Sick at School- What do you do?

[peggyfromwastate]

I have a history of letting my kids sit it out in the sick room for a while... I admit.

Kate was a *frequent flier* in elementary school. It's cool and fun to go to the nurse's station. It really is. You get to chill out, relax, even lie down. Plus it's interesting to see the other kids come and go. Who threw up today? Who's mom wasn't able to be reached? Intrigue. She went to the nurse's station a lot. She was a "frequent flier". I think I only went to get her once when she fell down and broke her arm in a playground accident...

Isabel is also a *frequent flier*. I just got The Dreaded Call right AFTER putting J down for her nap. Sigh. Symptoms? *Tummy hurts*. I don't know. It is recess, so the nurse said it's ok with her if Iz just stays in the office and rests a little to see if it passes. She was in there earlier today with the same complaint. Of course, she didn't complain of anything when she left for school this morning.

So I feel like I suck right now, leaving her there, but on the other hand I feel super annoyed. I never get calls from Steven about random "symptoms" and he's the one with the medical conditions! Sigh.

I know I'm going to get called back, but I already told Iz on the phone that she's not coming home to play video games or watch tv.

I know I suck. I just am so fed up with it.

Ladybug-- It's NOT the nurse's fault. I lurve my nurse. It's totally my girls! But if you read this, can you let me know what you like a mom to do in this scenario? The honest truth??

[houseelf]

No, no, no it is NOT you. I am so bad about making the call whether they are really sick or not. I have kept kids home whom later I have to remind them to quit running around and I have sent kids to school who proceeded to vomit in the middle of class. I also think this is child dependent. My oldest has had the nurse call me once in 6 plus years. My middle has a weekly visit to chat up the nurse and occasionally admits that she is simply homesick for mommy. Peggy, you get a free pass from me, but I am dying to know what Ladybug has to say about all this.

[Meenah]

Free pass from me too. I never made the right call.

[MrsK]

FWIW, when my brothers and I were home sick, we were not allowed to watch TV, eat junk food, play with our friends after school, or do anything fun. If we were sick, we had to just stay in bed and be sick. Boring. It sort of discouraged us from wanting to be home sick.

[HouseofWool]

Last year Caleb was a frequent flier as well, for the ubiquitous "tummy ache". I explained to the nurse (who in our case isn't an actual nurse) that his dad and I are divorcing and that he tends to be a bit anxious, blahblahblah. She was totally okay with him just hanging for a bit. She said, with all that was going on, it is pretty common for little ones to really just need some down time and a hug. Pretty easy medicine to dispense. That said, she did call if he started making a habit of it (this happened more than once - my drama queen!) Now that he is older and can read independently, a day home from school involves very limited tv and no games. Lots of time in bed reading.

ETA: C really did have a lot of stomach aches and his dad is prone to acid reflux (even though he refuses to admit it, just eats tums like they are candy). Once I started him on a half a tab of zantac daily, the seemingly random stomach aches all but disappeared.

[peggyfromwastate]

I don't let them watch TV and play video games if I think they are faking it, or are just trying to stay home... But that doesn't happen, because I usually won't let them stay home unless they are really sick. But when they ARE sick, I let them watch TV all day. Usually they are too sick to want to play video games. When they start asking to play, I know they are getting better! I don't force them to stay in their rooms though and sleep all day. I figure if they are watching tv on the couch and lying down I can monitor them, check temps, force liquids, etc.

But it gets iffy for me when the nurse calls me- because I don't want my kids to bug the nurse all day. And so if they are bugging the nurse, and their teacher, and THEN I have to pick them up and I see they are pretty much healthy, then they spend the rest of the day having no fun at all.. And early to bed.

[Pollyanna]

I don't think it will hurt her to wait it out a bit and see if the tummy ache goes away. I always tell the nurse to call me when my kids are in the office and I will come get them. I've had a few times when my kids have gone in repeatedly, both with anxiety issues manifested as something else. For one we had to do a lot of work (psych, meds, the whole 9 yards. It was hard and exhausting and something I would never wish on any child) for the other I was able to talk her through (likely due to our previous experience). But for both it was an issue that needed to be addressed. I always tell the kids that if they don't feel good, for whatever reason, to feel free and call. Sometimes I can get them through with just the phone call and sometimes they come home. They also know that if they need a mental health day during the year to just ask and I will call the school and tell them that we are snowed in and can't make it to school today .

You are an awesome mom Peggy and I am confident that you are doing the right thing by your little girl. I think the nurse would tell you otherwise. And why is it that the nurse only seems to call when the baby is napping? I swear that is the only time of day we ever get a call from the school nurse, . Hang in there

I am really interested in hearing what Ladybug has to say

[v-girl]

I'm the mom who told the school nurse that I don't consider it a fever until the temp hits 100.4. My girls would come in from recess and then ask to go to the nurse's office. I'd tell the nurse to send them back to class. LOL

Oh, and a sore throat for a kid who forgot her allergy pill can usually be soothed with a peppermint.

[houseelf]

Yes, apparently the RX for homesickness is some goldfish, a hug, and a chat.

[diggitydot]

Our old district didn't have the best school nurses. I had several calls for "fevers" after recess. It's 110F in the shade. No shit my kid has an elevated temp. And no, 99F does not qualify as a fever.

[Phoebe]

We have a great school nurse! However, I have the opposite problem. My 9 year old is home sick to from having a GI bug. Making her miss school is a tradegy. When she was sick for two days earlier this school year, she wouldn't talk to me for the entire time because I wouldn't allow her to go to school with a 103 temp. Maybe I should feel bad because my kids don't have to stay home with me.

[peggyfromwastate]

I talked to the nurse again when I didn't hear back-- I had to go in to pick up Steven early to take him in for allergy shots, so I asked the nurse if she thought Izzy was good to go. Basically, Izzy was fine. The stomach pain passed. The nurse said she didn't mind having kids just rest in there during lunch on occassion. Iz does have a little cold- probably a little post nasal drip making her nauseated. Who knows? Maybe she just didn't want to go outside in the cold for recess!!

Steven got carsick on the way home from allergy shots. Just carsickness I think, nothing more, but... You never know!

Fun times.

We are *snowed in* from evening activities LOL. I like that term Pollyanna!! We can reschedule swim practice for later in the week when hopefully everyone is feeling better about it!

[weeniegeniewife]

We have a great school nurse! However, I have the opposite problem. My 9 year old is home sick to from having a GI bug. Making her miss school is a tradegy. When she was sick for two days earlier this school year, she wouldn't talk to me for the entire time because I wouldn't allow her to go to school with a 103 temp. Maybe I should feel bad because my kids don't have to stay home with me.

I have this problem, too. My DD is miserable if she has to stay home sick. Thankfully it's only happened twice in 2 years. She loves school and hates to feel like she has missed out on anything with her friends.

[GrayMatterWife]

FWIW, when my brothers and I were home sick, we were not allowed to watch TV, eat junk food, play with our friends after school, or do anything fun. If we were sick, we had to just stay in bed and be sick. Boring. It sort of discouraged us from wanting to be home sick.

Yep. This.

And you want to come home from school, you better produce a fever or one of the following 5 B's: Blood, Barf, Bowel (as in loose), Bone, or Bile.

[Ladybug]

Sorry I'm late,

Here's the way I do it:

A one-way ticket home: fever over 100, vomiting and/or diarrhea, but honestly most kids do not fall into these categories. There is a range of normal, even for frequent fliers. When kids fall out of normal range (even if once a day is normal for them) I call home and feel the parent out for their threshold. Obviously from the reponses here, there is a range of thresholds so I'm genuinely trying to find and support the parents when there is no clinical reason (fever>100, vomting, diarrhea) to send a child home. If you want to talk your child through it on the phone, I support that. If you want to pick them up because X,Y and Z is going on your family I support that too. I'm just giving you a heads up that something is abnormal (whatever that may mean) and asking how you want to handle it. If there are a lot of sick kids with the same symptoms I will take that into consideration and tell you.

On the otherhand, I'm always watching for patterns. If a child is avoiding a particular class, gyms, recess or whatever I start to ask more questions. Is there anxiety, bullying, boredom...what's happening? Many times these will present as stomach aches, etc.. It's not always that obvious. It's important for the nurse, teachers and parents to recognize these patterns early.

My biggest concern with your Izzy would be a large family with a chronic health sibling. That's coming from the mother of another large family and it's unique challenges. It's something that would be on my radar as a nurse (and mom) although I have lots a frequent fliers that I'm not the least bit worried about. Part of the maturing process is learning how to filter your social calls...even when you're bored out of your mind. School is where (most of us ) learn that.

Give her a hug from me.