This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Moms Talk: Too Sick for School

Deciding whether a child is sick enough to miss school can be a guilt-filled juggling act.

Q: How do I know if my child is sick enough to keep home from school?

A: It’s hard to make the call on keeping your kid home from school. There are likely multiple, conflicting things running through your head when you hear your child whine about not feeling well—all before you’ve consumed your morning coffee.

My approach is to take my son to school and have him try it out, almost every time. Usually he makes it through the day, though I have had to pick him up from the nurse’s office at least a few times. While my work is generally what drives me to encourage him to try going to school, there is also my resistance to letting him dodge school. Sometimes there’s wrapped up in the package, too, though.

Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I believe you should set your own parenting rules, according to what makes sense to you and what works for your family. If you want some basic guidelines, though, here are three questions to ask before saying yes or no to your child’s cries that school is out of the question:

  • Is it contagious? A temperature of higher than 100.5 degrees is cause for concern. Spreading illness around school should be avoided, so until your child’s fever falls (without the aid of medication), he or she should stay home.
  • Has some illness been going around? If you know an illness is on the rampage and your child’s symptoms seem representative, then it’s probably legitimate and at least worth considering keeping your kid home for the day.
  • Is something else going on? Sometimes children feign illness to avoid dealing with life’s tricky situations. If you think anxiety or fear may be the real culprit, then it’s time to have a talk while you get your day going and your kid on the way to confronting those feelings.

It’s not easy to stay home with a sick kid with all the demands facing you. Sometimes it’s impossible. Too often, we fail to ask those around us for help when they would be more than happy to provide it, if we just ask. If you have a friend, family member or neighbor you trust, maybe you could at least get a few hours of your work or tasks done and let your sick kid stay home, too.

Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?