If your child is home sick?

Question

what do you allow them to do while home sick? Do they have to stay in bed? Are they allowed to play with toys or use the computer/video games etc...?

How old are your kids?

sometimes kids are too sick to go to school but not so sick they are confined to the bed, then what do you allow?

Answer 1

The child needs at least 24 full hours on antibiotics before they aren't contagious anymore. I would keep him home again tomorrow just to be safe. Call the doctor and see if they will give you an excuse for then as well. My school age kids are almost 8 and almost 6 and when they are sick from school they are allowed to do what they feel like doing. Normally, they are too sick to want to do much but lounge around the house and watch tv. The last bout of strep which we also had the flu at the same time, they had to stay home for a whole week.

Answer 2

i have a 10 year old an 8 year old and a 6 year old.  when they are at home sick they have to stay in the bed.  they can read or watch a movie but they stay in the bed.  no video games.

Answer 3

Sorry to hear he has strep - my son had that last year. It is amazing what the antibiotics will do - he'll be himself by am. I usually allow them to do anything they feel up to doing. If it's just laying around watching tv, fine, If they feel up to computer games... cool, go for it. I only get annoyed with them if they are running around - even thought they have a fever...... but they usually camp out in the living room, on the couch with the remote!! hope he feelis better! good luck ♥

Answer 4

Glenna's description of her childhood sick days is exactly what I experienced and do for my daughter now.  It always made me feel very comfortable.

If my daughter has a fever, of course she doesn't go to school.  If she's really sick, she won't even want to play video games, etc.  All she'll want to do is sleep and maybe read or watch TV.  Anything that doesn't require a lot of activity.  I can always tell that she's feeling better when she starts jumping around again and asking to go outside.  That's when I know that it's time to return to school, as long as she doesn't have a runny nose and isn't sneezing, coughing, etc.  Sick kids in school mean trouble for everyone!

Answer 5

My son is home with a bad cough and sniffly nose.  He had a slight fever last night, othewise I would have sent him into school today since he was out yesterday, too.  I heard him coughing really badly last night and thought that another day at home would probably be good for him.

If he feels really lousy, he will stay in bed and rest (he's done this in the past all on him own).  Today and yesterday, he is well enough to be out of bed.  I do let him watch his cartoons and I do let him go onto the computer.   I give him cinnamon toast and juice boxes.

Answer 6

well being he has a fever and can not go to school for all this time, it would be a little harsh to confine him to his bed.... yes he may be to sick for school, but it dosnt mean he isnt aloud to do anything in the house. When my daughter is sick and at home from school, she can play her video games or the computer, she just isnt aloud to run around like she would when she isnt sick, nor is she aloud to go out and play. You dont have to punish them for being sick by taking away their things in the house.

Answer 7

I allow them to do whatever they want in the house.  I do not allow playing outside.

If they are home sick...I don't see a reason to make them lie around and do nothing if they feel well enough to play.  It's almost like a punishment not letting them do things.

Your son sounds like he has the same thing my daughter had last week.  It's a virus..the doctor can't do anything.

Answer 8

My kids aren't in school yet, but when I was a kid, if I was sick my mom would make me a whole little set-up on the couch.  I'd have lots of pillows and blankets.  The coffee table would be filled with crackers, orange juice, tissues and other things like that.  There was always a trash can near by just in case I needed to vomit.  Other than that, I spent the whole day watching cartoons and sleeping.  I mean, think about when you stay home from work because you are sick.  You don't necessarily stay in bed all day, so I don't think kids have to either.  You can be sick enough to stay home without being bed ridden.  Definitely no getting up and playing though.  Books, puzzles and other calm, quiet things are OK.

When you first wrote "home sick", I thought you meant they were missing being at home.  I assume you mean that the child stayed home from school because they were ill.

Answer 9

I say, if they're feeling miserable but are not nessesarily sick enough to be bedridden, they should be allowed to do whatever they want. But since they won't have any energy, they'll probably just choose to lay on the couch and watch TV. Other low-energy activities like puzzles or books would also be ideal. If they're really sick and not just faking it, they won't want to be up and about, playing with toys. For sick days, watching TV and napping should suffice.

I don't have kids, but when I was little and home sick, my mom would make up a bed on the couch and I would watch old videos pretty much all day. Like I said, that's probably one of the only things sick kids have enough energy to do, lol.

On the other hand, if your kid takes advantage of the situation and asks to stay home even when he isn't really sick, make him stay in his room. That should bore him enough that he won't try to do it again.

Answer 10

Let them go home if thats possible?

If not then  "sometimes kids are too sick to go to school but not so sick they are confined to the bed" is an act. Get them to school whether they like it or not. School isn't compulsory for nothing. They'll soon settle in when they make friends at school so not sending her/him to school will have more of an effect in a bad way than a good way.

Answer 11

my daughter was out of school a couple of weeks ago due to a viral infection. which with that the only reason she couldnt go to school was it takes 24 hours to not be contagious anymore and i didnt want to take the chance of giving it to other children. but with a viral infection, they dont feel any different. mine was running around playing and everything.

Answer 12

it depends on the child and what they are ill from. if they are normally sick then they should yes lay down and limit the level of energy they burn b/c they will need it to heal. however if they aren't then a little play.. like a puzzle, book would be a good thing to keep them occupied. if they are throwing up, fever, sweats, serious cough etc... i would have them just lay down. bring them soup.. maybe then watch a little movie but the key thing is to rest. i have a 6,3 and 2 yr old and when they are that young it is harder to get them to understand that they must lay down and rest, but that is just when you go rest with them... lay down and read  with them. they should fall asleep. or play a board game.  

p.s some kids like to fake being sick.. you would have to know your child, but growing up my mom had a rule.. too sick to go to school to sick to play.. that is another approach lol.

Answer 13

bad attitude Natasha

sending contagious kids to school is why mine have to miss so many days

they do need to keep up with their work but keeping them in bed is just a recipe for trouble unless they are too sick to do anything but sleep

keep them quiet but busy if they are awake

i do allow a movie or a game if they are bored

oh yeah

19-on a full scholarship tocollege

17-with a 4.0

and 12- all As and Bs

Answer 14

Unless they're home with a major asthma attack (in which case I enforce sitting quietly because otherwise we end up in the ER), I let them do whatever they feel up to doing, which is what my pediatrician has recommended.  Usually they're home because they have a fever and in that case they usually only feel like reading or playing board games or something.  If they're home because they have strep with no symptoms (which one of my kids tends to get) or because they had a fever within the last 24 hours but are now feeling fine, or because they threw up a few hours ago but now feel perfectly good, I'm fine with them playing as they would normally.  Usually we have a 1 hour a day combined tv/ computer limit, but I eliminate the limit entirely if someone's home sick.

I do not keep my kids home for just a stuffy nose or mild cough, as someone said (do people really do that? my kids have asthma and allergies and i'd have to homeschool, they'd miss so much school).  If they're complaining about vague tummyaches or otherwise don't seem truly to be sick, I do what my wise mother used to do and tell them to definitely go to the nurse at school if they're still not feeling well when they get there and she'll take care of them.  I know they're too intimidated by the nurse to fake being sick with her, lol.

Answer 15

They can't go out & infect other kids -or- get so active that their body can't work to get better.  

But, if they're feeling up to it, there's no reason why they should be punished with boredom, made to lay in bed if they want to play, watch TV, read, follow you around the house, etc.

Answer 16

lovemy4boys... Your right about the schools do not allow children with fevers or even a yucky nose or a cough. Unfortunately, this is the time of year for it. You don't need to force them to stay in bed, if they are feeling weak they will want to lay down, if they want to watch tv or play the computer or even play with their toys, let them. They are still resting and not running around. Of course don't let them out doors to play. This way they are relaxing and not bugging you constantly because they are bored. They shouldn't be punished for being sick. You did the right thing to keep him home.

Natasha... FOA is right. You do not send your child to school even with a slight fever or a cough or runny nose. All the other children will catch it and its not fair. Be a considerate mother to other children and please keep the sickness at home not school. That's not nice.

Answer 17

My 4 kids are grown, but I recall those days. It depends on the situation.

If mine were too sick to go to school, but not quite sick enough to be in bed, they were allowed to lie on the couch and watch tv, read, or other quiet activities. No computer, toys, etc.....they are not on "vacation"..they are technically "sick"...make it comfortable for them to recuperate..but not exactly "fun"....if you know what I mean.

Answer 18

I generally have my children sleep and stay back in their rooms most of the day.  (they do not have tv's back there)  I have a little one so sleeping anywhere else is next to impossible.  I allow tv and games after they have slept sufficiently ( you'll know)  If I think that they really could have made it the whole day at school, they read until school would have been out if they had gone to school.

Answer 19

I let my daughter do anything but go outside or stuff like that.  She can't ride her bike obviously but no sand box and even if she feels better later in the day there's no playing with friends if she stayed home.  I knew too many kids in school that would say they were sick just to stay home and then play all day and still be able to play after school.  So that's just my rule.  You stay home you are "staying home".  

I know that when I feel sick I usually just like to sit around and watch some fun movies.  Video games are a little different.  If you notice how boys play them it's not a relaxing thing.  They get very worked up while playing.  I would have some limits so he doesn't think staying home is a free day and he's allowed to just run wild and do anything he likes.  

I've never made my daughter stay in bed but once she had a really bad fever and she didn't want to get out of bed until 1 in the afternoon until her fever broke.

Answer 20

My youngest daughter, just turned 11 last week, has a really difficult time getting up and moving in the morning.  Often, she wakes up feeling sluggish and ill, but once she's up and moving around (uses the bathroom, eats breakfast) she feels much better and is ready to start the day.  My standing rule when I hear one of the kids moaning about being sick is:  No fever, no throwing up - - go to school.  The lesson being that sometimes we have to do things even though we may feel a little crummy.

To be totally honest, though, there has been more than one instance when one of the kids has told me they were sick, but I stuck to my rule, only to have the school calling me at 10 a.m. to come get my sick kid who just barfed in the hallway!

Answer 21

My son is six.  When he is home sick from school, I allow him to bring his pillow and blanket to the living room and cuddle up on the sofa to watch Nickelodeon.  I don't allow him to play video games.  If he's feeling better by the afternoon, I allow him to play with his toys though.