All parents have had the mornings when they wake the kiddos up for school and one of them says they are sick, or threat they feel bad. At these moments, the parent is faced with the question of whether the child is too sick to attend classes, or if they could go to school and would likely feel better in a little while.

Parents feel guilty because if the child stays home they will likely need to hire a sitter, and if the child was not too sick to attend they have missed an important day in their educational instructions. On the other hand if the parent sends the child to school and the child is sick they risk being judged as a bad parent by school staff, and they risk exposing all of the other children at the school to an illness.

What is a parent to do?

According to the chief pediatrician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlant, James Fortenberry, there are some times when your child should never go to school. These include:

  • Any time the child has a temperature that is greater than one hundred and one. If the temperature is one hundred it is teetering on the edge of a definite stay at home day. High fevers are often the signs of infectious conditions, but they are always a sign that the child really feels miserable.
  • If the child is vomiting, do not send them to school. The teaching staff does not need to have to deal with a child who is throwing up, and if your child is throwing up they really do not feel like sitting in class all day.
  • If your child has diarrhea do not send them to school. You will be sending a child that really does not feel well, and you will be creating a problem for them. In school, they will not be as close to the restroom and will be more likely to have an accident while trying to reach a bathroom. Do not put your child in this situation. If they have diarrhea keep them home, keep them hydrated, and medicate for the condition.
  • If your child is in the contagious stage of any illness do not send them to school. If your child has the mumps, measles, chicken pox, flu, or another contagious condition your doctor will tell you when it is safe for them to return to school. Do not send them back to school too early just because they seem to feel fine. Many times contagious diseases are contagious while the person still feels good enough to be up and moving around, and after the person breaks out with the rash, or begins to feel really lousy, they are no longer contagious to others.

Frequent reasons children stay home from school

The most frequent illnesses that keep children home from school include:

  • Headache
  • Diarrhea
  • Cough
  • Runny nose
  • Headache
  • Stomach ache