HOPE E. TREMBLAY
Keep your kids home.
I’m hearing this a lot lately in reference to sending sick kids to school. And I’m generally in agreement, especially after hearing the news of a Holyoke charter school closing its doors last week to disinfect the building. Yuck.
No one wants their child exposed to your kids’ germs in the enclosed close quarters of a classroom. Sneezing, coughing, touching things — all those fun ways germs are spread among children just by being in close proximity to one another. Then, of course depending on your child’s grade, they change classrooms throughout the day, eat in the cafeteria and use the bathroom. They touch books and door handles and handrails, oh my! Schools are a breeding ground for cold and flu and other virus germs.
So yes, keep your kids home when they are sick.
As the wife of a teacher, I especially encourage this because inevitably, children’s germs spread to teachers, who bring the germs home to their families. Call me selfish, but I get double exposure between my husband and children and I don’t have time for more germs in my life.
Unfortunately, though, a keeping “sick-ish” child home can be a difficult situation for many families. In my experience as a parent – and having worked in a school – I know there are some parents who may send a sick child to school because they need “a babysitter.” But for others, missing work is just not an option and I can see why they may send their child to school with a cough. After all, just about everyone has a cough this time of year. But anything more than a cough and stuffy nose warrants a day of rest.
When my children complain that they “don’t feel good” and don’t have any accompanying symptoms, I send them to school and encourage them to get through at least their first class and visit the nurse if needed and she will evaluate the situation and call me.
Schools usually send home a note or flyer from the nurse with guidelines on when to keep a child home. Vomiting and fever top the list, of course. But the flu situation right now is crazy and erring on the side of caution is much appreciated by everyone.
I am lucky that I have a job where working from home when I’m not feeling great or I have a sick child is an option most days. But not everyone is so lucky. The bigger problem is penalizing sick employees, or employees with a sick family member, who stay home. Of course there are people who will abuse a lenient sick policy, but in my observation, those folks are few and far between and it’s the old “one bad apple” cliché that keeps many employers from allowing workers to stay home with a sick child or keep their own germs home before spreading throughout a workplace. Or a school.
Until policies change, germs will continue to spread. But I urge anyone who CAN keep their coughing, sneezing, feverish, tummy-ache-ridden children at home to please do so!
What do you think about sending sick kids to school or going to work under the weather? Send me a note to [email protected].
