I thought it would take longer than this. Who knew that it would take less than two weeks of Kindergarten for Evan to fall prey to the plague but, alas, it is true. He seemed fine when he went to bed last night but he was up all. night. long. Coughing, crying, whining…..GAH! This morning he made it half way down one flight of stairs before he sat down and announced “I do NOT want to go to school today. I am sick and I feel awful.” I, being the mean mommy I am, was leaning towards the “suck it up, buttercup” answer but Dewey convinced me to have a bit of sympathy for the poor little guy. So, he stayed home. It’s a good thing too because he coughed all day long. So much so that he now has abdominal muscle pain from all the coughing. I do NOT see a full nights sleep in my future. Ugh.
At work, I’ve always preferred people who stay home instead of those that come to work sick and spread it around. I used to be that person but now I think that life is too short & rest really does help you get better faster.
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This is such a hard thing. I try to remember what the schools/preschools usually say – anything gastro is cause to stay home (so easily passed to others, so disruptive and awful, and some kids are really taken down by it.) Congestion that is thick and gross rather than the clear runny nose the kids have from October to April is another good one – really, who wants to chase your kid with a Kleenex all day? Yuck. And fever.
Other than that I look at how my kid feels – if a normally energetic kid is laying around whimpering and falling apart every few minutes, guess what? They’re not themselves, and a good sign they need rest and to be tucked in on the couch. And anything disruptive like coughing is good to consider – your kid isn’t learning anything when he’s coughing up a lung all day, and honestly, he’s probably distracting the rest of the class. Keep him home.
That being said, I would strongly recommend being VERY firm, and asking your nanny to be the same, in that staying home from school comes with rules. My almost-8yo has been taken down by a few good bugs over the years, and he loves to stay home so I have to be careful he isn’t staying home just to hang with us (we work from home.) So, if he stays home, he’s told – you can stay home, but it’s pj’s or sweats. On the couch with books or movies. No Wii, no jumping around, no swordfights, nothing. If he gets up and starts getting active, he’s threatened with quiet time in bed, or being taken back to school. I won’t have him miss school to rest, only to wear himself out playing all day. ; )
Totally agree 100%. We told Evan that if you stay home sick that means no video games. He ended up taking a 3 hour nap this morning. He NEVER, EVER naps so that definitely told me that he was sick. I did bend a bit when I got home from work and let him play Skylanders. He was too tired & made me play so he could watch. Crazy kid.
Poor Evan. My kids got it too, just 2 days after school started. It’s really hard to know if you should keep them home or not, but coughing is one of the worst symptoms and I especially feel badly sending them when they have a cough. My older one has asthma, so the first day he woke up coughing last week, we gave him all his extra inhalers before sending him to school. I emailed his teacher and let her know and asked her to let me know if she thinks he shouldn’t be there. He had wanted to stay home, but I tend to save that for when we really need to. Now that they’re getting better, I’m getting it!! lol
Evan did not stop coughing all day. His teacher would have gone crazy trying to teach over that. He is so miserable & he slept for 3 hours today. Poor guy.
the jellybean woke up this morning with lots of snot and a little cough. it took 5 days. but he was packed up and sent to school. i’m a “fever or gastro stays home” kind of mom. unless he is listless and didn’t sleep all night, he gets packed up and sent to school. usually without any complaining. to me that’s the key sign. he really likes school, so if he doesn’t complain about going, i take that as he doesn’t feel too awful. though i did send him to school with a full box of kleenex today so that he doesn’t keep wipping his nose with his hands. ew!
We’re on Day 2 at home. Evan is miserable. He was up all night screaming & crying because his belly muscles hurt so bad from coughing. I have my fingers & toes crossed that he will be better today & can go tomorrow. (and that I don’t get it!)
different province, same story.
except, I think it may be my husband who brought it home from work. either way, we’re all hacking through the first month of school.
Aside from obvious fever, rashes, and projective vomit (who knew right?), I judge by my child’s behaviour – I know when they are not acting “themselves.” I also know that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate or focus if my head was all stuffed up, so I don’t make them. I mean, mine are only Grade 3 and SrK: what are they going to miss? astro physics? no. let them stay.
Hope the lil guy feels better soon…..and most important: mama doesn’t catch it too!
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I agree…what will Evan miss in Kindergarten…not much. Poor guy feels awful & though he is older now, he still is very much a baby when he is sick. He wants me non-stop & he wails “Why am I sick? Please make it stop!”
2 of ours just started this week… we are still waiting for the storm. Good luck!