When To Keep Your Child Home From School Or Day Care
A common decision on school mornings is whether or not your child is well enough to attend. You often don't know if she's going to get better or worse during the course of the day. The school nurse or health aide can call you if she becomes sicker or needs to come home.
The main reason for keeping your child home is if she's too sick to be comfortable at school. Also if she has a fever, she should stay home, but be sure the temperature really is over 100 degrees. Children with vomiting more than once, frequent diarrhea, a continuous hacky cough, earaches or a widespread rash, should stay home. Most of these problems need to be discussed with your child's healthcare provider or even seen.
On the other hand, children who don't have a fever and only have a mild cough, a runny nose, sore throat or other cold symptoms can be sent to school without any harm to themselves or others.
In summary, if in doubt, children should be sent to school. Otherwise they may develop a bad habit of withdrawing with minor symptoms rather than learning to cope with them. Over-protection should be avoided.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. It is provided for educational purposes only. You assume full responsibility for how you choose to use this information.
Author and Senior Reviewer: Barton D. Schmitt, M.D. FAAP
Last Review: 6/1/2008
Last Revised: 6/1/2000
Copyright 1994-2008 Barton Schmitt, M.D. Parent Advice Messages.
