Circus -To Go or Not? Son Has Temp

I hope you kept him home. If it's the Dragons circus going on right now, it's at United Center until the 24th, so perhaps you can give him a make-up day.

And this is one reason why kids pass things around so easily. Sick kids hanging around with well kids.

Please don't take him, for the sake of the other kids. Plus, I doubt he'll feel up to it. He's sick.

Oh heavens, no. Don't take him. He is contagious and could infect everyone around him. The school should be very upset with you if you were to take him - I know as a fellow mother, I would be!

He should be fever free for 24 hours before you take him back to school.

There will be other trips. He needs to be at home resting or going to the doctor for a diagnosis of what's ailing him. Not around other children and the public in a place where if he feels terrible and when he wants to lay down, he can't.

You're the mom and you call the shots. He might be upset but you're the boss. Tell him you are so sorry he is sick, but he needs to be in bed and resting so that he can get well.

Dawn

As a parent, I would be really upset if another parent brought their child to a field trip only hours after that child had had a high fever. Think of the other kids, as well as your son's need to recover. It's sad that he will miss this, especially when he's been looking forward to it, but that is one of the lessons in life he will learn, unfortunately, again and again.

Yes, by all means, please take your fever running, most likely contagious child, to an outing populated by other children.

Because all the other Moms really do want their children to get popcorn, a hotdog, and an infectious disease when they go to the circus.

Keep him home. Get him well. There will be other opportunities to take him to the circus.

Better yet, take him on a field trip to the doctor's office today.

It's the same rule at our school--24 hours fever-free to return to school. And I've experienced why. Sometimes kids wake up and seem fine, but it's just a burst of freshness after sleeping and the fever returns shortly. You have to know it's really gone before having them around other kids and possibly sharing the illness. (And using medication to make the fever go away doesn't count. :) Sunshine Mom's got good suggestions of things you can do.

Sometimes I think the 24 rule is a bit much when it's been, say, 18 hours and you don't want them to miss another day of school or a fun event. But this spring my son had a temp that kept coming back when I was sure he was going to finally make it back to school the next day. He ended up missing a full week of school (and missed a field trip he was looking forward to also). It turned out he had bronchial pneumonia, so this time the 24 hour rule was a good thing.

By now you've either kept him home or (regrettably) let him go. I hope it was the former.

Just FYI, since he is only in preschool so you wouldn't know this already: The rule in school (preschool but also especially Kindergarten onward) is that the child MUST be fever-free for a full 24 hours before returning. That does not mean "fever-suppressed," where the fever is present but suppressed by medicine; it means without fever at all.

Please believe me, a child who "acts normal" can still be very sick and contagious as well. Same applies for vomiting -- you must have a full day without vomiting before sending the child anywhere. There are viruses where a person vomits maybe once and then doesn't vomit again...for 12 or 24 hours or so, and then out it comes. The person is still sick and contagious the entire time, even if he or she acts fine and perky. I've seen it happen with kids, so please, stick to the 24-hour rules for both fevers and vomiting. Diarrhea, too.

Never let a kid's disappointment over missing an event influence your choice on whether to send that kid somewhere sick or within a day of being sick. If the illness spreads at school, your kid will only end up with it again.

Absolutely, do NOT take him to the circus tomorrow if he is sick with a fever. Yes, he will be disappointed, but it is not fair to all the other kids who are well that will be going. It is not fair to your son to not get rest when he needs to be recovering. It is not fair to the other kids and their parents if you knowingly allow your son to go after he has a fever.

My son attended a Halloween party this year where there were two kids sick with a fever. It was very obvious, and their mothers even commented on how they didn't have the heart to say no to their sick kid. Neither of those kids really enjoyed the Halloween party. Well, guess what else? There were a lot of kids and parents sick after the party. Not cool, to send a sick kid anywhere other than the doctor's, or better yet to bed so they can recover quickly and enjoy playing again.

Please put your son's health first. Life is full of disappointments. It's good to learn to bounce back early in life. Plan something else special to do with your son. One opportunity closes, look for a new one. I would encourage him to rest tomorrow. If he is feeling better, do something he enjoys at home: watch is favorite tv show, read his favorite books, make up a story and draw pictures to go with it, put on a puppetshow using his drawings (You could draw small characters, glue them to hard paper or cardboard and put them on a popsicle stick or disposable chopsticks to make puppets.) In my opinion fever= rest. If my son has a fever and starts to feel better, I offer him a relatively quiet and calm activity until he gets tired and then it is back to resting. Then we plan a make-up special event later after he is well again. You might not be able to take your son to the circus tomorrow, but after he is well again how about taking him to the zoo, his favorite playground, etc. Let him decide and that may soften his disappointment in missing out on the circus. Please do the right thing for everyone.

The rule in my home is that they must be temp free for 24 hours.

No. He needs to be free from temp for at least 24 hours. Sorry...I wouldn't put other kids at risk or get your son sicker.

Rule of thumb: your child is sick or you are sick -- you stay home.

You do not want to make anyone worse, stay home rest, push fluids, it's a good excuse to hang out on the couch all day and watch movies.

Second reason: I am healthy and want to stay that way. There is nothing so important that you HAVE to go out and get a lot of other people sick.

His body needs to recover, he needs to rest for at least 24 hrs after his last fever. You can try telling him that you will take him to another cool event, another day, when he is better. You both can cuddle up & watch cartoons/movies of his choice, at home .... with popcorn! Bake a pizza or a cake together. If nothing works, pay him a few dollars to stay home! He can spend that money when he is better.

You will be surprised that kids are very reasonable. They agree to change in plans, when showed proper logic. I think you don't want to hurt his feelings. But please don't jepordize his bodies abilities to heal either. Health comes first. I am sure he will understand if you tell him so.

But if you insist on taking him, take his fever reducer with you and give him a dose as soon as he starts heating up. Put on layers, so you can take off a few, if he is too warm. Take lots of bottled water & a few mild snacks (carbs). Don't eat from outside and don't let him be active and don't be out for more than 3 hours. And please keep him away from other kids, so they don't catch his bug.

You're joking, right? There's not a single situation where taking a sick child to the circus with his preschool is the right decision. And yes, having a fever at midnight means he's sick, even if he's acting normal the next morning.

Of course he's going to be upset about missing the circus. What small child wouldn't? But it's your job as his mom to look out for him - and that means keeping him home when he is sick.

Most schools have a temperature policy, and it's usually 24 hours temperature free before a kid can return.

If he is running a high temp, he needs to stay home tomorrow. Sorry.

I hate to say it but I would keep him home :( Can you rent a movie and get some Popsicles or hot chocolate or some kind of snack and have a special movie day. I would tell him you will keep your eyes open to find out when the next circus is coming to town. Another idea is to see if there is some kind of children's show in town over the weekend put on by a child's theater. Maybe by tomorrow he will be fever free for 24 hours and you can go somehwere fun! Hope he feels better soon!

nope, don't take him. no question.

one thing i have found is with circuses - they come EVERY year. no biggie. and honestly once you've been you may not be ready to go back for awhile. it is SOOO not the end of the world.

also not a great message to send to him, if you let him go. he is sick. he would be around thousands of other people and kids. no. he doesn't go. sorry.

Do not take him. If he has a fever he is contagious. It's not fair to the children who will be around him at the circus. And, not knowing what is causing the fever, you don't know if he's coming down with something serious which could worsen with the physical stress of going out to the circus.

This won't be the first time he has to miss something. It's good to set a precedent of taking care of him and protecting others.

Um, no. You don't know what he has. Just because the fever is coming down with meds does not mean he is better. Why risk exposing hundreds of other children to an unknown illness that may be serious. Probably isn't, but you don't know. 24 hrs fever free is the rule.

Nope. I would keep him home.