My daughter had a holiday party at school before Christmas break and I couldn’t believe what I saw in her classroom. Sick kids. Several of them. Coughing, red-faced, snotty nosed 5 and 6 year olds. I was beside myself. Why had these kids parents sent their kids to school sick. One girl was coughing so much she had to go to the nurse while I was there and several more kids had garbage cans right next to them to throw their snotty tissues in because they were blowing their noses so much. My daughter had just gotten over a cold and I kept her home for 3 out of 5 days the week prior because I (a) wanted her to recover and (b) didn’t want her to get anyone else sick. Why don’t all parents have the same consideration? I guess there can be extenuating circumstances such as not having anyone to care for the child while the parent is at work but still, kids need to stay healthy and not pass these nasty bugs/viruses around so please keep your child home if they are not feeling well.
I understand that when a child is sick, it is sometimes tempting to send them to school anyway. With many parents working either outside the home or from home, household chores and other tasks are often accomplished while children are at school. There are times, however, that a child is considered too sick to attend school, I believe. There are a number of reasons, both for the child and the other students, why a sick child should stay home.
Here are four reasons why a child not feeling well should stay home from school:
- Cough – Excessive coughing would not necessarily include the symptoms caused by asthma. Although asthma with excessive symptoms should be checked by a doctor.
- Fever – A child with low grade fever should be kept home from school as well. Fevers are transmittable whether they are low or high.
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
A few more things to consider before sending a sick child to school:
The child may be contagious.
By sending a child to school if he or she has a cough, fever, or has had diarrhea or has vomited in the last 24 hours, the risk of other children catching the same illness whether it’s a cold, flu, or other illness, is substantially higher than keeping the child home.
If a child is at school and maintaining a regular schedule of activities, his/her body is not getting the extra rest required to heal. When a person, especially a younger elementary age child, does not feel well, they often times want to spend extra time cuddling with their parent. It is important that parents spend extra time with our kids when they are feeling under the weather.
