A recent study at the University of Michigan shows a surprising number of parents struggle with whether or not they should send their child to school when their child is sick–for a variety of reasons, some of which might surprise you, or some of which you might already be worrying about.
Making the decision
According to the study, close to two-thirds of students worried about staying home sick. Not because they were miserable about being ill, but because they were worried that it would affect their grades, their extracurricular activities or how they were perceived by their friends.
Parents in the study did worry about their child missing important academic information or an extracurricular activity, but also considered whether their child would be contagious, whether their child seemed like they could function through a school day and how their behavior was impacted by their illness.
Despite the age of the child, many parents don’t let their child make this decision, choosing to consider all the factors and make a parental decision.
Modern factors
But two additional factors in this decision have been foisted into public awareness by the COVID-19 pandemic: the impact of childcare on parents (particularly mothers) and the oft-ignored dangers of contagious diseases.
Before the pandemic, I almost never saw people wearing masks in public. Now, I see them on a frequent basis at doctor’s offices, airports, and large events.
I admit, I myself never wore a mask before the pandemic either! My workplaces demanded us employees come to work unless we were vomiting or running a high fever, so all of us routinely showed up with sniffles and coughs and no one batted an eye.
But the pandemic provided a wealth of information about contagion and viral loads to the public. We learned that we can spread viruses without even feeling ill; that when we are feeling symptoms, we shouldn’t just blithely hang out around other people; and that we have a social responsibility to protect others from our germs.
But in a world where workplaces in the U.S. don’t provide adequate parental PTO, and most schools aren’t known for their flexibility and hybrid opportunities, this brings up the second problem the pandemic has highlighted: the childcare crisis.
We’ve written on this crisis before. But it’s relevant in a discussion on students staying home from school sick.
RELATED: Mothering Justice: Addressing the Childcare Crisis/Remote Work in MI
After all, if your kid isn’t old enough to stay home unsupervised, that’s a burden on the parent(s): someone must stay home with them, or scramble to find childcare.
Even if your child is old enough, you are bound to still be worried about them, home alone and sick, while you’re at work.
Maybe your child is sick enough that you do want them to stay home, but you simply can’t afford a day off right now.
Dr. Ghada Harsouni, pediatrician and lactation consultant who founded Ann Arbor’s Honeybee Pediatrics, said, “I know it can be difficult to make the decision, but your child should come first, no matter what. One of the reasons I left the traditional practice at a pediatrician office was because of difficulty finding child care for my own kids. My patients have been so understanding when my own child is sick and we can convert a visit to telemedicine when needed, schedule for the next day or have them be seen when my husband gets home from work.”
Harsouni has also seen how so many of the child care responsibilities can fall primarily on a mother’s shoulders.
“I think it’s also important to find a hive that will help,” she said. “I offer parents hive access in my Honeybee practice as it is so convenient to text/call on the same day and get a response within seconds. For my working moms, they can call me in the morning and we can either have a school note sent right away, or discuss whether or not the child should miss school. I also offer same day office visits/televisits or home visits depending on where the child lives.”
This sort of responsiveness or flexibility is so critical for working parents with school-age children.
Local policies
There’s not always an easy, clear-cut answer to the question of when a child should stay home from school.
Fortunately, Ann Arbor Public Schools have thorough policies to help support their parents in making this decision.
AAPS policies state that many illnesses don’t require a child to stay home from school; “however, the child should stay home if the illness prevents the child from participating comfortably in school activities or if there is risk of spread of harmful disease to others.”
This includes running a fever above 100.4, vomiting twice or more, having diarrhea twice or more or having a contagious skin rash.
Current AAPS guidelines on COVID or other respiratory illnesses are that a student needs to be fever-free for 24 hours, with improved symptoms, and feel like they can handle a full school day.
Harsouni tells parents: “The AAP recommends children are at least 24-48 hours fever-free before returning to school. This allows for children to have a complete recovery process and minimize risk of transmission to classmates. However, if children are actively vomiting, having very frequent diarrhea or specific rashes (think Hand Foot Mouth rash that has not scabbed/dried over), there are exceptions.”
There are other circumstances a parent should consider.
Harsouni said, “If your child is not feeling very well, not hydrating enough, or having a really bad cough that can cause respiratory issues, it is best to keep the child at home for observation.”
Your pediatrician, she said, is a great resource if you are wavering on if your child should be attending school or not.
