Do you let dc play with sick kids?

[DevaMajka]

Specifically, kids with colds or other minor illnesses.

Ds1 has a neighbor friend who is occasionally sick, and his mom (also my friend) never gives me a heads up about it. I used to tell her when ds was sick, but she's always said she doesn't care, so I stopped. If I told her to give me a heads up, she would.

I'm just not sure about keeping ds from playing with his friend. They play nearly every day, and are "best friends," so he would really miss playing with him. Otoh, ds1 is in school and it would be a major bummer to have him miss, plus ds2 is 1yo and he's miserable to be around when he's sick.

wdyd?

[One_Girl]

I don't if I can help it because it is very difficult to take time off when either of us is sick. Now that dd has had pneumonia after seeming like she was better I will also be even more careful about when I allow her to go back around people who may potential infect her with something else while her immune system is down.

[camracrazy]

I don't, but for my middle dd a "cold" can turn into a lung infection that could land her in the hospital. That's an expensive playdate!!

I always try to give others heads up if any of my kids are feeling sick. They always seem to appreciate it.

[rightkindofme]

Sometimes, it depends on what is coming up in our lives. I appreciate a heads up and I always give one.

[JL83]

Depends on what you mean by "sick".

I care about vomiting, diarrhea and HIGH fevers. A runny nose or feeling a little bit under the weather? I don't mind and I wouldn't warn anyone about.

[ChetMC]

I Care About

Like JL83, I'm interested in vomiting and diarrhea. Usually if a kid has a high fever they don't feel like playing anyway... but yeah, super high fevers are worth mentioning too.

Our kids spend a lot of time on public transit. It would be silly for us to deny play dates over a runny nose and then to turn around and take the kids onto a crowded subway.

Our kids don't get sick much though. We have four kids ranging in age from 1 year to 6.5 years and I can count the number of prescriptions we've had filled on one hand with fingers left over. I might feel differently if I had a child who was prone to infections. I definitely try my best to respect parents who want the heads up.

[philomom]

No way!

[phathui5]

I do let my kids play with children who have colds, as colds aren't a big deal for us.

[Storm Bride]

Yes. It's not an issue for me.

[Drummer's Wife]

Ugh. I'll say it bugs me when DD's friend comes over clearly sick. She stays the night at least once most weekends, which is fine and generally a fun time; however, I don't appreciate no one letting me know when she is ill (and shouldn't she be at home resting?). Friday night her mom dropped her off after they went out to eat, so it was after 8 pm. She sat on the couch and told DD, "my mom pretty much shoved a nasty cough drop down my throat in the car.". And I'm thinking huh? Really! Then she proceeds to have a nasty cough for the rest of the night . WTF!?

I wanted to send her home, but it got pretty late and I hate confrontation, so I just stayed rather annoyed. She said she'd been sick for a couple days, but had went to school. She was definitely calmer and more sedentary than usual. Knock on wood, but so far no one in my house seems to have a bug.

So, yeah - I guess I let them play with sick kids. But I don't like it, and think it's inconsiderate to not keep your cold-laden kid at home... or at least give a heads up.

[grumpybear]

Generally, no. But, if it's just a runny nose and well, we're there, I try to suck it up (no pun intended). I just tell myself over and over and over that his immune system is getting a workout.
And if my child was sick too, even if it's just a runny nose, I'd let the other parents make the call if it was a playdate.

[mommy212]

I would let him, unless the kid has something really bad you don't want him to catch. You can't keep kids from getting sick and in my opinion it is useless and possibly even unhealthy to try. Let his immune system get a work out!

[CarrieMF]

Originally Posted by JL83

Depends on what you mean by "sick".

I care about vomiting, diarrhea and HIGH fevers. A runny nose or feeling a little bit under the weather? I don't mind and I wouldn't warn anyone about.

yeah. If we're talking a cold no I wouldn't stop it. A fever/puking I would.

[curiouscanadian]

My nephews are often sick with colds and the like and while I appreciate knowing if they've got something DS could catch I don't stop them from playing together. (Hence why 7 of the 15 people got colds after DS's birthday )

That said, we DID bow out of family dinner last weekend when I heard one of them had pink eye and would definitely avoid a get-together if they had fever/diarrhea/vomiting. But in my part of the world people don't generally take their kids out if they're feeling that horrible anyway, so it's kind of a non-issue.

[mommy2maya]

a cold doesn't bother me- pukes, yeah no way.

[Nicole730]

I try not to. I do give a heads up to our friends if the kids have a cold. I've had a few nasty colds this year, courtesy of the kids, so at the moment, I'm trying to avoid those too. My son is only 2, so it's not too much of an issue yet. I know I will for sure always let parents know when my kid is sick, no matter how minor it is, and hope they do the same for me.

[Bellabaz]

Minor illnesses like colds are fine for me. I look at it as building up their immune system and usually they are fine if the only issue is the sniffles and a cough. Early betimes for a few days usually does the trick. Dd1 goes to school and is going to get stuff and bring it home anyway.
Anything involving a fever for more than 2 days or stomach bugs with vomitting I appreciate a head's up. Because then it disrupts stuff. Bigger stuff obviously I would like to know, although I may actually want my kids to catch it. For example measles or rubella.

[lalaland42]

If the kid is feeling up to playing then I figure it can't be too bad but if it is vomiting or diarrhea, then no. I was peeved when DD's classmate came to school less than 12 hours after vomiting. The neighborhood kids are out all the time here and there is just no way to keep DD away from sick kids. After the baby had a couple of colds, I stopped letting the neighborhood kids touch his hands and face if they were snotty.

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by JL83

Depends on what you mean by "sick".

I care about vomiting, diarrhea and HIGH fevers. A runny nose or feeling a little bit under the weather? I don't mind and I wouldn't warn anyone about.

This. Minor illness doesn't concern me. My kids will probably wind up with it at some point, anyway. I always let people know if my kids are sick at all, so they can make their own decision.

[mamadelbosque]

I generally try to avoid doing much if the boys have a serious cold, but if they just have a runny nose or something we'll still go out to the park/playgroup/etc. And I don't care if they play with other little kids who also have minor colds. If they're throwing up or something yeah we avoid that. But minor colds?? Meh.