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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:
Moonshine5 · 02/10/2023 18:49

@viques begging knees 😂

Princessandthepea0 · 02/10/2023 18:51

That’ll teach you; you should’ve given her tablets. A vomiting child is no fun for the teachers or the people she is sat with on the coach. Why would you not give her tablets?

NightSku0 · 02/10/2023 18:53

I personally would of refused to pick her up. Telling them she has travel sickness and she’s not ill so you won’t be collecting.

Tomorrow will be a pain as they will refuse her at the door.

WeWereInParis · 02/10/2023 18:54

I can see why you're annoyed, but I bet they get kids who are sent in, throw up, and then it turns out they were sick the night before but the parents didn't want to keep them off so decided that it was probably a one off, they'd eaten too much, been in the car too long, got too hot, ate something that disagreed with them blah blah blah. And then the teachers have to deal with a vomiting child. So I can absolutely see why they take a blanket 48 hour approach.

historyrepeatz · 02/10/2023 18:54

It sounds like it's all on you. Your DH works in London but has he done his share of time off with the kids? If your work is getting annoyed perhaps it's his turn to stay home with her? Maybe he could take her with him! Also, if asked by the school to attend an absence meeting for your kids say no, wish I had.

viques · 02/10/2023 18:54

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.

It is not a punishment because they had to clear up vomit ! It is a school policy enforced to stop norovirus and other vomit inducing bugs going through a school like a hot knife through butter.

WeWereInParis · 02/10/2023 18:55

Also since you went and got her, it's her dad's turn to take tomorrow off.

And next time, get some travel sickness tablets. For her sake, and the teachers'! And to save you the hassle of her being off the next two days.

WeWereInParis · 02/10/2023 18:57

I’ve got a meeting at work tomorrow, which I can’t really miss, and her dad works in London.

Do you mean he stays overnight away in London during the week? Because otherwise I don't see how this is relevant. I work commute into London, it doesn't mean I'm not capable of taking time off for childcare.

Mumofsend · 02/10/2023 18:57

This is clearly another weird mumsnet. 95% of schools know travel sickness isn't a bug and wouldn't send him/exclude.

Blondeshavemorefun · 02/10/2023 18:59

Dad will have to take time off for her tomorrow

You did today

And sounds like previous sickness for other child

zeibesaffron · 02/10/2023 19:01

I’m sorry but what’s your DH role in all this - you have taken lots of time off due to your other childs illness - so its your husbands turn so you can attend the meeting. Why is his work more important than yours?

If the school say 48 hours - 48 hours it is - it’s highly unlikely but it could be a bug.

Runnersandtoms · 02/10/2023 19:01

According to my kids there's ALWAYS someone who's sick on the coach on every school trip! I've never heard of anyone being made to go home though. Good job too since one of the trips was from Kent to Cornwall, I can just imagine a parent being willing to drive for six hours to pick up their child and then six hours hone again!!

43ontherocksporfavor · 02/10/2023 19:02

We have chn with travel sickness at my school and the 48 hr rule wouldn’t apply to them. Email the head.

viques · 02/10/2023 19:04

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…

You have never worked in a school! Parents will send in children with raging temperatures claiming they are a bit warm because they ran to school. They send in children who are barely awake, shivering and clearly unwell and say they got a bit cold at swimming yesterday but are fine. They sneak in children who tell you they have been sick three times already that morning. I once had a child who fell off a wall at six o clock the previous evening and broke his leg, he was in, complete with full plaster cast and wheelchair by half past nine the next morning, “ sorry he’s late miss, couldn’t get the chair down the steps” .

If you tell parents there is a get out of jail free card for vomiting they will use it!

SleepingStandingUp · 02/10/2023 19:07

I think it's ridiculous op. Dtwins were both sick on a coach trip to Wales. School didn't expect someone to drive to Wales to collect them. One was sick on the way home. Both expected in school the next day.

Next you'll be getting a letter saying her attendance is too low.

callingeveryone · 02/10/2023 19:09

@viques A child in a wheelchair should still be at school.

DNAwrangler · 02/10/2023 19:11

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.

Why can’t the school make (sensible) exceptions? They absolutely can…

Emeraldrings · 02/10/2023 19:12

No YANBU, that's a stupid rule for travel sickness.
Also tablets don't always work, they stop nausea usually not actually being sick, well according to the pharmacist I spoke to. OP uses travel sickness bands so she did try to avoid her DD being sick.
Anyway travel sickness isn't the same as a bug. I'd get in touch with school and double check. Or get dad to do it.

viques · 02/10/2023 19:13

callingeveryone · 02/10/2023 19:09

@viques A child in a wheelchair should still be at school.

I am not saying they shouldn’t, but I think most parents would let them have at least one day at home to get over the trauma! And we were fine, the school was all on one level and had accessible toilets, bit tricky if the classroom is on the second floor!

callingeveryone · 02/10/2023 19:15

@viques Perhaps the child did not feel trauma? I was knocked down as a child and was knocked out. I was back at school the next day. I was absolutely desperate to be back at school. And the hospital Dr said I could go back.
Children react differently to adults to events.

cakecoffeecakecoffee · 02/10/2023 19:17

They don’t treat travel sickness as 48hr exclusion at DC school, thank goodness! So many kids get affected by travel sickness.

Retrogamer · 02/10/2023 19:23

I get travel sickness really bad so I feel for your DD, it's really unpleasant. Things got better after my mum got me anti sickness meds - Stugeron worked the best for me. I'd raise the issue with the head in a polite way and maybe they can come to a compromise for future trips.

ReadingSoManyThreads · 02/10/2023 19:23

YANBU

The school are being ridiculous. Motion sickness isn't bloody contagious. Jeez, what morons are teaching children these days? (former teacher here and couldn't stand working with these ridiculous robots who can't think for themselves anymore).

Do they make pregnant teachers stay home for 48hrs after every bout of morning sickness they have? Bet they don't.

Idiots.

I'd absolutely be emailing the school with any facts you can find about how motion sickness isn't a risk to infecting others etc.

dammit88 · 02/10/2023 19:23

I also don't understand why her dad can't take her. "working in London" doesn't make someone above putting their child first.

modgepodge · 02/10/2023 19:25

Children being sick on buses is a PITA but it’s part of the job. We once had four (out of 30) kids sick on a trip!! We didn’t call the parents to collect them however. Or expect them to be off the next day.

Whoever takes the day off with her tomorrow, I’d use it as an opportunity to do something really fun you can’t usually do eg legoland with no queues, then send her back in full of her fun day out the next day! No point wasting the day if she’s not actually sick. Agree it should be her dad if it was your work disrupted today.

In future, please give tablets though. After one child was sick three times on buses on school trips in a year we started refusing to take her unless she’s had pills before she gets on, it’s just too disgusting otherwise, especially as she apparently gets no notice she will be sick so she doesn’t ask for a bag and just does it on the floor or her clothes…she’s 10.