WIBU to send my younger child to preschool while his brother is ill?

[ihadapie]

DS1(5) Reception is unwell. Some sort of ear infection. Unfortunately DS1 isn’t one of those children who will just curl up quietly and watch TV when unwell; he becomes a little ball of anger and screams and shouts and has horrendous tantrums / meltdowns.

Ds2 turns 3 at the end of this month. Ball of energy, in a very defiant stage and won’t leave ds1 alone.

I absolutely hate parenting them together; always have if I’m honest. And I’m feeling absolute dread at tomorrow.

WIBU to just send ds2 for an extra day at preschool?

Sounds like it would be good for everybody.

Perfect solution.

Surely even without the added complexity of how DS behaves when unwell it's pretty common to send the well child to school or nursery? Having the option to send him in for an extra day sounds like a no brainer.

Chances are he will probably catch it from his brother and he will be off next week but until then definitely send him in.

It isn’t a contagious illness; it’s an ear infection. I just feel a bit bad as I know he finds preschool very tiring.

Are you saying send him in place of his brother when he doesn’t normally attend on that day? Don’t think our nursery would have been happy with that.

It sounds like everyone would benefit from that op, do it and don't feel guilty.

I hope he feels better soon x

Yes, perfectly normal to still send in other child when one is sick.

No. It says in the OP that the unwell sibling is in reception, not at pre school. I don’t think the OP is suggesting sending the 2 year old to school in his brother’s place.

What on earth are you on about? Where are you reading that? OP has one child in reception and one child in preschool. She is hardly going to send the preschool child to the reception class.

So are you hoping to book DS2 in for an extra day that he isn't normally scheduled for? If so that would be up to the preschool to decide depending on capacity.

They usually have space. Just feel bad as then he’ll have done four days this week which feels like a lot.

If they are flexible then it’s fine, not worth beating yourself up about!

Thanks. I should pay more attention!

What did you decide, ihadapie? Either way, hope you're having a bearable day.

A wonderful piece of advice I got when torn by guilt between children (twins!) is to prioritise the one that needs you most right now, without guilt because it will come back around soon enough. Ds1 needs to be alone and in a calm environment without his sibling annoying him. The inconvenience to DS2 is significantly less than the inconvenience to DS1, think of it that way.