Sick Little Munchkins

I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed a few days ago, and came across an interesting post. It was a reader question from The Imperfect Mum. You can visit the Facebook page here.

The question basically outlined "sick child etiquette". The poster had asked whether it was acceptable for her to cancel on her friends at the last minute and not babysit their children if they were sick, as she didn't want the germs in her house.

As you can imagine, there was an array of responses, ranging from "you did exactly what I would do" to "I think you were a bit extreme in these circumstances" to the rather unhelpful "you're a terrible friend and a complete bitch".

So it got me thinking, when is it acceptable to ask your friends to catch up for a playdate, or babysit your children when they are sick?

My sick little Munchkin

I am a mother that likes my child home with me when he is sick. Especially if it's asthma-related. Most of the time, if Master A is sick, he won't even go to his dad's house for the day. If it's only a cold and a bit of a cough, he will go, otherwise he stays home with me.

What about playdates?

I will always disclose if Master is or has been sick in the last week, and allow the other parent to make the decision if they still want to attend the playdate with us. However, this is only if it's a cold, mild asthma or a bit of a teething fever. Anything along the lines of gastro, the flu, a more severe bout of asthma or tonsillitis and I cancel altogether. I don't want to spread our germs and make others sick.

Unfortunately I am not always offered the same courtesy. I can't even count the amount of times we have turned up for a playdate and found out that everyone in the house is sick. Of course I don't want to look rude by turning around and leaving, however I do wish that I was told before we got there.

This seems to be a very personal issue, with opinions varying from person to person. Some people would rather expose their children to illness in hopes of building their immune system, others saying simply that kids will get sick anywhere. Then some saying they try to keep out of contact with sick people to prevent their children getting sick.

Me? I make an informed decision at the time. How sick is the person? What is it they have? Is the illness overly contagious and also what are my plans like for the next week. Do we have a full week coming up that neither of us can afford to get sick? If so then better to be safe than sorry.

No I can't stop my child from getting sick, but I can help to prevent it, and that is what I will do.

What do you do when your child is sick?
Do you send them to daycare or take them on playdates?
Have you ever turned up to a playdate to find the other child sick?

Linking up with the lovely Jess from Diary of a SAHM for IBOT