About 48 hour rule?

[jenniferl1983]

DD4 was sick in bed Tuesday night. Cleaned up her and she went back to sleep. I phoned school Wednesday morning saying she was ill due to sickness. She has been completely fine since, no diarrhoea, has eaten and kept all food down etc.

Although I can't be 100 percent sure I think she was sick due to drinking some milk that had been left out overnight Monday. DP put it back in the fridge and I had given it to DD 2 hours before she was sick (I thought it was fresh). She has been sick due to dodgy milk before and when I sniffed it it smelt a bit funny.

As DD had been fine I took her to school this morning. Her teacher said she wasn't allowed in until 48 hours later. I stupidly lied and said she hadn't been sick and so she went in. Half an hour later the headteacher rang and said I had to collect her (explained about milk, no diarrhoea etc).

AIBU to think 48 hours for one bout of explainable sickness is a bit much? DD has already missed about 7 days already due to coughs and colds so didn't want her to miss anymore. I know I was BU to lie to the teacher (am dreading drop off tomorrow!) but surely 34 hours is enough time to have passed?

Hmm I don’t think YABU on this occasion, but the school have to follow guidelines on sickness. My DD school has had a nasty vomiting bug circulating since November because people keep taking children in too early. The rule has to be the same for everybody otherwise some parents would come up with an excuse to take the child in, even if they have a genuine bug.

I can see why you were tempted to lie, especially because you have an explanation as to why your DD was sick, but for the sake of 1 day I'd have just gone along with it.

The problem here is that parents are so worried being pulled up for absence that it makes us do daft things. I'd just say to the teacher she wasn't sick through illness and when she said 'sick' you presumed she meant bug. You kept her off to make sure it was what you thought and sent her back when you realised it was.

But then there's the people who lie and spread noro around because they "have to go to work". That's really crap. Don't worry.

Thanks to you both for the replies

@CoffeeBreakIn5 - yes I think I'll just say I thought it only applied to bugs.

It's just a bit frustrating when the headteacher mentions absences at every meeting (usually referring to holidays but missing out is missing out).

But you say yourself that you can't be 100% sure it was the milk.
It could be a bug. These things can spread like wildfire - I can understand schools being so rigid on the rule.

That's true Seeline but last time I had a bug I spent all day on the toilet, couldn't keep a thing down, had no appetite, was completely drained etc. I think if DD had a bug it would have caused a lot more problems then one bout of sickness.

The trouble is, you can’t be 100 percent sure it was the milk. My dd2 was sick at nursery a couple of weeks back, but the Nursery weren’t too worried, they said it was just after lunch and she had been gobbling her food and they thought that was why. She seemed fine for about 36 hours then started vomiting again - she obviously did have a bug. she didn't have any diarrhoea either.
In fact both my dds have on occasion been sick once, then had over 24hrs of being seemingly ok, before round two set in. The rule is 48 hours for a reason.

I think yabu putting other children and staff at risk when you cant be 100% sure its not a bug. Theres a 48hr rule for a reason.

We all had norovirus last August. DS and I were sick every half an hour for 24hrs, lethargic, washed out and bloody miserable. DD was sick once and bounced back within hours, ate dinner as normal a few hours later. You simply don't know.

My DC's school says it's at the parents' discretion, so in your case it would be fine for your DD to go to school.

YABU

There has to be strict rules applied to all to stop the spread of bugs. No grey areas means it is easy to apply and easy to follow.

I think if DD had a bug it would have caused a lot more problems then one bout of sickness

You think wrong then.

How badly you're affected can range hugely from person to person, even when it's the same virus. One family member could be vomiting every hour for two days and another may just feel a bit queasy with it.

You're justifying - you have no way of knowing for definite whether it was a bug or not which is precisely WHY schools enforce the 48 hour rule. Yabu.

Yabu
You have no way of knowing whether it was due to a bug or any other reason
That's why it's 48 hours
To stop infections speeding
Next time, just follow the rules

I work in a nursery and often a bug is just one episode of vomiting
It's rally common

It's 48 hours clear from being sick.

You actions could result in 5 kids missing school and adults missing work

Very selfish

I think sickness is only "obviously" not a bug when they're 100% fine before the vom and 100% fine after the vom and there's obvious other factors such as eating twelve slices of pizza then going on a roundabout and a trampoline for an hour.

Being sick in the middle of the night means something biochemical going on, not just mechanical IYSWIM. You have no idea if she had a temperature for a few hours before she puked (for example).

Our preschool rule is something like 48 hours after the first normal poo (sorry TMI) which I think is a good rule even if it is hugely annoying. Waiting until their entire system is back to normal.

My ds has a medical condition, that means he will vomit, spectacularly as a one off, and then be fine. It is usually pretty obvious when it is a bug, and when it is a vomit from his condition. He takes medication which is supposed to help control this, but it is sometimes ineffective, and sometimes he refuses the medication (he has additional needs). We have an agreement with the school, which involved a letter from our doctor, which said that if ds is sick, we will keep him off for 24 hours, in which time it should be obvious that it is due to his condition and not as the result of a bug. At the moment we are being especially cautious because there are so many sickness bugs about.

I think in the op's case however I would have kept off for the 48 hours.

its a 48 hour RULE.

You dont get to start putting your own exceptions on it because the free childcare is convenient. Plenty of people have to keep their kid off for an extra day when they feel fine to comply with this rule

I wish our school had a 48 hr rule, it's 24hr here!

Yabu. The school need this blanket 48hr rule to help protect the children. It's not all just about you and yours x

Our school doesn't have any time limit for returning. Feeling better then better get back to school!

@You dont get to start putting your own exceptions on it because the free childcare is convenient.

Tbh as I'm a SAHM it's more convenient when she IS at home. I think I was (unjustifiably) a bit pissed off as I only had 5 hours sleep last night and if I'd have known about the rule I would have enjoyed a lie-in!.I'm more concerned about her education as she has already missed quite a few days already.

To clarify the above I have heard about the 48 hour rule before but didn't know DD's school applied it. I will definitely follow it in future.

Sorry meant @Branleuse