If your friend has a child who is sick, would you let them bring the child into your house ill?
I let my friend bring her daughter here, and she was coughing, now we are dropping off like flys. That day my friend could not get her parents to look after her 3 year old, as they are older, and refuse to look after her when she is sick, as it takes them along time, to get better. Anyway how, we are all sick , kind of rethinking the being nice thing! especially when I feel like this, and when you have to go to work, and do a fast paced job when you are hacking and coughing is not fun. I thought oh, no big deal at the time.

By Andi on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 - 11:08 pm:

I have told friends and will continue to tell them to keep there little one at home if they are sick. Why put yourself and your kids through all of that?

By Shellyg on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 - 11:13 pm:

We too have been sick so much this winter. As a general rule I say" we can't have company, don't want to give you our cooties".
I feel your frustration!

By Kaye on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 - 11:14 pm:

I think sickness is all relative! I mean if your child is running a temp or has vomiting, etc, please please don't bring them here. However if your child is coughing and snotty, well all the kids at school are so what is one more. I did not feel this way with toddlers, but now that mine are all school age I do. I am not expected or encouraged to keep children home from school unless they are very sick. In preschool I always kept them home if there were just a little sick. So I hate that we all share germs, but welcome to public education. I do try to beef up the hand washing and house cleaning. Just a little tip...I found that during cold season if I will weekly wash all door handles, toilet flusher handles and light switches with bleach that we just very rarely ALL get sick. If anyone in the house gets sick I do this about every 3 days, it is a big pain in the butt, but it has made a HUGE difference!

By Fraggle on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 - 11:17 pm:

No way-we just had the same thing happen to us-our neighbors came over to bring the girls Christmas presents and after I let them in the dad let me know that one of there kids did not come over because she was not feeling well and then one of the other kids starts coughing while he is here (The thing I don't get is the parents are both doctors.)-needless to say a few days later I ended up with the flu for Christmas my youngest DD seems to have been spared with only a mild case right before Christmas and my oldest DD got the flu just after Christmas when I was getting better (my husband had gotten a flu shot). We haven't even gotten to celebrate Christmas yet with my parents and the rest of my side of the family. Sorry I'm a little bitter.

By Bea on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 - 11:39 pm:

My family is my main responsibility. I would have no problem refusing to expose them to illness. I'd just say no.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 06:27 am:

I think it is dirty pool to take a sick child to a household with children. If your friend told you that her child was sick and she was asking you because the grandparents wouldn't watch the child, that is one thing - at least you made an "informed" decision. But if she didn't tell you, that is entirely another and, imo, definitely wrong.

I agree, Fraggle - doctors should know better than to take a coughing child to someone else's house, especially if they already have a sick child at home and should have known the coughing child probably had the same thing - especially with all the reports we have been having for well over a month about the flu epidemic. Really thoughtless and inconsiderate.

By Kernkate on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 11:10 am:

I wouldn't take my child to someones house if they were sick and I would hope people would be just as considerate.
My one girlfriend called me the other day to watch her DD who is 9 and was sick with flu, because she had to work. I kindly said I would rather not have her here, I said that we have just gotten over the whole cold and fever thing and I wouldn't want my kids to get sick again. I think she was alittle upset that I would not watch her DD, but my kids come first.