Lost Login Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I have never started a discussion before and it may get no response but has anyone else experience of school kids getting sent home from school due to having a cold. I have just about calmed down now having been summoned to collect my kid by the School because she had a slight cold which has got on her throat so she has partly lost her voice. Apparently the Teachers do not want to catch it and loose their voices. Well I have news for you Teachers kids have colds all the time and if you do not want the risk of catching a cold then you are in the wrong profession especially as you are infectious with a cold a day or so before you have any symptoms I have spoken to a parent at another school and they have had the same happen to them. Is this now common practice that at the slightest sign of a cough or a sneeze kids are sent home as it should be interesting when the hayfever season kicks in. Also I was tempted to refuse the request from the school to pick up my child pointing out that she was not ill she just had partially lost her voice. Anybody know what the consequences are if you refuse to take your kid home from school when requested because you belive the school is over reacting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I have just about calmed down now having been summoned to collect my kid by the School because she had a slight cold which has got on her throat so she has partly lost her voice. Apparently the Teachers do not want to catch it and loose their voices. Well I have news for you Teachers kids have colds all the time and if you do not want the risk of catching a cold then you are in the wrong profession especially as you are infectious with a cold a day or so before you have any symptoms I guess you think it's fine for your child to go to school to infect as many kids as possible? You make life harder for those parents who dont think a sick kid is an inconvenience and keep them home to recover. You are infectious a day before symptoms, but your also infectious for five days after. If the kids allowed to rest, they'll get better quicker, and they'll infect less kids. Then fewer kids overall will have to take time off. Was it such a hardship for you, really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickster Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 If sick people wore paper masks when infectious, as is common in Japan, everybody would be in a win situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Login Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 I guess you think it's fine for your child to go to school to infect as many kids as possible? You make life harder for those parents who dont think a sick kid is an inconvenience and keep them home to recover. You are infectious a day before symptoms, but your also infectious for five days after. If the kids allowed to rest, they'll get better quicker, and they'll infect less kids. Then fewer kids overall will have to take time off. Was it such a hardship for you, really? No it is not a paticularhardship for me, but a common cold to me is and never was a reason for being off sick. Whether it be school or work. Basically you just shrugged your shoulders and got on with life as normal. I would agree with you if she had flu or something else but I never thought of myself as being sick if I had a cold nor do I classify my child or anybody elses as being sick with a cold. In fact it is or was a very minor cold and it is only now the snuffles have gone that her voice sounds funny and they are sending her home. She does not feel ill in any way! I am the same with a cold when I feel most rotten I seem fine, it is only when I feel fine again that my voice tends to go and I get any sympathy even though by then I am perfevtly fine To me a cold is for the majority of the healthy population a very minor and common ailment which might make you feel a little under the weather and that is it. I doubt if you walked through strand street at lunchtime or picked your kid up at scool you would not come into contact with somebody carrying the virus even if not showing the symptoms. In fact the only way to probably avoid is my becoming a hermit I mentioned it because I have never previoulsy known a school take that action and invariably it always appears to me that at anyone point some kid has a cold so I was surprised that now you were almost expected to keep a kid off school for a minor sniffle when it has never previoulsy been the case it was just part of the norm. Maybe it is just me just showing my age and thinking the world is getting soft as it also bugs me when people basically describe what I would see as a heavy cold as flu. To me when you have Flu you have a definite fever and you could not really get out of bed if you wanted to wheras a cold is just a minor irritant Finally with regard to the infectious period different reports have different views. But what is interesting is that the Common Cold Research unit states it is hard to catch from just being in proximity to an infectious person and also that many who are infectious never show any symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I agree with you Lost Login; as long as the child was not ill with the cold, then leave them at school. How else do kids build up an immunity? If every time they have something wrong with them you put them in isolation then the collective immunity isn't built up. Probably be flamed for this, but it is the same as the tummy bugs, if everyone got a relatively mild tummy bug each year then the mighty winter womiting wirus may not have been so virulent. I don't know, I am not a doctor, but it does seem to me that the more we try to eliminate illness, the more these nastier bugs seem to do the rounds as we are more susceptible to them. I will not start on allergies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootieBootie Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I am a teacher and do not send kids home if they only have the snuffles. Sending kids home (for me) is a last resort. The common cold is just one of those things we have to live with. However, if they have a cold and other symptoms too then the child may well be best at home. I don't agree with sending kids in with sickness though... there are many times I've had to clear vomit off a kid's desk (which has spilled onto the child sat next to him/her) and when you ask the child if they had been feeling ill before, the child informs you that actually, yes, they were sick the night before and just before school but mummy had to go to work so the school had better deal with it instead. When this happens the teacher has to stop his/her lesson to deal with a sick child and clear up the mess! This is a disruption and just helps spread unwanted germs. I see what you are saying Gladys but when a child in your class comes to school with a bug, it really effects the class - I've had up to a quarter of a class off in one week due to it spreading! Then, if the teacher gets it (I know, hazard of the job!) they may be off for a week which really messes up the continuity of teaching for the class as it is difficult to get supply teachers in to simply pick up where you left off! As a teacher you can't just leave your work and catch up later... other people usually have to try to cover for you within the school (if supply can't be found) and this then impacts on other teachers and other class timetables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorian dad Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I fel sorry for the office staff who have a constant stream of kids coming in (usually the same children week after week) saying they are ill. What are they supposed to do? They arn't trained nurses/doctors, if they send the kids back to class, abusive phone calls from parents quite often occur when the child complains at home later that day. You can't send all the kids to the medical room unsupervised (not that they would all fit in) Your kids, your responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ai_Droid Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Your kids, your responsibility. Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I've never had much trouble in this respect. My kids have learned the difference between minor ailments and ones that justify time off school. Occasionally they've gone to school looking a bit pale and feeling miserable, which has led to the school calling and asking whether I wish to pick them up or not. Generally speaking, unless the symptoms described are worse than when they set off, I'll politely request that they be left to it unless they show any sign of worsening and, in most cases, this proves to be the best decision. If my kids do come home, I do my best to make it as boring as possible - no television/PS3 etc - just plenty of drinks, a lie down and a book to read when they feel a bit better. Not surprisingly, they don't take time off school unless they are really unwell. I'm certain they wouldn't even report anything as minor as a slight cold and, if asked, would fiercely deny having one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 If sick people wore paper masks when infectious, as is common in Japan, everybody would be in a win situation. I think they're only effective if they're changed every 20 minutes. I don't know it many of them change them that often Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickster Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 If sick people wore paper masks when infectious, as is common in Japan, everybody would be in a win situation. I think they're only effective if they're changed every 20 minutes. I don't know it many of them change them that often Sorry. Should have said surgical masks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombay Bad Boy Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Don't forget the Vick's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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