Question for Other Moms

[ihurttoo]

My little boy, Collin, started Kindergarten this past Wednesday. He is doing well, but he caught a cold this weekend. He has a runny nose and a cough, but no fever. He played all weekend and acted fine. Just wondering, should I send him to school tomorrow? I dont know the rules for this sort of thing since he didnt go to preschool and has always been home with me. Am I suppossed to send him with a cold that could be (probobly is) contagious, even though he has no fever and acts fine? Since he is only 5, he doesnt use tissues or cover his mouth ever time he coughs, unless I stand over him and remind him, and he wont be vigilent about using the Germ-X hand sanitizer without me standing over him reminding him.

The quandry is that since no one will be there reminding him, he is sure to infect others. But, since he has never been exposed to other children like this, he will be catching every bug and viris that goes around, so I am sure he will be missing lots of school already. What would you do? All advice is welcome and will be taken. Thanks in advice. Hugs, Amy

[Betsie]

Hi Amy!

Just my opinion...unless he gets worse overnight, I would send him. It sounds like a common summer cold and could even be a bit of allergies from the classroom/playground, etc. It is a new environment for him.

While it seems so "small" in our adult minds, Kindergarten is a huge time of adjustments for children. Missing one day can be rough.

I am/was never one to send my kids to school sick, but w/o a fever etc., I don't think it is much to worry about. He is in good company as far as needing reminders for hygiene, etc. :) The teachers are great at helping them along with the responsibility of this.

So, having lived through it and survived, I might be inclined to send him along. I can honestly tell you that 20 years ago, I might have had a different answer. :wink:

[vm]

I would send him, too. Runny noses alone don't keep my kids home - unless they are really, REALLY bad. Just a standard runny nose and cough and they still get sent to school. The nice thing is that if the teacher disagrees - he or she will call so you can come get him. :)

[ICNDonna]

If he's feeling good and just has a runny nose, I agree. It sounds like he must have been exposed at school so his classmates have already been exposed. There will probably be a lot of kids with runny noses there this week.

Donna

[ihurttoo]

Thank you for the advice, ladies! I went ahead and took him and just pulled his teacher aside to let her know to watch him and call me if I need to come get him, and told her if she would prefer it, I would go ahead and take him home now. She said that alot of the kids already have it too, so he was welcome to stay. She said she'd send him to the nurse in a few hours to have his temp taken and if he had one she'd call me to come get him, but that otherwise, she would go ahead and keep him there. Thanks for all the advice. I need it all, as I am new at this and learning. Hugs, Amy

[kadi]

Hi Amy,

I'm a teacher & the general rule of thumb at schools is that if your child has a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, rash that's not been identified*, or symptoms that interfere with normal function, they should not come to school. Oh, lice too. Other than that, send em in. They probably caught the germ at school anyway.

Since Collin got sick this weekend, he actually "caught" the cold on Wednesday or Thursday (48-72 hours usually for symptoms to show up. You are most contagious right before and right as symptoms show up. As time goes on, you are still contagious til it goes away, but much less so.)

Hope that helps & your little guy is loving school!

*Obviously if you know a rash is eczema or some other non-contagious thing, you just explain it to the teacher. Unidentified rashes need to be checked out because of things like impetigo or scabies, which are highly contagious.

[ihurttoo]

Kadi,

Thanks for the information. I just wasnt sure about this stuff. I mean when I was working, I would (obviously), always go in if I only had a cold. But, on the other hand I was always very happy to hear that contagious co-workers who had colds stayed home. (Pretty hypocritical, huh?:smile tee ) Anyway, the info is much appreciated! Hugs, Amy