Would you send reception child to school today ? Illness related

[savetheday]

My threshold for illness and sending my child to nursery has always been very low. So any slight issue, I tend to keep her home.

She's started school now and her brother has had a fever for a few days. She woke up today and I took her temperature at 38. I told her she may not be able to go to school today and she was distraught because she's going to miss her friends, bless her.

Anyway, she's downstairs now and the temp seems to have come down on its own at around 37.4, some times 37.7.

In my opinion, she should not go in today.

What would you do ?

As I said, my usual threshold is low but I understand that now she's at school - she'll sometimes need to go in even with a sore throat or something but I draw the line at waking up with a fever ? To me that means she's not well and coming down with something.

She says she doesn't have pain anywhere.

she shouldnt miss her trip, she will rally round

Clothes on, toast or something in the car or on the walk and get to school on time. Not fair for dc to miss trip because you are running late.

Bloody hell the neurotic temperature taking is delaying you, hope you’re on your way now and she doesn’t miss her trip!!

Yes to this ^
And it’s not a low threshold it’s a normal threshold.

Treat the child, not the number!

You sound like you have some sort of health anxiety yourself, OP. You sound a bit obsessive over temperatures and as if you have already decided to keep her off and are looking for an excuse to confirm your choice. Definitely more to this.

You sound like you have school anxiety tbh.

Right so when she woke up and called for me this morning, she just didn't sound right and when I got to her, she said mummy my skin feels really hot.
I touched her and she seemed hot. So I took her temperature.

I immediately thought 'yup she's ill with the virus'.

I got her downstairs and she just seemed so fine and that's why I took the temperature again a couple of times to see if that was a one off.

I don't think it's that weird how this happened to be honest.

I watched her for a bit while posting here and it seems that she's fine.

So she's on her way to school now.

I'm not a weirdo. I'm just trying to do the best form my child and others by not spreading her virus. Also she's going swimming today at school

What is your problem

If she's eating breakfast and happy I would give her a dose of baby nurofen (lasts six hours) and send her in. But I'd wfh so that I was nearby if I got a call.

This is why schools have become so draconian about attendance. When parents are prepared to keep their children off school for next to nothing, schools have to do something.

Next time someone starts a thread complaining about attendance awards, instead of blaming schools and teachers, maybe we should blame parents for keeping children off when they don’t need to.

I don't see any issue with any of this. I was always quite cautious with my two when they were small, because any hint of a fever was always the beginning of something pretty nasty. If I had sent them into school, they would have been merrily spreading their illness around the class. Mild illnesses, like the cold, didn't seem to cause a raised temperature in either of my children, so it was school as usual with sniffles etc, provided they were fully functioning.

Of course she was warm, she was in bed! If she's hot in bed she needs less bedding

I'd also have sent her in. Don't think I've ever taken DS's temperature.

Make this about your daughter's general happiness and wellbeing, then the decision will be easy.

You sound a bit silly OP. Your child wants to go to school & you are making her miss a trip when there's nothing wrong with her.

Not really. She's at school now. I was just being cautious. I jumped to the conclusion that she was sick because she had a raised temp and my son is ill.

Once I realised she's ok, I took her in.

Op, gently, this is ridiculous.
You are not teaching your child resilience at all by having such a low threshold to be off of school. Do you take a day off of work everytime you are mildly unwell?
I have a 2.5yr old and have taken her temperature 3 times in her life- I certainly wouldn't be taking her temperature because her skin felt hot straight out of bed! It would be like taking her temperature after a bath!
I'm glad you've sent her in.

Kids don't have a fever because they're warm in bed. They get sweaty if they're too warm. If they're that warm and not sweaty their body is raising their temperature to try to kill a bug.

How did you take her temp? some thermometers read lower than others. I can always tell by touch if mine is too warm anyway, I use the thermometer to confirm.

Given that her brother has been ill with a fever, and she then had a high temperature I would assume she had caught the same thing and would have kept her off school myself, If it passed from her brother to her then it'll pass on to other kids. This is why illnesses sweep through schools.

my kid wants haribo for every meal, by the same logic I'm silly for thinking I know better?!

But her temp was 38 straight out of bed and then went down without any medicine which implies that it was warmth from bed and not sickness

I wouldn’t. Our school says to keep them off if any sign of a temperature. My son ended up catching about 3 bugs in one go in reception because people kept sending them in (not their fault, as I guess they are avoiding the fines). He ended up having to be resuscitated in the end! I hate the whole fine thing for missed school from that point onwards. The stupid rules nearly killed my child.

I’d send her in. But my threshold was always high.

or implies that it's behaving the same as the fever her brother has had, which OP said has been coming and going.

You won't get a fine for keeping them off because they had a fever. That's an authorised absence.