To take dd with chickenpox to playground?

[chickenpoxy189]

Dd2 (5) is on day 2 of chickenpox. She’s got lots of spots but isn’t ill at all and is getting very frustrated from being at home all day.

She’s got lots of energy, but we only have a tiny garden.

Would it be unreasonable to take her to a local playground tomorrow that is usually empty during school hours? It looks like the weather’s going to be really nice where we are.

Obviously we’d leave if anyone else turned up.

himynameiss it is the same, in the way a window box of geraniums is just the same as the Amazon rainforest...

Out of interest, what are peoples opinions on theoretically contagious siblings of children with pox?

Obviously I know DD has been exposed to Pox as DS has it, incubation period is 7-21 days and its contagious from 1-2 days before the rash.
She is very likely to be contagious any day between now and 2 weeks time and I've no idea when that day may be.

Obviously there are still vulnerable people about who could become ill after contact around her but despite knowing she will likely come down with the pox at some point i cant really quarantine her?

No. dont be so selfish!

That's the thing Dobby - unknown numbers of people on public transport, in doctors waiting rooms, classrooms of 30 children confined indoors for 90 minutes plus at a time together, in cafes, at soft play, let alone walking down the pavement or crossing a carpark or playing in empty playgrounds... Will be contagious and not know it, because they don't yet know they are infected.

You shouldn't do it, it's very selfish. So what if your child is bored for a few days? This is the real world to a previous poster, nothing to do with MN. In my world, I'm not a totally selfish arsehole and actually give a shit about others.

My dh has to take immune suppressants and is ill enough as it is without coming into contact with people who purposely take their sick children out.

@WorkingItOutAsIGo So sorry for your loss of your friend, I hope everyone read your post. Such an unnecessary death :(

That’s terrible. Please don’t. You could actually kill somebody else’s child by doing this.

Are you going to wipe down all the playground equipment when you have finished?

"It's highly contagious and can easily be caught through close contact with someone who has it, including through:

face-to-face contact, such as having a conversation with someone who has chickenpox
being in the same room as someone who has chickenpox, usually for at least 15 minutes
touching the blisters

contact with items that have recently been contaminated with infected fluid or droplets, such as bedding and clothing"

Thank you Cheese I will mentally waft your commiserations over to his DW(idow) and three fatherless children - that's what going out with chicken pox does to others.

If the playpark is empty, there is absolutely no reason you can't take her out if she's otherwise fine. People are seriously over reacting. Put her in long sleeves and trackie bottoms and go before sun is an issue for her.

This

The park will be empty. Who on earth is she going to infect exactly? Its not the bubonic plague.

I asked this exact question on here when my DD had pox and got told I was unreasonable.

So yes, YABU. She has an illness that could kill immunocompromised people. Stay indoors.

As long as the wee ones aren't running a fever or wobbly then get them out in fresh air for walks etc.

For contamination issues - people piss and crap on kids swings/playparks for fun to ruin them - do we think of that when kids are playing on them?

Viruses etc are in the air no matter what so just enjoy the fresh air and let them exercise.

*Out of interest, what are peoples opinions on theoretically contagious siblings of children with pox?

Obviously I know DD has been exposed to Pox as DS has it, incubation period is 7-21 days and its contagious from 1-2 days before the rash. She is very likely to be contagious any day between now and 2 weeks time and I've no idea when that day may be*

Obviously there are still vulnerable people about who could become ill after contact around her but despite knowing she will likely come down with the pox at some point i cant really quarantine her?

Of course you can't quarantine her, and if she's in school, she has to keep going to school even though she's probably incubating them and contagious. That's the way chicken pox works, I'm afraid, which is why it's so ridiculous to expect OP and her child to quarantine themselves to such an extreme. There are already plenty of contagious children running about who don't know they're contagious!

Taking her to an empty playpark and covering her limbs is not unreasonable.

Absolutely not. Adults can catch shingles unknowingly which is extremely painful. Others may have compromised immune systems.

The virus can live on hard surfaces for several hours. Are you going to disinfect as you go in case someone turns up or have to get them to wait while you do? Disinfect everything before you leave for if the next users turn up before the virus dies off?

Boredom is not the end of the world and actually a good thing for kids and parents to learn to cope with.

Yabu to consider going to the park. It's a few days v potentially causing serious illness even death to someone else.

The park will be empty. Who on earth is she going to infect exactly? Its not the bubonic plague.
How about touching the playground equipment?
Im sure a young child will be able to not touch their face..

The thing is, people aren't being given a choice when you KNOW your child has a highly contagious virus.

If you stood there with a sign declaring what you were doing, people could make an informed choice.

Bet you wouldn't do that!

🙄

It’s about 1 single week that you’ve got to keep her away from the public. It’s really not that much of a chore when you consider the risks there can be to others.

It's one day in the garden yabu

Please don’t. A bog standard 24 hr sickness bug almost landed my toddler in hospital this morning. I was up all night trying to stabilise him. I absolutely dread taking him to places where there are other kids because some parents aren’t responsible when it comes to infection control - it’s one thing taking your child out before you know they’re sick, but when you know for sure it’s utterly irresponsible.

The Daily Mail readers are going to love this thread.

DC3 nearly died when she got chicken pox.

Please don't take her out.

I wouldn't!

YABU, OP. Just stay in the garden for a few days.

And to all the posters saying that lots of people are contagious in public without knowing it: Yes, they are but as they don't know they are. That's still very different to knowing full well you are contagious (or in this case your DD) and deciding you don't give a toss whose health you put at risk. Every likelihood OPs DD would be infecting the equipment by touching it as she played on it. That's not going to magically disappear by the time all the other kids turn out from school. Who will then go down with chicken pox. Nice.

This is just as bad as having intercourse with people knowing you have aids

What the actual fuck.

Chickenpox or Aids...hmm, yes, so similar it's hard to decide which I'd rather have less.

I caught chickenpox from a child who came to my son's party with the illness. Actually it was a sibling who tagged along because I expect he was 'bored' at home . The baby I was carrying contracted it too and was still born. I don't for one minute think that it crossed the mother's mind what she had done. She told a mutual friend that I could have contracted it from anywhere. So yes, it is as bad as AIDS actually.