What is the social etiquette now if a child has a bad cold and is coming in to your house?

[Ruiggl]

Can I ask their parent if they have tested with lateral flow? I know it is not classic covid symptoms but if it was my child I would test for those symptoms. I don’t want to sound rude though but Don’t really want them in my house just now without a test, but dont want to offend. My child has had covid already so I am not too concerned with him catching it, but I havent had it and been a while now since my vaccine.

I don’t want someone with a cold in my house. Covid is nothing to do with it. Why is an ill child coming round?

It’s perfectly okay to say you don’t want to catch anything so no ill people over.

Do you want a bad cold even if it isn't Covid. They don't seem to be bothered about offending you, or making you unwell, so I wouldn't worry about offending them.

I'd be inclined to say something like "I think you'd be better off staying at home with that cold so you can get over it and won't risk passing it to us."

Covid and a cold have very similar symptoms.

Just say no. Who wants a cold? It wipes out a week of your life, or more. Here we are in nearly December and I've still not shaken the cough from that vile cold everyone seemed to have, and I caught it in September.

Thanks. I thought I would get more replies saying I need to just get on with it !

I just say “let’s wait till your better” and don’t have them. It’s rude to spread colds around.

They should not be entering your house with a bad cold. It doesn’t matter if they have taken a test or not.

No one with a bad cold is coming to my house. A child with a ‘bad cold’ came to a playgroup I’m in and my 11mo ended up with flu. No thanks

No they are not coming into the house. Is it tomorrow? Then the cold could be even worse by then.
Then you catch the ‘cold’ and have to be tested. You might need time off work.

Absolutely 100% no way.

No way someone with a cold is coming to my house. Don't worry about offending anyone, they aren't worried about infecting you it would seem.

Even pre-covid it would have been pretty unreasonable to take a child with a heavy cold into someone's home, I wouldn't ask for a LFT, I'd just ask them to postpone their visit!

Someone with a cold wouldn't come in my house. If I catch a cold I have to be off work.

Thanks, pretty unanimous. I will ask to rearrange

@Constance1

Even pre-covid it would have been pretty unreasonable to take a child with a heavy cold into someone's home, I wouldn't ask for a LFT, I'd just ask them to postpone their visit!

Yes this. A couple of times I've caught colds off people and been much more poorly than them and needed time off work. Guests aren't welcome here with any kind of lurgy just as I wouldn't go to theirs either.

@Ruiggl

Can I ask their parent if they have tested with lateral flow? I know it is not classic covid symptoms but if it was my child I would test for those symptoms. I don’t want to sound rude though but Don’t really want them in my house just now without a test, but dont want to offend. My child has had covid already so I am not too concerned with him catching it, but I havent had it and been a while now since my vaccine.

They wouldn't be coming into my home with a cold. I would just say 'sorry to hear you're not feeling great, nothing worse than trying to socialise when you're feeling rubbish, take it easy m, look after yourself and I'll see you when you're back to normal'

Nothing to do with Covid, who goes to someone’s house with a bad cold, child or not? I wouldn’t have expected that pre-Covid, it’s just rude all around if it’s a bad cold.

DS2 and I have been dosed for nearly a fortnight. There's been a few PCR tests, lfts for me every few days, I'm attending meetings via zoom and avoiding people. There's no way I'd send my child to your house with a bad cold. "Let's wait till your feeling better" is a perfectly appropriate thing to say

Good plan. They’d be awful people to get offended by you declining their germs.

One of my hopes post Covid is people stop thinking it’s okay to share stuff around out of bravado, martyrdom or selfishness.

Who’s got time to be sick? Do what you can to avoid it.

They mix in school with colds?

@amicissimma

Do you want a bad cold even if it isn't Covid. They don't seem to be bothered about offending you, or making you unwell, so I wouldn't worry about offending them.

I'd be inclined to say something like "I think you'd be better off staying at home with that cold so you can get over it and won't risk passing it to us."

This. With bells 🔔 on

Marmite, they mix in schools with a rich and ripe mix of germs, viruses, fungi and parasites. That's why teachers are perpetually catching things, even though they have huge volumes of air and open windows!

That's no reason to enrich your much smaller existing air soup with a known heavy cold, though. Why would you if it's not your child?

I as a child with a cough and cold in my house and I've had the same for five days and can't shift it. I did parents to pick up but they didn't see my message. Huge no from me. Mild for a 5 yr old, totally debilitating for 50 ish me.

Uninvite them, unless you don’t mind catching covid. Covid variant symptoms are indistinguishable from cold symptoms. Just text. “Hey sorry to hear X has a cold, sounds like we’d better reschedule for when everyone’s well. Hope you’re all better soon xx”