To send ds to school with a cold

[minionmadess]

Dts2 (6) has a cold and is feeling a bit under the weather. I've been medicating and checking temperature.

This morning on waking he said he felt ill, didn't eat breakfast so I said he could stay at home if he really didn't feel well enough. He insisted he wanted to go to school and said he felt better than he did on waking. I tok him to school and had a chat with CT t let her know that if she felt he was not coping to call me to collect.

I don't think children should miss school unless they are really ill say with a temperature or something contagious.

I then dropped off some things at a family members house and her dd (5) was not at school, apparently very poorly. She looked fine, running around and playing. When I said that ds had gone to school she suggested that I wasn't being fair on the other children for passing the germs around.

This got me thinking, surely if we all took time off work for a common cold the country would grind to a halt. On the other hand should I have kept him off school and keep his germs contained.

I think yabu. But will admit to being massively biased as I'm a teacher and have a child with major health problems in my family who's immune system is not great, so if she was to catch the cold as your child has it it would floor her for weeks and mean time off school for her, missing her learning, her parents missing work etc.

I suppose it depends a bit on the child, if they're able to use a hanky competently to catch their germs, wash their hands and generally control the spread of infection then it should be minor, if they're running around with snot flying everywhere sneezing all over the place and spreading their bugs to all and sundry it's a different story, but only you know which category he falls into! Either way hope he's feeling better soon

we were told in a newsletter when the kids started school:

no one is to come in within 48hours of D+V

BUT - you could keep them off with a cold or more in reception - they are usually quite ill and just want a cuddle with someone and to sleep, but KS1 you keep them off with a temperature or more ,
KS2 with a broken arm,
KS3 a broken leg,
KS4 you turn up anyway.

DSs school has given very clear guidance on this sort of thing which is if the student has vomited or if they have a temperature keep them at home, otherwise, in the case of sniffles or other general malaise, send them in and the school will make a call on whether they are poorly enough to go home. I find this rule of thumb very helpful.

It depends on how ill they are. If he wanted to go in and was just a bit coldy then definitely, I would do the same. Any temperature or sickness or even just not up to it I would keep mine at home but she is usually very keen to go so I don't worry that she's putting it on!!

Definitely a cold with cough, no temperature or sickness. He wouldn't big it up since he loves school. He asked for a pack of tissues to take with him and luckily washes his hands without prompts so no worries on that score.

I would only NOT send mine with a cold if they seemed actually ill (had a temperature, couldn't stay awake, crying all the time etc). I wouldn't make them stay at home for a runny nose or a cough, except perhaps if I'd been made aware of a specific problem with another child's immune system - it seems unfair to make them stay at home otherwise if they are feeling well and want to be at school.

If i kept my dcs off for every cough and cold they'd never be at school between November and March.Mine stay off for d&v, fever or pain.

It's impossible to keep them off for every sniffle, if you did you'd have the attendance officer at your door asking why they aren't in school.

if I had missed school for every cold i would have had 10% attendance in the winter.
Your family memeber is the reason schools get uptight about attendance.

No temperature, no sickness, no rash, no wheezing = school (unless I'm worried or feel like working from home)