I've never heard the nice Mother (across my street) EVER say "Fucking" until today.

[BlueJazz]

She's about 30 or so and has 2 daughters about 8 and 10.

We got to talking this morning, while I was outside, and she told me how her kids are home sick with the flu.
I said: ..I'm sorry (and all that) and then she started in. (She looked VERY tired)

"Maybe if these Fucking parents wouldn't let little Suzy go to school when they're sick as a dog, everybody else would not catch all the stuff"

Me: Well, grace...maybe they have to send them to school because they can't keep them at home.
Her: NO...NO...I'm talking about LETTING them go so they are sure to get their Fucking
Perfect attendance fucking sheet at the end of the year! They bring their disease to school so they won't miss getting a stupid piece of paper.

Me: Oh..I understand...I used to wonder about that also when some sick kid would come to school coughing and hacking so they could get a stupid plaque.
Her...Yeah.
Me: If you need me to watch them for a while I'll....(Her) No...I'll be fine ...just tired.

Man...Parents have to put up with a lot of shit sometimes.

[appleannie1]

1. My kids brought home Impatago, lice and scabies because parents knowingly sent their kids to school

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. ewww

[LeftInTX]

23. You've had some bad luck there

[gkhouston]

41. My daughter brought home head lice from dog knows where. Her teacher was amazed

that we told the school. Apparently, a lot of people don't.

[appleannie1]

53. I was on a first name basis with the school nurse. Carolyn knew my voice.

[Warpy]

2. I remember my mother getting a new asshole reamed

by a school nurse for that. I'd felt lousy when I got up, sore throat and tight chest. Not enough to stay home, said my mother who knew I hated school. I got really woozy on the bus and by the time I got to school, my temp was over 104 and I fainted for the second and last time in my life.

I kind of felt sorry for my mother since this one came on so suddenly. Still, she listened to me after that and checked my temperature before sending me out after that one.

I do feel for your neighbor, but often mothers can't keep sick kids home because they'll lose their jobs over it. There needs to be a day care for sick kids but I don't know who'd be nuts enough to staff it.

[southernyankeebelle]

9. 104 is high for a child. Gee your mother should of had to at the doctors. But I understand and

get it. Funny thing I remember when my son was alittle over a year old. He used to get lots of ear infections. I was always taking him to the doctor. I was such a worrier. Well once I took him to the doctor's office and he was having a good time running around in the office lobby. I know those people thought I was nutty. Well anyway when I went in the back for the nurse to do the pre checkup he ended up having a fevor of 103. She looked at him and took it again. Sure enough it was 103. She couldn't believe how active he was with a temp. Usually when he gets an infection in his ears it is painful. Another time they were going to put tubes in his ears. Well before the surgery the nurse came in and he was pretty active (he does have ADD) and chubby. So I was trying to hold him and she asked a question and I didn't hear it and my hubby answered her question. My son was clumsly and falls alot. He trips over his own feet. Any way my husband said to me put him down. I said no let me hold him. He said in a more stern voice put him down. I went and did it. No sooner then I did that he started running around and ran into one of those grey meddle desks that the military offices have. He bumped his head at the end of the desk and promptly bounced off the desk and he got up and then laughed and kept running around. The nurse looked at my husband and said never mind I see now. I think when my regular baby doctor who was familiar with us put in his notes "a overly protective Italian-american mother". I was so hurt. He was my first child. So everything he did I really watched out for. Once he could talk and tell me what was wrong then everything was ok. Those are some funny stories now. Not back then.

[Yo_Mama]

25. I remember my mother getting yelled at because I got flu in HS and they had to come get me

I was isolated in the nurse's office by 9:30 with a high fever, sick as a dog. They sent me there from homeroom at 9:10. Someone had to escort me there because I was getting dizzy.

But you know what? I caught the bus at 6:45 AM every morning, and I felt fine when I was getting ready and when I was standing there waiting for the bus. I literally went from "just fine" to extremely ill in just two hours.

Flu's the only illness I've ever had that does that.

[pnwmom]

40. One of the hospitals here had that a while back; a kind of day care for kids

who were too sick to go to school. Hopefully they still do.

[Aerows]

50. My mother sent me to school sick one day

because she thought I was faking it. I threw up all over myself and my sister on the bus LOL. We both ended up back at home that day. I was never accused of faking it again.

[Butterbean]

3. We sent my son to school less than 24 hrs. after

he'd vomited (he witnessed a classmate being taken away by EMS, his teacher said he vomited because he was upset). I TOLD my husband over and over that he couldn't go to school, but my husband told my son (who is autistic and used to routine) that he could go to school (because h had no fever and hadn't vomited again) and put him on the bus that morning. I was fuming. I got a call from the school 45 minutes later telling me that I had to come pick up my child because he was not allowed to be at school under 24 hours after he had vomited there. I promptly called my husband and told him to take his ass over there and pick up our child, and to explain to the teacher that it was his idea to send our son in, NOT mine.

So sometimes yeah, parents do stupid stuff, but it's not always the decision of both the parents.

[Tikki]

4. Wow. I worked in schools for years and the 'perfect attendance award' was hardly prestigious..

In fact I've seen the few middle-school students who actually might qualify leave the assemblies
before their names are called.

Most parents send sick kids to school because they have no one to watch them or they
don't really understand how really sick their child might be.

If you want to talk about irresponsibly, that would be your neighbor for not vaccinating
her children against the flu.


Tikki

[Butterbean]

5. My youngest got the flu in December. Both my kids got

the flu vax in October. Their pediatrician said it is a poor match this season and that she is seeing "hundreds" of children in their practice with flu. Just because the neighbor's children have the flu doesn't mean she didn't vax.

[BlueJazz]

10. She did Vax. Might be another strain?? I don't know..

[Butterbean]

12. The CDC says it's really bad this year, so I dunno.

We had a really hard time getting tamiflu, too. We had to go to the next county to get it, because there was none left in the entire county where I live. It was nuts.

[Tikki]

11. You are correct, sorry...And I have to assume most parents did, also.

So this comes back to what do you do with a sick kid when Mom and or Dad have to work?

Communities could and some do have a sick section at pre-schools. I am not sure why other
schools don't have that kind of feature available. Money, I suppose.


Tikki

[Butterbean]

13. I don't know, and it makes me so heartsick for the working parents

who have no other option and are screwed. I can't imagine being in that position.

[Yo_Mama]

26. That's what my doctor says

He says he is seeing hoards of patients with flu and he knows the flu shot isn't working, because he vaccinated at least half of them himself!

[Butterbean]

28. Yep, I was so pissed. My pediatrician was very sympathetic, because

she knew we'd gotten the vax. I'll just crap a brass toaster if we get it again. Omg. I want to send my kids to school in hazmat suits. Kids are just little petri dishes with feet, walking cootie carriers.

[Yo_Mama]

56. The first few years it seems like they get sick every other week, almost

Then they build up immunities and it is better.

A lot of years the flu vaccine works better than it is working this year - I think we've gotten complacent and forget that. I wish it always worked!

Esp. with kids - the flu is such a serious illness that it can be dangerous.

[Bozita]

32. Tonight's NBC news broadcast described the current vaccine as a "perfect match"

Part of Dr. Nancy Snyderman's report on the flu situation.

[Butterbean]

33. Well then she and my pediatrician disagree or got different info.

I'm not a doctor, I don't purport to know this for certain, I am only repeating what my doctor told me. My kids both got the vax, my kid got the flu. In this area of NC, flu has apparently been rampant. Who knows. *shrug*

[ecstatic]

6. or maybe they can't afford to take off work?

[ChisolmTrailDem]

7. When did the Man come into the conversation?

Just kidding.

She has a point. Kids should stay home if they are sick but too many parents have to work and can't afford to stay home.

Sigh. We have so many issues to fix and too many willing to shoot themselves in their own foot to get it done.

[frazzled]

8. You were wrong about her being "nice"

You know, her adorable little girls probably gave 6 other kids the flu at school the day before they got sick ... because the contagion occurs before the symptoms appear.

People with flu are contagious (able to infect others) beginning one day before getting symptoms. ... That means that you can give someone the flu before you know you're sick

http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/fact_sheet.htm

Why are people always blaming others? Why do they always think they are blameless when everyone else is at fault? Flu is contagious. And no, no one goes to school sick just to get a piece of paper 6 months from now.

[BlueJazz]

14. "no one goes to school sick just to get a piece of paper 6 months from now"

Actually...(from going into homes as a Computer Tech)..You'd be surprised how many kids like the idea of
"Standing out in the crowd" by doing such things...as going to school when they not well.
I remember, specifically, 3 kids in my middle school class that used to brag about their being at school all the time.
Of course, this is the South so maybe it's different elsewhere ... ???

[frazzled]

19. You ignored my point: these kids could have caught the flu anywhere ...

and furthermore could have spread it to others before the mother even knew they were sick. This thread is ridiculous, and that mother is ill-informed.

[BlueJazz]

35. Yeah...you're right...I probably should have smashed her face in with my fist. She's a real bitch.

I mean...she had no sleep from the night before and who was I to give her a pass like some disgusting,
soft piece of enabling asshole piece of human garbage...but you see, I got plenty of sleep last night so I'm not frazzled.

[lexx21]

38. I worked with a guy once....

that came in sick, and would take his temp at his workstation and announce how high his fever is. I leaned over and told him to stop being an asshole, go home, and that he was impressing no one by being there sick. I guess he wanted "points" for review time. I felt like slapping the crap out of him for coming in with a fever just to look good to management.

[hunter]

21. Yeah, but most people catch colds and flu from sick people spewing bodily fluids.

Sick people should stay at home from the moment they know they are sick. I can't think of many exceptions. Maybe if you're the only guy who can stop the asteroid from hitting earth. That would be one.

[lynne]

27. Oh, yes, they most certainly do -

- go to school for that "Perfect Attendance" award given at the end of the year assembly. I've seen it time and again. NOT from families that are so strapped that they need the free school breakfast or reduced lunch and not from families where Mom is working but from financially secure families that are driving their children to be the best at everything. They must be at school every day. They must play sports, be on the debate team, be class president, get a 4.0, play in chamber orchestra, etc., etc.

And, yes, they come to school sick with fevers - obviously contagious - and then have the school call to have a parent come get them. That way the little Typhoid Mary's are marked "present" for the day and they keep their perfect attendance.

[frazzled]

36. Zero proof has been given

that these two girls got the flu from (a) another child who came to school sick, or (b) a sick child who came because they wanted the attendance award. Zero. It could be, but it also very likely could not be.

The girls could equally have gotten it at:

(a) the supermarket
(b) Mom and Dad's New Year's Day brunch
(c) the shopping mall
(d) Aunt Mehitabel

And they could have given it to a slew of other kids before THEY knew they had it. Should these other kids' moms scream "fuck" at them?

If you want to make this a thread about how people should not send their kids to school sick, fine. (Still, figure out how to keep them from going to school the day before they get sick, when they are highly contagious to others; or in the morning when they are fine, but later in the day become ill.) But that is NOT the point the story in the OP was making: it was an accusation, spewed with venom, at others against whom absolutely no proof exists.

The flu happens, with or without flu shots, with or without other sick kids to blame. This kind of rabid blame laying seems very impolitic to me.

[gkhouston]

43. My money's on Aunt Mehitabel. She's nothing but trouble.

[Borchkins]

51. I had an Aunt Mehitabel. She had a lot of cats.

[lynne]

47. Did you even read the OP? She didn't scream fuck at her children -

- she used it in a conversation with another adult.

Of course, they could have gotten the flu elsewhere but that doesn't negate the fact that sick children come to school so they can qualify for attendance awards, which is what I was responding to. They certainly do spread their illness in the process. Try as you might, there's no denying that fact.

[abelenkpe]

55. People are contagious before the onset of symptoms

That is how colds are spread. I understand people get frustrated when they have to deal with a cold but blaming others is ridiculous.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

15. Hey there... I had prefect attendance all 4 yrs of high school!

Jist what'r you tryin' to say there partn'r?

lol

[BlueJazz]

16. Well...Yeah...but you're the OneTenthofOnePercent.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

20. LOL, well yeah, there is that 0.1% factor (nt)

[hunter]

18. I agree with this mom.

Perfect attendance shouldn't be rewarded.

If you're lucky enough to have a kid who never gets sick (there are kids like that) you should take them out of school a couple of times each school year to visit grandma, go whale watching, attend a public protest, or something of equal value.

[Generic Other]

22. Ironic

I think the Center for Disease Control has been urging everyone over 6 mos. old to get a flu shot for several years. So, my question is whose kids are home sick? And why?

[lynne]

29. Because there's only one strain of flu and no other contagious bugs floating around, right?

That is a magic shot, for sure!

[Generic Other]

39. Well, I don't catch the flu very often

if that's what you mean. And the CDC identifies the main new strains of flu every year. What surprises me is that I am surrounded by people who don't trust the shots preferring to take their chances with the flu.

Everything I read about immunizations say the shots are the best defense.

I thought the mom in the OP was partially to blame if she hadn't immunized her kids. There's a reason why the new recommendations have been expanded to include all age groups. Reduce the cases of flu, you reduce more serious infections. To me that makes sense.

I don't attribute it to magic.

[lynne]

49. The flu is only one of many bugs that kids need to stay home with -

- my 5 year old granddaughter is home with strep and 10 month old grandson home with a "virus" - not the flu according to the doctor - that has given him a 102 temp.

The flu is just one option in the contagious disease pool.

[Generic Other]

61. But some kid passed on the strep to yours

probably after a bout of flu worsened.

Sorry. I am a teacher. I have seen some bad flu seasons. Most teachers I know get the shots. And we would probably call in a witchdoctor with a magic incantation if it would help. I am just a germophobe, I guess. I blame everyone who dared to be sick before I caught it.

The virus thing is a whole separate issue, and what makes it worse is I know I contaminated myself if I get the sniffles which really ticks me off since I use hand sanitizer and try never to touch my face, etc. I guess I just need to be in a bubble until the flu season ends.

Sorry about your sick grandkids. Hope both of them get better soon!

[Javaman]

58. Even if you get the shot, you can still get the flu...

and no, getting the shot doesn't always minimize the chance of getting the flu.

The way the yearly flu vaccine is determined, is via a statistical analysis of the previous years variant rate.

Then the CDC picks the top several strains and manufacture a vaccinated based upon those.

Any good virologist will tell you that vaccines are great but not completely preventative.

The main tactic behind vaccines is to keep the spread to a minimum. Even if you catch a strain of the flu that the determined vaccine wasn't designed to work against, you will still have enough of a defense that it will minimize some of the effects.

If you get full blown vomiting high fever flu with the vaccine, then there are much bigger problems regarding the general population.

That said, age generally plays an enormous role in how bad a case you get if in fact you do get the flu.

It was first noticed during the now famous 1918 "Spanish" flu pandemic that those who died most often were either the young or the very old.

The N1H1 virus was found to breed better in strong and weak metabolisms. While those in the middle age area, roughly from late 20's - 50's still got the flu and many died, there weren't as many, statistically speaking, as those in the younger and older categories.

[Generic Other]

62. The vaccine can reduce the severity of the flu or prevent it

It looks like there is going to be an epidemic this year. That's a serious health issue.

I am not saying the vaccines are perfect. I understand why some object to being immunized. Still, I got a shot. Like I do every year.

As I wait for the new permanent one-time flu shot that is in development.

[Javaman]

63. Exactly...

as I stated above, "The main tactic behind vaccines is to keep the spread to a minimum. Even if you catch a strain of the flu that the determined vaccine wasn't designed to work against, you will still have enough of a defense that it will minimize some of the effects."

[Mariana]

45. Vaccines don't always work for everyone.

Most of them aren't even close to 100 percent effective.

[Javaman]

59. Read my above responce...

from your reply, I believe you understand that there is no such thing as a "100% effective" vaccine.

People think that getting the flu vaccine will magically protect them. That couldn't farthest from the reality.

Taking protective procedures also need to be employed. That's what many people who say, "I got the shot and still got the flu" fail to understand.

[HockeyMom]

30. Green slime oozing out of eyes

That was the worst I have experienced. A little boy came into his Pre-K class with his eyes half closed and that stuff oozing out of them, as he kept rubbing them, and wiping it all over. I put on a pair of gloves and marched him to the nurse's office, who called his mother immediately. I had no idea what was wrong with him, but after I got back to class I changed the gloves and disinfected everything he came into contact with. We then made all the kids in class wash and disinfect their hands too.

The boy was out of school for a week and couldn't come back until a doctor said he could return. How could a parent send a child, or not take them to see a DOCTOR, with a condition like that? As a parent myself, I would be terrified seeing something like that in my own child, even putting aside that my child might be contagious to other children and and adults.

[Javaman]

60. Sounds like conjunctivitis. Highly contagious. Sounds like you did the very right thing. nt

[Mimosa]

31. Cussing has become too common

It started with movies in the 1970s and, later, cable TV. People used to reserve obscenities for emergency use only. Now it's F words and siht all the time.

[datasuspect]

48. goddamn motheufucking shit

[TeamPooka]

37. a friends child wanted to go to school when he was sick because of a Perfect Attendance "promotion"

at the school too.

[pnwmom]

42. At least one hospital here offers childcare for sick kids up to age 12.

https://www.virginiamason.org/tlc

If you have a mildly ill child but need to get to work, Tender Loving Care (TLC) at Virginia Mason offers you the reassurance that your sick child will be well cared for while you work.

Caring teachers provide childcare for mildly ill children ranging in age from 1 year to 12 years old. A registered nurse is on-site to screen your child’s symptoms and monitor your child’s condition throughout the day. TLC offers care for children with most common childhood illnesses.

Corporate Benefits of Tender Loving Care — Childcare for Mildly-Ill Children
TLC Corporate Partners
Coming Prepared
When your child is home sick from school or daycare and you need to get to work, give TLC a call as soon as possible. Reservations are made on a first-come basis.

We will discuss your child’s condition in order to advise you if a visit to your child’s physician is appropriate. Please plan enough time for an admission exam by the nurse when you arrive, to determine the most appropriate care plan for your child.

[logosoco]

44. Another factor that plays into this sick kid/missed school issue is the school

attendance policy. I got a robo-call from our school district this evening about the 90% attendance rate that will be in full force next year. Luckily, my youngest daughter is a senior, but my oldest grandson starts kindergarten in the fall. All through the years of three kids going to school, I did not really get a lot of grief for the amount of time my kids missed (some years they missed more than others, some they got perfect attendance...that's life with kids!!!).
Now it sounds like the school will be more strict with these policies. The call mentioned something about if the absences were too much, it could be referred to a social worker. That would be another issue for parents to deal with, much harder when they are working. The school seems to accept doctors notes readily, but many people don't have the time or money to take kids to the doctor for all illnesses. Often there is really nothing a doctor can do anyway, so why go to the expense and take the time off work just to get a doctors excuse.

I worked at a state licensed day care and if the kids were sick (throwing up, diaherria, fever, contagious things) they were not allowed to stay. The parents had to pick them up or make other arrangements.

The world would be a better place if kids could stay home when sick (who wants to be a work when they aren't feeling well), and if parents had a safe place to take the kids when they can't afford to miss work.

[Scuba]

46. Maybe the parents have "American" jobs, which means that they have no paid time off ...

... for staying home with their sick kids. If they don't send them to school, they either leave them home alone or lose their jobs.

I'm not excusing them, just pointing out that corporate rule of America exasperates the problems we have.

[LWolf]

52. Kids get sick at school.

Put large numbers of kids in a small space, and they share germs no matter how often you wipe down tables, etc..

It's not because parents knowingly send sick kids to school. Kids can be contagious in the early stages of an illness without showing symptoms.

As a teacher, when I see a sick kid, I send him home. My students, adolescents, are more likely to be the ones insisting that they aren't sick because they would rather be at school with their friends than home without them.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

54. If your child is sick, you find a way.

That's what my parents always did and they didn't have much money.

My dad would leave work and worry about getting into trouble later.

[abelenkpe]

57. Both of my kids were sick for almost the entire two weeks of winter vacation

Christmas day they both had temps of 102. They got strep from school and even though I had to work full time I stayed up all night with them making sure they got their medicine, giving them baths if their fever got to high and keeping them company. You know what I didn t do? Blame other parents at school for my kids colds. It's winter. Cold season. People are contagious before their symptoms show up. And coughs and sniffles last long after the fever is gone and one is no longer contagious. Now I get this neighbor was tired and probably not thinking straight but what kind of example is she setting for her kids to blame others in a profanity laced delusional rant? Hope she gets some sleep and reads up on how colds are actually spread cause walking around angry at the other parents at her kids school is not healthy or sane.