Why can nobody adhere to the 48hr sick bug rule?!

[Toughtips]

I understand people have jobs to go to but why bring your poor child back into school when he was only sick and sent home yesterday? Just seen one who got sent home back doing his school nativity looking pasty as anything. Someone commented underneath the photo "is he better now" to the reply of yeah he really wanted to go in. AIBU to be annoyed that school allow this?

[gingerh4ir]

infection control is a collective responsibility that has collective benefits

really? for me, my individual responsibility to keep my job and thus to keep the roof over my DCs' head tops that!

[PurplePillowCase]

Infection control is a collective responsibility that has collective benefits.

then that needs to be supported with employment rights & support.

[BabyOrSanta]

But is SwimmingMum just part of this culture? That you just have to get on with it as the child wasn't on death's door and sickness is just weakness that you must overcome and not stop your normal life?

(FWIW, I don't agree they should have gone but this culture seems entrenched - my mother wouldn't go to the GP about an ear infection until months later and has now had several courses of anti biotics. I've also been there when colleagues and my boss were running to the toilet to throw up then coming back to their desks and working... it's just so ingrained)

[halcyondays]

It's not just parents who are worried about missing work that do it. A friend of mine managed to persuade another mum not to bring kids who'd just had a bug to parent and toddler group, as it could be dangerous for babies and pregnant women especially. but she was still planning to take them swimming or to the library instead. some people are just selfish.

[Saladd0dger]

My sons School say 24hrs for a bug. It’s the only place I know that says 24 and not 48 which is silly. We have a 48 hour rule at work, my employer is totally fine about time off for these sick bugs. I feel very sorry for poorly children sent to School with these bugs they must feel rotten, I could barely move

[VioletDaze]

I think the people who should get bitched at in this circumstance are the employers who will discipline staff who take time off for sick children and schools with their stupid threatening low attendance letters.

That's what is driving this culture.

[LaurieMarlow]

It's turned into "every man for himself" because of policies in the workplace and attendance targets in schools and general society equating sickness with "pulling a sicky" and laziness.
It would be lovely to think that people would and could put those with compromised immune systems before themselves but it's just not possible in this day and age - it's turned into everyone having to put themselves and their families first, with no choice to do anything else

Absolutely this. It's far from ideal, but it's how it is. No one's going to pay your mortgage/rent for you if you lose your job.

[BabyOrSanta]

It would be good if we could have a general attitude reset as a society.

• everyone would only stay off if they were genuinely ill
• if you're ill, you stay off
• illness wasn't a sign of weakness either at school or in the workplace
• everyone would abide by the 48 hour rule

But, unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.
It's turned into "every man for himself" because of policies in the workplace and attendance targets in schools and general society equating sickness with "pulling a sicky" and laziness.
It would be lovely to think that people would and could put those with compromised immune systems before themselves but it's just not possible in this day and age - it's turned into everyone having to put themselves and their families first, with no choice to do anything else

[feral]

D&V arrived for me on Saturday morning. DH, who is an emetophobe immediately quarantined me and I've only been allowed to use the same loo, use the same towel etc or touch anyone since this morning at 48hr clear.

Every time he does this and every time he and DS don't come down with it.

Of course if he gets it first... 😩

And he got a bit carried away when DS was sick 2 weeks ago- when he'd coughed himself sick and it wasn't a bug.

I hate this time of year though, D&V is inevitable

[Bobbinsandthread]

I know who sent her puking child in for a week. She was sick every day/night.
She could have easily be off work or it was a non working day - she just didn't want a sick child at home.
She is very prone to being sick (she will overeat and be sick for instance) but honestly she looked terrible as well.
I willed that child to puke in school (didn't sadly).

Following week lots of with sickness bug and her comment was 'they'd better not pass it on to me'
People are selfish twats.

I do encourage DD to go to school - I often give her the option with a bad cold etc and she always says no. If she was sick though she would be off 100%

I work in a secondary and they follow a 24 hour rule as they do spread it around less than primary. However the teachers are suffering with a sickness bug this year and dragging themselves in too early - prob better if they followed 48 hour rule.

[TammySwansonTwo]

Absolutely adults should follow it too. You have no idea what health issues your colleagues, their families and - in the case of teachers - pupils in the school and their families may have.

Maybe I'm overly sensitive to this because so many kids with the same condition as my son end up in hospital with simple colds and stomach bugs, and their parents lose weeks of work to this a year (that's if they're able to hold down a job in the first place).

The reason there's so much sickness absense is because people don't stay at home when they're contagious. Employers and schools have a false economy when it comes to this problem. Schools should be encouraging sick teachers and pupils to stay at home for 48 hours to prevent other teachers and pupils then being off sick.

[IvorBiggun]

I haven’t missed the point LaurieMarlow I just disagree.

Infection control is a collective responsibility that has collective benefits. That’s my point. Following the guidelines has an over all positive impact. That’s my point.

Desperate people do desperate things isn’t news to anyone, least of all me. That’s why I’ve not tried to make a point about that.

[Thirdshepherdfromtheleft]

Interesting question then do and should adults also abide by the 48 hour rule? I've just had it, last sick on mon 9pm. Back in work tomorrow. I'm a teacher. Logically it seems I should take the extra day but I'd be lounging at home feeling fine so I'm not going to do that and let my colleagues cover my work am I?

[Jumpingshipquick]

There's no way I would keep my kid off for 2 extra days if they were better, unless it was pretty likely is was norovirus. It's pretty hard to tell why a kid has been sick etc and even harder to know how long they are infectious for- most of those d and v viruses are still infectious past 48 hours, not to mention the people who are infectious but asymptomatic. As it's so impossible, I'll go and earn my money and my kids can learn stuff at school. I'm not keeping a well child at home just in case.

[LaurieMarlow]

ivor you seem to miss the point spectacularly. When someone is imminently about to be fired, they tend to focus on their own individual situation rather than thinking about the collective. That's hardly a surprising turn of events.

[IvorBiggun]

Was she the only parent in the class with a job Coffeemachine? Unless she was, then breaching the 48 hour rule just means more parents with difficult employers have to suffer.

If people stick to the rule fewer children get ill in the first place, which means fewer opportunities for employers to get annoyed. It may also mean fewer instances of sickness which is the only thing that can help mitigate a situation like your friend’s.

I’m not unsympathetic to your friend’s situation - it sounds bloody awful - but how does spreading the bug around to more people help her? Just means more people dealing with a difficult situation and more people’s jobs at risk.

[horridhenry64]

Mirime , that's exactly my point . But apparently without a gp appointment the school won't authorise the absence and the attendance officer will have to get involved . It's really quite ridiculous.

[Coffeemachine]

pissing off one employer very briefly by honouring the 48 hour

48 hours is not briefly. I have a friend for whom this 48 hours (2 working days) We're the final nail in the coffin of her employment. some people on here really seem to have to have an easy ride if they just can stay off work without any repercussions (financially or otherwise) but with it being mumsnet, I suppose the majority of super smug posters are SAHMs who never had a line manager after having children. Go and flame me!

[IvorBiggun]

Considering your point about employers missadasmith pissing off one employer very briefly by honouring the 48 hour rule should actually help avoid more children getting the bug in the first place, which would mean fewer employers impacted too.

I appreciate that doesn’t help someone with a difficult employer or few options for sharing childcare - that’s a different and much bigger issue - but I would say that once people see some do not follow the rules it becomes a free for all that helps no-one.

[IvorBiggun]

I was referring to schools getting rid of the 48 hour rule when it is demonstrably in their interest to keep it. Ofsted measure overall attendance for the whole school.

Managers and other people are not relevant to my point in any way at all.

[missadasmith]

There was a post the other day that explained why keeping the 48 hour rule for D&V actually helps improve attendance. I’ll see if I can find it.

that may be the case but managers are not interested esp if you are a lone parent without support network who has massive pressure to make sure they do not lose their job.

I would not send an ill/vomitting child into school but I have huge pressure from work, one of my DC is severely disabled and I am more seen as a liability than an asset. I just wouldn't be able to keep them at home every time they are unwell unless I am happy to risk the roof over our head. I go to work poorly as well unless I am really really unwell as I am on SSP and wouldn't survive a week on it.

some people here are really smug about it. I'd hazard the guess that they are either not having to earn a living, having support or an understanding employer. not everybody is so lucky.

[IvorBiggun]

Found it:

Assuming a class of 30 children:

1 child off for 48 hours = 98.67% attendance for the class.

4 children off for 48 hours and 1 for 24 hours (because he came back to school early while infectious) = 94% attendance for the class.

Yanbu op.

[IvorBiggun]

There was a post the other day that explained why keeping the 48 hour rule for D&V actually helps improve attendance. I’ll see if I can find it.

Public Health England guidelines are 48 hour exclusion for D&V and are based on medical evidence. They define diarrhoea as “3 or more liquid or semi-liquid stools in a 24 hour period”.

[woofmiaowwoof]

They get sick so much - I was at dc2’s Christmas party last week and one of the kids vomited all over the floor - I feel like half the time I go in, at least 40% of the kids are snotty.

[SylviaTietjens]

My ds was sick at school twice last term. I followed procedure and kept him off for 48 hours after both times. Dh works away Monday-Friday, I started a new job in July and boss is already unhappy that I’ve taken this time off. To top it all I then got a shitty letter from the school asking me how they can support me as my child is persistently absent (5 days in one term due to being sent home twice and following procedure). If it happens again and he is otherwise fine I will take him back to school the next day. Luckily it’s a tiny school, I know the 25 kids in the infant school and none have any serious health conditions. I simply can’t afford to lose my job.