Had family over today, and all the little ones were poorly

[brilliantjustbrilliant]

We had five under fives in the house today.

They were all under the weather - streaming noses, coughs, sneezing, temperatures. All brushed off by the parents as teething or just a virus. They were all timing the calpol doses so that the kids were on fine form at the start of the day but it soon descended into them all being clearly unwell, by which point all the parents had started to have a drink and therefore had to wait for the taxis. I volunteered to take them all home in pairs but they all said no, because the kids were “fine”.

argh I’m so angry. That’s the rest of this year and the start of next written off with another bug.

Viruses fluctuate really quickly in children. A child can be alright in the morning and then get a lot worse, or the opposite. School guidance is for kids to take calpol in the morning and go in. So it's not always clear-cut.

Such an over reaction. My DGC constantly have bugs, just like my DC did when they were younger. You can pick up a bug in the supermarket queue - it’s no big deal.

But, again, this isn’t a school! If you’re having to dose your kid up to keep their fever under control and to keep their mood up, you shouldn’t be bringing them to a social event.

This!

Yes a social event is not a school, but it's an indication of how illness is gauged in children.

Unless you are clinically very vulnerable a cold is not a reason to lock yourself away, my children wouldnt have been in school since October if we kept away from people for every cough and cold. Parents are used to children having constant colds, I wouldnt cancel any christmas plans for colds, in fact yesterday at least 2 kids had coughs and another 2 runny noses, no one asked anyone to leave. It isn't 2020, so much drama.

So you think kids who can barely keep themselves awake, dosed up on calpol but still feverish, whining and crying because they feel unwell, are fit for school?

Coughs and a runny nose aren’t the same as a full blown viral infection which is clearly making the child feel very unwell

If you read my responses, you will see what I think.

God, it’s a sniffle not the bubonic plague. You’ll be fine.

Honestly I think you’re being a bit dramatic OP. I have a 4 and 2 year old, they’re both at nursery, they have some kind of “illness” pretty much all year round, nothing dramatic just the usual snotty nose, intermittent coughing. Pre school age children should be expected to have between 12-15 viruses a year, that is a completely normal amount for a social child. I’m very very rarely unwell or catch their cooties as unlike young children I’ve been exposed to much more viruses in my longer life and have a much more robust immune system. I assume they weren’t blowing their noses into your mouth or sneezing in your face (unlike my children to me!). Wash your hands and you’ll be fine.

I think this sort of dramatics over a cold is down to Covid, people being expected to self isolate (a phase nobody was aware of before 2020!) for a cold is just ridiculous. If you’re normally fit and healthy and have no health issues a cold really isn’t anything to get yourself worked up over!

So the answer is you’re one of those parents. Insisting it’s just a sniffle while the child is clearly very poorly, because you want a day out

Again, as I’ve said, it’s not just a cold.

That's not what I wrote...

from your OP…

• streaming noses, coughs, sneezing, temperatures

this is the definition of a cold…

You’re saying that they were right to dose their kids up and bring them out, despite the children being unwell.

These are also the symptoms of flu.. it’s selfish full stop. Let people know in advance so they can make the decision to expose themselves or not. Don’t just rock up with a heap of sick kids and expect people not to be pissed off

Tell the parents to go home if you are unhappy.

Unless you swabbed them at the door and sent it off you'd have no idea they had a viral infection, kids get temperatures with a simple cold.

Bit late now, they’ve all left. By the time it became clear the kids were all unwell (aka when the calpol had worn off), they’d all had too many drinks to be able to drive. They refused offers of lifts home.

Did all 5 kids belong to one family?

Were all 5 kids "very" poorly?

Exactly there is no way of knowing it is a cold or a flu or Covid without actually swabbing someone. Therefore it is selfish to just assume it’s a cold and arrive over.

ummm not really, sneezing isn’t typical in the flu it is with a COLD. The point is unless you have a POC viral testing unit in your house you absolutely can not know who is carrying what viruses at any given time. If you plan to have a gathering at your home with 7+ people in the winter when virus levels are high, it is very likely SOMEONE will be carrying something especially 5 young children who as I said get 12-15 viruses a year. It is almost a guarantee that one of them will have something in winter. If it’s going to cause this much anxiety then just done do it?

It’s becoming worse . Parents are sadly becoming so so entitled these days and more than anything, it’s the children who suffer .
I’d try and air the house out ( I know it’s cold ) wipe down door handles , banisters , bathrooms etc with anti bacterial spray/ wipes.
You never know. You might be lucky and not get it x

I said that that is official school guidance, so it's an indication of how illness is gauged in children. I really don't know why you are getting so wound up over my personal beliefs as all I said is it can be a tough call and explained why.