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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dd got travel sick on school trip- now school said she can’t come in for 48 hours!!

91 replies

Spamspam124 · 02/10/2023 18:01

Had to pick Dd up from a school trip to a farm. She gets car sick sometimes, hasn’t done in a while but we don’t really travel by car much as school/local shops/grandparents are all within 15 minutes walking distance.

Dd is 9, she knows she gets travel sick sometimes, hasn’t been on a school trip in ages (thanks COVID). She does get nauseous any time she’s in a car, but our journeys are usually short and she has travel sickness bands, which she had on today. School do know she gets car sick but she’s never thrown up on a trip before. She usually just gets a bit nauseous tbh but she’s thrown up in the car with me before.

School trip left at 9, at around half 9 I get a call to say they’d arrived at the farm but Dd had thrown up on the bus and that I needed to come and collect her immediately as she’d thrown up on the coach. I ask to speak to her, and she says she just felt sick because of the coach ride and she feels fine now and is looking forward to seeing the animals. I talk to the teacher and say that Dd was just car sick and that she’s got a history of it and will be fine, but they insisted that I collect her as it’s policy that any vomiting child must be picked up. When I went to get her (upset Dd was really devastated not to get to do the trip,) they said she can’t come in for 48 hours.

I’ve got a meeting at work tomorrow, which I can’t really miss, and her dad works in London. I’ve taken way too much time off this year already due to younger Dc illness, and she was just travel sick ffs, it’s not like she has a bug.

Obviously if she’s sick again or any other signs of a bug I’ll keep her off, but AIBU to tell the school that she’s not sick and that she’ll be in tomorrow?

OP posts:
Original poster
Spamspam124 · 02/10/2023 18:07

Just to add, she has been absolutely fine since I got her home. She was nauseous on the way home again due to travelling but has been absolutely fine since, I let her have a TV day to make up for not being able to go to the farm. No signs of sickness, eating fine, completely normal

OP posts:
Luxell934 · 02/10/2023 18:09

Well if school has said she’s not allowed to come in then you can’t bring her in.

Next time get some travel sickness tablets for her.

Crumbwell · 02/10/2023 18:09

No, you can’t tell the school she’s going in anyway as they have policies for a reason.

Teddleshon · 02/10/2023 18:11

Poor you, yet another example of the "erring on the safe side" dogma which doesn't take into account either facts or logic.

Totaly · 02/10/2023 18:12

I disagree. DD was also sick and they understood the travel sickness. DD was also sick because the room was way too hot and they let her in.

Look up the LA policy in your area - go with facts not feelings.

viques · 02/10/2023 18:12

Unfortunately since by your own admission she isn’t usually actually sick when travelling, the vomiting this morning could have been down to something else rather than the coach trip and the coach trip was just a co incidence. Unlikely, but actually possible. The school can’t really start making exceptions other wise they would have to allow all sorts of reasons for being sick. For example I once threw up after a visit to a canning factory because they were canning carrots and it smelt like a trolls armpit, I haven’t eaten tinned carrots since.

JustWhatWeDontNeed · 02/10/2023 18:13

You can't send her if they've said not to. Can you test out various sickness remedies (bands, medication) and see what works best for future trips.

Were school aware enough that they had her sat at the front of the coach?

viques · 02/10/2023 18:15

What are the grandparents who live within 15 minutes walking doing tomorrow? Sounds like you need to get your best begging knees out.

VisionsOfSplendour · 02/10/2023 18:15

It's a real pita for you but they can't make exceptions to the rule, that would become unmanageable

Maybe the problem is that your daughter doesn't go on cars/buses enough, it sounds like an extreme reaction, is such a severe reaction common?

LegendsBeyond · 02/10/2023 18:15

Poor teachers. Vomiting children on trips are awful to deal with. You need to make sure she takes tablets in future. You can’t take her in if school have said no. You’ll have to make other arrangements.

jeaux90 · 02/10/2023 18:17

If you know she gets travel sickness why wouldn't you give her medication for it? And yes 48 hours is the rule.

YABU

Thislittlepiggylikeschocolate · 02/10/2023 18:20

There are so many tablets you can get for travel sickness, so why on earth didn't you get some for her?
I'd be buying the poor teacher a bunch of flowers...

Original poster
Spamspam124 · 02/10/2023 18:21

With the unlikely but possible- surely it’s also unlikely but possible that a child was developing a bug and was contagious but not showing any symptoms yet? They’d still be allowed in.

school do know she gets travel sick, she did sit at the front of the coach but apparently the road was really bumpy and her travel bands didn’t help enough.

Ordinarily I wouldn’t mind humouring them and keep her off, but my work are already annoyed that I had to leave to go pick her up, and the meeting I have tomorrow is quite important. Also Dd loves school and doesn’t want to miss when she isn’t actually sick.

Will have to try and find other arrangements I guess :( GPs aren’t around this week otherwise they’d take her.

OP posts:
WaitingfortheTardis · 02/10/2023 18:24

That's nonsense, our school knows that travel sickness isn't the same as a bug and has so far been sensible about it. Dd does take travel sickness pills before journeys, but they don't always work. She is always fine as soon as she is out of the car/coach.

Weedoormatnomore · 02/10/2023 18:24

Ask to speak to school to see what you can do to stop this happening in future. My son had a slight dairy tolarence so could be sick but was nota bug first few times he was sent home then after speaking to them. They allowed him to stay at school.

callingeveryone · 02/10/2023 18:27

OP I agree this is ridiculous.
And I have worked with children. Vomiting children on coach trips is par for the course.

CrapBucket · 02/10/2023 18:28

Oh how frustrating! My solution would be for your husband to look after her. Your job had the disruption today, his turn tomorrow.

CrapBucket · 02/10/2023 18:29

Sorry - for her dad to look after her - not sure if that’s a husband or not - apologies if I just married you off randomly!

dayofcheese · 02/10/2023 18:29

Sorry but they have to take a hard line with vomit

Nomorecoconutboosts · 02/10/2023 18:30

I’m a nurse.
our infection control nurse said during training that it is unexplained sickness and diarrhoea that the 48 hour rule applies to.
so norovirus, sudden d&v, suspected food poisoning, anything you are not sure about etc - keep away for 48 hours.
One off travel sickness, pregnancy sickness, overindulging on laxative type food/fruit, coeliac who has eaten something wrong, IBS - probably no need.
the school may well apply a fixed rule with no common sense to this. My friend had similar when her child who had an ongoing (not Covid related) cough had a cough in the playground and brought up a bit of phlegm/sick. Off for 48 hours…

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 02/10/2023 18:31

So if you knew it was likely (or at least, highly possible) that she would get sick, did it not occur to you to get her some medication in advance? For your dd's sake and for the sake of the poor member of staff who probably had to clear up the sick?

I get that that things sometimes happen, but it sounds like this is a well known, well established problem so I think it's reasonable that the school would assume that you had taken sensible precautions.

Either her sickness was so predictable that you should have taken better precautions or it wasn't that predictable and the school is therefore wanting to be cautious after she threw up in case it's something else.

CarPour · 02/10/2023 18:34

How do you know it was travel sickness? It's a 48hr rule. If you can't miss work can't your DH look after her?

From the schools perspective her travel sickness isn't bad enough to consider medication, so she's obviously not usually a vommer yet vomited all over the coach.

They don't want to have to clear up any more vomit

JemimaTiggywinkles · 02/10/2023 18:35

Why can't her dad take a day off? You did today so surely it's his turn tomorrow. Working far away is a good reason for you to be the one to pick her up unexpectedly today but not a good reason for it to be your turn again.

callingeveryone · 02/10/2023 18:36

Clearing up children's vomit goes with caring for children. That is not a good enough reason to exclude her.

QuietDragon · 02/10/2023 18:43

If it's only the class teacher that said she can't come, then I'd ask someone else. Head of year or keystage.

She's not actually ill and doesn't have a bug, so no reason to keep her off.

I would also apologise to the teacher for not giving her travel sickness tablets. Children throwing up on coaches/ waiting for parents to collect is a nightmare to deal with on trips.