How sick is too sick for school?

I battled with the old dilemma again this morning.

Logan is sick, but it's just a cold. Preschool children seem to ALWAYS have a cold, at least here in Michigan, in the winter.

I know to keep him home if he's got a fever, or is vomiting or has violent diarrhea or whatever. If he's FEELING really bad, I'll keep him home. But what about the common cold?

How sick is too sick for school?

Logan doesn't have a fever, and he doesn't even FEEL bad. He's got a snotty nose and a cough. It's not swine flu or anything, just a plain old cold. It's his second one of the season. The first was back in September. He missed a couple days the second week of school.

So, I thought about giving him decongestant and a pocket full of tissue and sending him to school today, but then I thought again.

Because I don't want to be THAT mom.

I will admit, when I'm out and about, whether it's at Logan's school, karate, the grocery store, wherever, if there is a little kid who is coughing, sneezing, snotting on his sleeve, whatever, I look at the kid and don't see a kid at all. I see a BIG GREEN GERM FACTORY!

That sounds bad, doesn't it?

Yes, that's me. Instead of feeling compassion for the poor, sick kid, I am standing there thinking "Holy crap! Get that sick kid away from me and my babies! Gross! I don't want your germs!"

So, looking at it from that perspective, I decided the only thing I could do is keep Logan home from school today. He just came down with this cold on Wednesday night. He should be well enough to go to school on Monday.

The thing about colds is that the sound effects linger. A kid can have a sniffle and cough for WEEKS following a cold. Is this still a cold? Is the kid still contagious? I have no idea! So then comes the question of whether or not I should keep him home AGAIN. I know kids who ALWAYS have a snotty nose, at least a little. Are they sick? Are they too sick for school?

How sick is too sick for school?! Aaaargh!

If any of you moms or dads have any ideas or opinions about how sick is too sick for school, please leave a comment on this post. I'd love to hear what you have to say!