If your dc is off school because they don't feel well

[Hatemyhair123]

Do you take them in if they start feeling better?

My 7yo dc was complaining of a bad stomach ache this morning before school and he seemed off colour, didn't want to eat which is very unusual for him. He was coughing a lot overnight. He never complains of a stomach ache, normally he grins and bears it so i let him stay off this morning. He seems fine now but he's had paracetamol so that might be why.

Would you accept the dc is off for the whole day once the decision is made in the morning, or would you take them in at lunchtime?

Just curious as to what other parents do in this situation.

I'd probably just keep them off at that point tbh. Already had to sort being off work etc and a bit more rest isn't going to do any harm.

Same as PP i'd just keep them off and get them to rest

I've taken mine in when it became clear she was actually fine

Depends on the child, the school day, the attendance record, the commute.

If they didn't have PE in the afternoon I might take them in.

Keep them off - you’ll have to go and get them again at pickup in 2 hours anyway!

I make them stay in bed or lying down on the sofa if they're sick - no roaming around or playing. If you're home sick, you're sick - the day is for recuperating and resting.

If they get restive and bored mid-morning because they're swinging the lead a bit, I tell them either it's going to be the rest of the day of quiet resting and sleeping in bed, or I can take them into school at lunchtime. They always choose school...

When they really truly are sick, they don't get restive and bored as they're exhausted or feeling grotty.

For something like stomach ache I would accept that they were off for the whole day to make sure they didn’t start vomiting/having diarrhoea. You’ve said yourself that he feels better post paracetamol so he could go downhill again when that wears off. If by the next morning nothing has happened and they remain well, they can go back to school.

They wouldn't be off in the first place with 'I don't feel well'. They actually have to be properly unwell before they can have a day off (D&V, covered in blood or unconscious). In you go, you'll be fine by play time, tell the teacher if you are really sick.
Have never been called to collect after one of these episodes!

I generally keep them off all day if unwell first thing. I might revise that if there were a lot of sick days though.

In your case I'd probably be on the fence, I'd probably give them the option if they wanted to go in.
If it was just complaining and tiredness I'd probably put it down to being off mood rather than ill and I'd take them in as soon as they were in the right mind frame.
Only time my primary school age son has been off the whole day has been when he ended up in hospital, he doesn't really get actually ill but he does struggle a lot with the school weeks.

They stay off the whole day. Surely, that’s the point of staying home: to rest and feel better? That said, I don’t keep mine off for a tummy ache and looking off colour. They would go in and the school can ring if they think they need to come home. I keep mine home for fevers, d&v and things like chicken pox only. Otherwise, they go in, just like we would for work.

Thanks for all the viewpoints. The complicating factor is my son is autistic and he point blank will not tell the teacher if he feels that he needs to come home. He's been really ill at school before and didn't say a word, i pick him up and he's looked like death warmed up. We've role played it a hundred times what he needs to say if he needs to come home. But it gets to the point of asking a teacher and he clams up. It's so hard to know what to do for the best as a parent! Why don't they come with an instruction manual?

I would keep them off.

If I felt they were genuinely unwell (which I would in order to have kept them off in the first place) I'd keep them off all day.

I would say the asd instruction manual says a stomache could be illness but could also be anxiety and they can actually vomit.
If he felt better without the meds i would have sent him in.