Do you take your DCs out and about when they've ill or have colds?

[findmeintheflowerbed]

I was just wondering what the general consensus is about when/when not to take your young children out to see other kids or to groups etc when they are a bit under the weather.

For instance, I have 2 DCs - DD is 2 years old and DS is 4.5 months. I don't consider DD to be 'ill' unless she has a temperature/something infectious (like conjunctive-itis etc)/diarrhea/vomiting. In these cases I would keep her indoors, or at least away from other toddlers.

Unless she has a particularly snotty nose or is very sneezy I would take her out to mix with other children when she has a cold or a cough. I think most of my 'mum' friends feel the same - although if we were going round to each other's houses we would probably warn the others first that our child had a cold so they could object if they weren't happy.

Is this a common attitude among parents? I ask because I was told to take DD away from a group today because she has a cold. (She is NOT very snotty - this is not a bad cold)...and it made me wonder if I had massively got things wrong and shouldn't have taken her out in the first place.

I am prepared to be told I am wrong though....

wow, what group said that? I would be very surprised if anyone said that to me. Yes I take my ds out if he has a bit of a cold and he says he doesn't feel poorly, you can tell if they are too ill to take out I think.

I've sent him to pre school with a bit of a runny nose. At this time of year they can have permanent colds so you'd never go out .

I do hate seeing children with snotty noses though, so if your dc's do have colds, please wipe their noses, it only takes seconds.

I've kept my Boy off groups this week because he and I have shared a lurgy and he was Mr Spotty McRash all over with green snot-slugs so probably no-one would have been impressed at all. Otherwise, if its just a cold he would go and share, as would all his little playmates.

What Sharen said. Precisely. :)

ha... permanent colds... very apt. A cold around here can last a few months, ditto a cough. Coughs and colds are not a reason to stay in, although I do keep them away from little babies when they have a bad cold/cough, and would also warn friends if doing house visits (although the reply is normally "my kids already have it!).

Your experience seems overkill unless any special circumstances.

It depends on the circumstances. It could be that one of the children at the group is immuno-suppressed (or even one of the parents) and needs to kept away from colds.

When DD was little she had a tracheostomy and was very vulnerable to bugs. Dealing with her when she had a cold was my worst nightmare. If loads of children turned up to toddler group with colds I used to take her home.

Yep. DS is very prone to coughs and colds so we almost always take him out / to nursery etc unless he is lethargic. The doctor told me that he suffers more severely from the same bugs due to a tipped-in sternum so stuff other kids shake off pretty quickly will tend to settle on his chest more. It's usually way worse when he's asleep, usually a cough doesn't affect his behaviour etc at all.

Obviously I would not take him out with anything poo / vom related, and I would also check with friends who have tiny babies to make sure they're happy to see us if he's in the grip of the snots. But if I didn't take him out when he had a cold he'd be at home probably 7-10 days every month

Personally, I won't ever take my DD out if she has a cold, however, she has a genetic condition that affects her heart and other organs and this means if she gets ill it can mean a trip to hospital! my OH's ex constantly sends their children here with colds etc (even if its more, she sent the little boy here with a BAD case of an infectious skin condition, without any warnings or even mentioning it!! pissed me off royally it upset me slightly) and she won't even tell us they are/have been ill, despite me being pregnant and obviously my daughters condition, which she knows about!!! Grrr lol! Rant over!!

Thanks all, good to know I wasn't abnormal in taking DD out to a group with a cold.

Sharen - I agree with you about the snotty noses. Definitely make the effort to wipe away snot if DD has a cold.

And yes Grumpla and Gemma - I would alway be more careful around a young baby.

So what was the group and what exactly did they say?

I'm from a family where, short of breaking a limb and even then it would be borderline, you 'stopped acting up' and got sent to school regardless. :) Would keep a child indoors if they were really poorly - classified as lethargic, in pain, high temperature, broken limb, highly contagious - but certainly not for a runny nose.