How high does their temperature have to be before you keep them off school?

[neolara]

My dd has not been well. Started with a rash, followed by three days of throwing up accompanied by a slight temperature. She last threw up on Monday but her temperature now is hovering between 99.4 and 100. She's pretty perky at the moment, but I've kept her off school today. Am now wondering if I should have sent her in. What do you do?

[purepurple]

well, I would still keep her off

yes, she is getting better but there is a huge difference between coping with bouncing around the house and coping with a full day at school

[bellavita]

You have put what I wanted to say beautifully purepurple!

[DumbledoresGirl]

Anything over 99 (38 in centigrade) is still a fever imo. 99.4 - 100 - well, if she were mine, she would be in bed or confined to the sofa.

[SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore]

Over 39.5 for dd1, but she has temperatures that often if I kept her off school anytime it was over 38 she would never be there.

[seeker]

I don't think it's the temperature that's important, it's how they feel. You can be not very ill at all with a raised temperature, and feeling really grotty without one.

Join my campaign to ban thermometers in the hands of parents whose children don't have a specific health problem that makes them necessary. (notice my clever let out clause to save me from legal action/a bashing from other mumsnetters!)

[cory]

What seeker said; also, as different people have different natural body temperatures, what constitutes a raised temperature is going to differ. Dd has a naturally low body temperature; she is going to be feeling ill when her temperature goes over 37.5 and anything over 39 she is likely to start seeing things.

[Niecie]

Mine start to feel obviously unwell above 37.8 (they start to wilt and go quiet) but I think a fever is offically any temp over 38c.

She may be pretty perky but being at home with you is different from being at school all day. If she has a temp of 38+ she probably won't have the stamina to get through the day.

I think you are probably right to keep her off today.

[Niecie]

Actually more than temp, if it is borderline high, I look at whether my two are eating. If they are off their food they aren't well and they stay home.

[seeker]

Sometimes I feel sorry for my children!

[Niecie]

I'm sure your children are fine Seeker. You know them and how they react when ill.

I know it takes a lot for my children to be off their food and if they are slightly hot too then they are usually ill and need to rest.

[seeker]

I don't really feel sorry for my children! But I do think that what other people class as illness and means the child needs a day off school to rest, I class as feeling a bit off colour and means the child needs to be kept cheerful and busy and encouraged to get on with it!

But I am very old and was brought up by very old parents, so my attitudes often turn out to be a bit old fashioned!

[cory]

I tried your attitude for years, Seeker, and did a fair bit of damage to my dd, because I was so convinced that having the right brisk unsympathetic attitude would win any battles. Have now had to recognise that children are different and an approach that works with most children can damage another child's health. But I still feel very torn and guilty when other people are visibly brisker than me- even though I know that it was partly this competitive attitude of mine that confined dd to a wheelchair for the best part of last year and drove her attendance record down to under 65%; I pushed her until she collapsed

I am sure your children are fine though; you know them and know what's best for them. It's just taken me a long time to learn what's best for mine.

[seeker]

cory - I have ready your posts about your dd before with huge sympathy. However, I do think you are the exception that 'proves' the rule, if you see what I mean. For every one like your dd who actually turned out to be properly ill, there are hundreds who don't learn the important lesson that we don't always feel 100% and most of the time the best thing to do is to carry on and not let a minor ailment stop us doing things we want/need to do.

Sorry - hobby horse of mine. As you can tell!

[Niecie]

I'm not saying that mine don't go to school if they have a sniffle or a cough, I am saying that I know the signs which tell me they are properly ill. If they don't eat, they are ill - it is unusual behaviour and a real indicator that something is wrong. Likewise a temperature.

I was brought up by a mother who sent me to school no matter what and there were times when being kept busy made me feel a lot worse and if you are properly ill there isn't much that would make you cheerful. It would have been nice if she could tell he difference between being ill and being off colour but the blanket 'you'll be fine, go to school' was not something I would want to do to my children. Being made to get on with it if you are ill will usually prolongs the illness. Better to recognise the signs and cut the DC some slack for a day than make them carry on and have them ill for a week.

[Elibean]

I'm with Neicie on this one

Its a fine line, and I'm all for teaching kids its ok to get on and do stuff when not 100%, but am also all for teaching kids how to notice they are not ok and take care of themselves, kindly.

My friends kids have a base line of 37.5, feel fine with temps, etc and mine have a base line of 36.5 and feel miserable if it hits 37.5. Me, too, for that matter. It does depend, and I'd take temps/eating/sleeping/mood/colour into consideration....oh, and also how infectious or not he/she might be (doesn't sound like your dd will be, very, OP, but ykwim).

[Elibean]

ps seeker, I am sure I'm older than you

[cory]

Agree with Elibean and Neicie. It's about knowing your own children.

I used to hate being made a fuss of so much that I would deliberately keep out of my Mum's way so she wouldn't notice I was ill.

My Mum knew that, just as she knew that my elder brother was likely to exaggerate any symptom and try to milk them for what they were worth. So she treated us accordingly. The thermometre came in handy in both cases: to show my db that he was making a fuss about nothing, and to show me that nothing escaped her eagle eye. I don't suppose she ever needed it to make her mind up

[brimfull]

I would keep mine off if their temp was approaching 38c.

[jabberwocky]

Our schools have a requirement that children have to be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school. Kind of takes the guesswork out at least.

[Elibean]

Thats good, Jabber, much clearer - though 24 hrs is a long time with kids, at times!

[seeker]

jabberwocky - no good for me - I don't own a thermometer!

[cory]

fever-free for 24 hours sounds a long time, jabberwocky. I'd understand it if it was vomiting, but surely lots of children can have a temperature in the evening and be absolutely fine the next day

[clumsymum]

Seeker, I'm with you. We have a thermometer somewhere in the house, but I couldn't just lay my hands on it, I have nooooo idea when I last took ds's temp.

If he's not eating, and not jabbering drivel at me, he's ill and stays at home.

Otherwise, he's fine.

That said, he was sick in the night, so is currently at home, altho' was dancing insanely to the radio 1/2 an hour ago.

[bubblagirl]

if the temp is random i send if ds is ok if its following illness or start of illness obvious signs of illness i keep off as not fair on child but could also be harboring something that can be passed onto another child

but if ds seems ok i send him to pre school but as its following sickness and rash i would keep off as its bodies way of recovering from illness