As some of you may know, I am a proud and Proper Mother to a very handsome Little Dude. He is two-ish, precocious, likes to eat, play outside, and go to parties. Well, as for that last one, there's a bit more to it.
Little Dude does love to go to parties. When one of his buddies turns one, two (how fast they grow!), five, whatever, he is happy to get in there, eat some cupcakes, play with some toys, and generally throw down with the festivities. But, as a parent, there is a threshold question that must be answered before each event:
Is our child sick in any way that would prevent him from going to this party?
Lest that makes me sound as if I don't want him to go to parties or think he's Typhoid Toddler, let me explain. In a sense, every toddler is, in fact, Typhoid Toddler. Especially if they go to daycare. For us, daycare is a wonderful and supportive environment for Little Dude to learn, grow, and make friends while we make what I lovingly refer to as the "diaper money." But while being challenged to grow and count to ten, our little angels are breathing, crawling, drooling, and snotting all over one another, their toys, all surfaces, etc. They are, in fact, portable Petri dishes.
Daycares have rules about when you can and cannot bring kids to school. If they have a fever, no dice. They must stay home until they have *not* had a fever for 24 hours. (That one is tough in practice.) If they have something that requires antibiotics, they stay home until they have been on medication for 24 hours. If they are puking, home. If they have a weird rash, home. If they have poop issues (as in, too much), home. These are pretty solid and universal guidelines.
But what if Little Johnny has the occasional green booger and his best buddy is turning three today and having ELMO CUPPIE CAKES? Well, Proper Parent, you've got to weigh it out.
Parties are fun. Kiddo friends are funner. Sick kiddos are not fun. In the rock, paper, scissors of life, "sick kid" trumps everything.
Sick (or questionable) kiddo? Stay home.
The disappointment that you may feel, for yourself or your kiddo, pales in comparison to the specter of an entire daycare class taken down by the evil sneakysickovirus. In fact, feel liberated by the fact that sick children are the Get Out of Jail card of life. If you have one and you need to use it, it's better than paying $50 or losing three turns trying to roll doubles.
But, I digress.
Be well, friends,
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3 comments:
Yes, this is good practice! If my dude has even a sniffle and other wee ones are coming over, I let the parents know in advance so they can make the decision to attend or not (no hard feelings). Junior has finally succumbed to more than the "daycare drip" and is on ear infection #2 right now - no fun!
Proper Paige, what will I do without you if/once we have our own little ones? Promise me you'll never delete the blog, even if you move on–I'll need you!
They have been my get out of work card this whole month. Sigh.
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