they just aren't following.

If my kid is truly grouchy and suffering, she stays home. And definitely for a fever. But just your everyday cough and sniffle? Nope. She has mild allergies, so it happens somewhat frequently.

One of mine has a cold off and on all winter, no way can we justify staying home for something like that. They go to school unless they're too sick to function properly or they've been diagnosed with something contagious and the dr says to keep them home for a certain length of time. The school only allows a limited number of days off, so we have to be responsible with using them.

I fully expect that students will come to school with colds. As others have said, you can't keep kids home for weeks over a cold.

But please, parents: teach your students some good hygiene, such as using tissues, and not their hands, to wipe noses. Teach them not to sniff up loudly, but to blow their noses instead. Teach them to sneeze into their elbow crook, not all over the student in front of them. Please tell them that it is not appropriate to lift the necks of their own shirts up over their mouths and sneeze into them (Yes! Many kids actually do this!) Also, teach them to excuse themselves after a very wet sneeze and wash their hands.

This will help keep everyone in the classroom healthier.

Thank you,
an appreciative MS teacher

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So if your kid has a cold, do you barricade yourself in the house too? Because you've been exposed, you can infect anyone you come into contact with. So you stay home for the 5 or so days, right?

Yes, actually we do stay at home or go outdoors where there are no kids around. Imagine that. Because we don't want to infect others.

How do you handle your kids' chronic truancy? This does not in fact make you parent of the year, just in case you're wondering.