Would you send your toddler to nursery with a cough?

[Basketcase56]

My little one has just started nursery so the nursery bugs have started. He’s currently got a cold and a cough. He’s a bit more sensitive, grouchy, clingy and more sleepy but not too horrendous. No temperature. He woke hourly for the first half of the night as he woke himself up coughing. He also didn’t nap well at home yesterday as kept coughing himself awake too. At nursery, he sleeps terribly and normally nursery nights are very disturbed too, due to being overtired so I don’t know whether to send him in or not as it’s going to be hard for him to get the rest he needs to get better. However, I know it’s likely going to be one cold after another whilst at nursery.

How bad do your toddlers need to be before you decide to keep them home?

If he's under the weather, no I wouldn't send him in.

No I wouldn’t send an infectious child in to nursery or school. Children with asthma and weak immune systems can catch it and get really unwell

I’d send them with a cough if otherwise ok in themselves as coughs can go on for a while but it sounds like your DS is unwell and needs to be at home to rest.

I think it’s unrealistic to not send an infectious child in though if we’re talking a general mild cold or end of a cold otherwise children would never be in school or nursery. The experience of peope staying off with these things in Covid just meant that the following year people got even more ill as they hadn’t built up immunity.

Is it an option to take him in but say you'll pick him up if he doesn't perk up? Sometimes they're fine once they're at nursery and engaged with activities, sometimes they just need to be at home for cuddles and sleep. It's really hard to know which sometimes. Age is also a factor - at 1 I'd lean towards keeping at home, at 3 I'd lean towards sending in.

If you never sent a small child to nursery infectious you would never send them to nursery, especially in winter 😂And I say that with an asthmatic child. Children get colds constantly. Obviously D&V, fever, clingy and sad keep at home. Otherwise they're usually better going in.

But if everyone did it the infections wouldn’t spread through schools like they do

Keep him off the first 2 days when he is feeling rotten , but as long as he has no fever and doesn't need calpol etc after that I would send him back, as the cough part can hang around for weeks.