Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Bitter about the Flu

Is there a rule out there that states if your child is sick, it is mandatory that you also be sick? Sure seems that way.

Stinx has the flu. I have the flu.

I also know the child that transmitted the flu to all the other babies in the nursery. How I wish he and his family had skipped church on Sunday.

We had some good plans lined up this week. Today we were supposed to go swimming. Tomorrow we were supposed to go to the Science Centre (for the first time ever). And Friday we were going to meet up with our old playgroup for a Christmas party. I'm a little bummed. No, I am bummed. I am basically stuck at home now. It's cold outside. There is 15 inches of snow out there. Its not like I can take Stinx to the park. Well, I guess I could. But I hate snow. It's cold. And he does have the flu. And I have the flu.

And I have the decency to stay home. When Stinx is sick I take it seriously. I don't go gallivanting around to playgroups and swimming pools knowing I could pass the flu along to other babies and people. I still don't understand why people take their kids out when they are sick, especially to places where kids share toys. I am not pointing this directly at the kid at church on Sunday, just in general. There have been many times when I've been to a playgroup and parents bring there obviously sick children.

Now I can deal with a cold. A little runny nose and a slight cough doesn't bother me. A super snotty nose and consistent hacking is not so OK with me. But what really bothers me -Stuff like stomach flu's. If a kid is vomiting or has diarrhea, or stops eating because they're so sick, or they have a terrible fever all night and can't sleep - that is definitely the type of illness I'm talking about. Even if a toddler or baby has just one of those symptoms, I don't want to hang out with them. Seriously! Stay home and wait a few days after the last symptom before exposing people. This is common courtesy!

And I know I'm not perfect. For example, the Roseola. It's most contagious before symptoms even show up. So who knows who we interacted with while Stinx was contagious. I think he got it from another baby at the Halloween party we hosted. But I don't consider that baby liable because the baby wasn't showing symptoms. That Roseola is a pain in the butt. So easily spread and no way to prevent it when its most contagious before you even know your baby is sick.

And since Stinx had Roseola, he's been sleeping like crap. Then, just last week he started to sleep through the night again, for about 5 days.... Until... He got the flu. Urgh. So annoying. So here we go again.

Anyways, when I know Stinx is sick, I don't go out and pass it along. I think its necessary to wait a few days after the last symptom before hanging out with friends. I mean, sure, go do errands or go for walks, or do whatever, but wait awhile before letting your kid play with friends and share toys. How I wish this was a mandatory rule everyone followed. I just don't "get" why some parents don't respect it. Perhaps they've never heard the rule?
Just want to apologize for the whiny post. Just had to vent somehow, somewhere!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I totally understand. I KNOW my kids are going to get sick sometimes, but it makes me really bitter when it is unnecessary. I hold no grudges if my kids are infected by a child that showed no symptoms, but if your kid is obviously sick, please stay away!

Plus, I miss out on playgroups and outings when my kids are sick, even though I hate to miss out. So it makes me extra bitter when I have to miss out more because someone else refuses to and brings their sick kid. Add to that the fact that half the colds Spud catches seem to turn into croup for him which makes his sleep suck even more then usual.

Okay, this is a really long rant in your comments section. You'll probably see a similar blog post from me about it at some point in the future because I apparently have some pent up anger on the issue.

(Oh, and sick adults count too).

I hope you guys are feeling better soon.