This sounds crazy I know......but how ill are your DC before they are kept off school?

[applecrumbleandcream]

My dd (4) started in reception on Monday. By Wednesday I picked her up from school and she was hot and flushed, sneezing and coughing. She was really bad throughout the night so on Thursday morning she was really poorly and tired. Felt really awful as it's only the first week, but had to ring in school and tell them was keeping her off. She was loads better by this morning so she went to school fine, just got a runny nose, Teacher said she would keep her eye on her but had no problems.

I was chatting to another mum outside school (who is incidentally a nurse) about how ill her children are before she keeps them off and she says they literally have to be on their knees. I was then thinking that perhaps I should have sent her after all even though she was really quite poorly and the school could have rang me if they thought she should have been off.

Hope that makes sense, but I just wondered what MNetters do and how do you judge how ill a child is before packing them off to school in a morning?

There is also the problem that if you think you might get a call from school and you work over an hour's drive away.

Have to be on death's door here. I speak as doctor's child who was sent to school with appendicitis! It does backfire sometimes though, almost sent DS1 to school with suspected twisted testicle but for the common sense of DH. :(

I play it by ear. My parents were teachers so I always had to be proper poorly - and if I was recovering (say from flu) my mum would cook my fave tea and if I ate it I was well enough to go to school next day!

But with dd - obv there is d&v and high temps - but sometimes she is just 'under the weather'/'not herself' for want of a better phrase; maybe glands up, a bit lethargic and I do generally keep her off then. It is awkward if it is a work day (I work part-time and I can juggle days around, catch up on hours often - but not always).

My mum said to me that her rule was "if you were a SAHM and you'd keep her off school then you should keep her off school". Funny how I remember it differently - probably excellent skills on my mum's side - I thought I had to be proper poorly to be off, she was probably being a bit more lenient with me, but not letting on!

D&V - 48 hours off.
Temperature requiring calpol - no school til subsequent 24 hours of normal temperature.
Ds1 is prone to ear infections. He usually goes back in after the drum has burst, school will administer antibiotics.

Over the past year (reception) he missed a total of 8 days. I have once kept him home only for him to ask to go to school at 10am, and once sent him in too soon following a virus only to have him returned, clearly ill, at the end of the day, so I think I generally get it about right

I've dragged my arse into work many times when I wasn't feeling great cos I had deadlines / meetings that I was told I had to meet, its miserable and makes you feel so much worse - don't see why you would inflict that on a child.

If mine aren't well enough to participate in lessons - high temp, whingy, in discomfort etc then they stay home - but on bed rest - no electronics.

D&V is an obvious 48 hours off

D&V it's a straight 48hrs. I get really angry when I hear kids mixing when they have had this sort of bug. The worst one was my best mate's child had swine flu!!! She brought him out to a birthday party and I'd tried to discourage her from coming out as he was so ill but he was "only going to be on her lap". It was awful. The rest of the group and I then found out 2 days later that it was the dreaded flu. A classic again the other day at school was child vomiting and then going to the play centre 1 hour later because she had promised the older child they were going. My goodness. Go home get showered and chill for the evening. You wonder what is wrong with some people to think this is all ok. As far as snotty noses etc. Unless they are looking bothered by it they are sent in. If the kids are run down then I use that to guide me if they need a home day...

DD called from school mid morning yesterday to say she was unwell. I spoke to the school nurse who confirmed that dd was 'pale and shaky', and was complaining of tummy ache and headache, so should probably come home.

I collected her - fortunately, I work from home so not a problem - and was full of sympathy and concern, but was a little surprised that dd did not appear ill, and did not act ill.

Once home, she slipped into pajamas intending to have a quiet 'at home' day. It quickly became evident that she was not sick at all - or made a miraculous recovery.

While I am relieved that she is OK, am a bit cross with her/the nurse for being so quick to think leaving school was necessary. Would be really cross if I had had to leave an office to deal with the not-really-ill situation.

Guess I have to learn to toughen up - and so does dd.