Should there be a strict policy, “Don’t bring your child to school if you KNOW they are sick, not SUSPECT they are sick?” I say “KNOW” because I think as parents we know when our children are sick. Sometimes, we will say “SUSPECT” just so it gives us that inch of leeway, making it okay for us to take our child to school.
We live in a real world where we have to work, have things to do, and sometimes want to keep are sanity to a certain degree. I understand all of the above. However, the matter of fact is that when one sick child comes to school, eventually whatever that child has, trickles to other children in the school. I like to think that my child has a strong immune system ready to go to battle when those little suckers (viruses) try to impede war on her body. However, after repeated contact with viruses, bacterial whatevers, she too starts to get weaker as her soldiers start to get overworked.
When my daughter catches something, which is pretty rare, I don’t take her to school for a week, sometimes two weeks. Her preschool has a policy where a child cannot return to school until they are clear of a fever for at least 24 hours. I highly doubt that this is strictly enforced because sometimes children look fine and there is no true way for the school to know unless there are clear signs or symptoms. There have been times when the teacher will say something like, “a lot of kids are out because they are sick.” When I hear something like that, I get a little paranoid and I have my daughter stay at home for a couple days.
Unfortunately, when my daughter catches something, eventually it will spread to every member in the family. It’s not fun when you have a house full of sick people. I’m usually the last person to catch it and by the time it reaches me, I am completely exhausted from taking care of everyone else. Plus, since I am nursing the little one, I don’t get any rest.
Anyways, I bring this up because I am currently sick. Want to guess how I got it? My daughter. And do you want to guess where she got it? School. So my point is, keep your sick kids at home. I know sometimes you don’t have a choice but when your child passes on a virus or whatever, it eventually affects the entire livelihood of many families. Right now, I am not happy, and that’s a very nice way of saying how I really feel. I am still fully functioning and can do everything, but my coughs are not pleasant, and my voice sounds like I’ve been smoking for about 300 years (I’m not trying to be funny), very deep and rough. So when you see that your child is not feeling good, keep them home, and you will be doing a good service to your child and all the children and their families at school.
