September 6, 2006: In the News

"Experts at the Mayo Clinic say children should stay home when they don't feel well enough to participate in normal activities or play. Physicians provide a list of symptoms when a child should definitely be kept at home, including a temperature over 100, repeated bouts of diarrhea, vomits twice or more over a 24-hour period, open sores on the mouth, and more. 'Although sometimes it seems very inconvenient and impractical for us as working parents, there are times when we have to keep our children out of school to protect them and others,' says Maritza Irizarry, a Phoenix-area pediatrician. "

Yeeeee-haaaaa! They have to make this "official" list to get people to listen? Are people going to listen? I think a few will, but those are the folks who would keep their children home when sick anyway, they don't really need the list. The people who send their sick kids to school aren't going to bother with this list.
It is so frustrating to me to see people sending their sick kids to school. My kids inevitably get sick. The teachers sometimes end up catching the illness as well and then the kids are stuck with a substitute and lose even more valuable educational instruction.
People!!! Keep your children home when they are sick!!!! Not only do I not want you sharing your illness with our family, your poor child needs to be home where he/she can rest and receive care so their little body can fight off the illness more efficiently and quickly. Forget yourself for a bit and think about your child!