September is an exciting time as the season changes and kids head back to school. But along with that colder weather comes icky colds and other illness bugs. So when should a child actually stay home from school? As a teacher, I can tell you that it is so important that sick children stay home. Here are the eight reasons a child should stay home (according to Minnesota state law) and why each of them are important to pay attention to. Read to the end because the eighth one is a doozy

Why Should I Keep My Kid Home From School?

When you are making the decision on whether to keep your child home from school, please remember that your sick child also affects their entire classroom and any other children or adults they may come into contact with. I worked in a toddler room. Anytime someone came in sick or got sick during the day, the toddlers started dropping like flies. I also caught influenza when I was 8 months pregnant. Illness spreads like wildfire in a school. Keeping kids home is a way to help curb the spread.

Fever

By Minnesota state law, a child is supposed to stay home until they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours. So if we send a child home with a fever, by this rule, they should be out the next day also. Here’s the kicker: They need to be fever-free without the use of any kind of medication. So if your child doesn’t have a fever because you gave them ibuprofen, it doesn’t count.

I always hated when a child would show up to school and in three hours time would be running a fever when the medicine wears off. I understand that sometimes parents really need to work and there are limited options with a sick child. But it really feels like a cheap trick to dose your child to get them through the morning before we send them home again.

(Just a note, we generally consider anything over 100.2 degrees to be a fever.)

Vomiting or Diarrhea

This one is pretty obvious. If your child is vomiting or has diarrhea, they shouldn’t be in school. Just like with a fever, they need to go 24 hours without vomiting or diarrhea before they should come back to school. So if your child vomits at school and we send them home, they should probably be out the next day also so that they have gone at least 24 hours since vomiting.

This one is so important in a toddler room especially. We are used to dealing with dirty diapers. But poop is teeming with bacteria and when it is diarrhea, it is hard to contain and clean it all. Every time there is a diaper like that, there is a risk of bacteria spreading all over the room.

Rashes and Sores

If your child has a rash that is undiagnosed or if they have sores that are draining pus, please keep them home. A rash could be something totally innocuous as a new laundry softener or something as serious as chicken pox. If a sore has pus coming out, it could be spreading bacteria.

The easiest thing to do in this situation is to simply bring your child into urgent care or a minute clinic. Most of the time, the doctor will say it is nothing and you can bring them back to school. Simple as that. The important part is that we know it is nothing instead of just guessing.

Stomachache or Headache

Everyone gets a stomachache or headache every once in a while. But if it lasts a long time or keeps coming back, your child won’t be able to focus on anything they are supposed to be learning in school. We also can’t dispense any sort of medication like ibuprofen to your child to help with these things. Think about how much it sucks to be at work with a stomachache or headache. Do you want your child to deal with the same at school?

Earache or Drainage From the Ear

Ear infections are not fun. End of story.

Redness, Swelling or Drainage From the Eye

Pink eye is no fun for anyone. It is also something that spreads like crazy. Whenever a child in my room has pink eye, I wash my hands almost constantly, even after they are on antibiotics. If you suspect your child may have pink eye, a simple round of antibiotics can clear it up. After 24 hours on antibiotics, the child can come back to school.

Untreated Head Lice

This is another thing that spreads like wildfire. Every time I hear that there is a case in our school, my head seems to itch for days. Now this isn’t really an illness, but just something that makes everyday life more inconvenient.

Anything that Prevents Normal School Activities

This is the hard one. Sometimes there is a child who will come to school but they really shouldn’t be there. At the same time, they don’t actually fit any of the above criteria. In that case, we try to call the parent and just say something like this:

“So Timmy isn’t sick, but he really isn’t himself today. He is a bit weepy and he is lying around a lot more than normal. I wanted to ask you what you thought about the situation. If it is possible, it may be a good idea to have him go home early today.”

Most of the time, parents are glad that we called and are able to either take work off to come pick up their child or find a grandparent or other relative to come pick them up.

We all have those times that we aren’t sick, but we just feel blah. On those days, we all love to be able to curl up on the couch with a good movie and a warm blanket. Sometimes a kid just needs a day at home.

So what do you think? Have you ever had to send a sick kid to school?