sick days

sandra06

i know i going to get my head bitten off for this ,but anyway here goes,why do some parents sent their child to school if its sick,i know people have to work ,but can they not arrange for someone to mind their child when its sick,schools are not there to mind sick kids,but to teach.also if they send their child to school whatever the child has can and in most cases does spread to other kids.it not fair on other parents sending there child in and their coming home sick picking up things ,now i dont mean common cold or runney nose ,i know of a parent who sent their child to school with scarlet fever ,and another who knew their child was contagious with a whooping cough thing ,i just sick of my child picking up everything going and i dont sent her in .whats your opionon?

Blikes

I know i'm going to get my head bitten off for this but anyway here goes;

Why do some parents send their children to school if they're sick?
I know people have to work ,but can they not arrange for someone to mind their child when they're sick?
Schools are not there to mind sick kids but to teach, also if they send their child to school, whatever the child has can, and in most cases does spread to other kids.
It not fair on other parents sending their child in and they're coming home sick; picking up things.
Now i dont mean common cold or runny nose.
I know of a parent who sent their child to school with scarlet fever and another who knew their child was contagious with a whooping cough thing
I'm just sick of my child picking up everything going and I dont send her in. What's your opinion?

byhookorbycrook

My immune system is somewhat compromised, so as a teacher, I'd not be too happy if a genuinely sick child is sent in, when they need to be in bed.

sandra06

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

My immune system is somewhat compromised, so as a teacher, I'd not be too happy if a genuinely sick child is sent in, when they need to be in bed.

thank you

caseyann

My two cent worth.
People send in their kids when sick,because have the long arm of the law breathing down their necks and can only afford one doctors letter every so often,and if the child is already out the number of days allowed for being sick,they are not allowed anymore days.
On top of that the doctors only give three days for some illnesses so the letter only covers that.
I highly doubt any parent would like to send their child to school unless under pressure.
On top of that i was told by doctors in private, that the high problem of illnesses is non Irish from like African and Arab countries etc.,. have not been immunized properly is causing higher and new strains in Ireland.

sandra06

caseyann wrote: »

My two cent worth.
People send in their kids when sick,because have the long arm of the law breathing down their necks and can only afford one doctors letter every so often,and if the child is already out the number of days allowed for being sick,they are not allowed anymore days.
On top of that the doctors only give three days for some illnesses so the letter only covers that.
I highly doubt any parent would like to send their child to school unless under pressure.
On top of that i was told by doctors in private, that the high problem of illnesses is non Irish from like African and Arab countries etc.,. have not been immunized properly is causing higher and new strains in Ireland.

not sure about other doctor but mine dose not give sick notes for school,
its not that there not allowed more days ,if its more than 20 days and not genuine (parents not bothering to send kids to school)its investigated;
no parent should feel pressure my gripe is just sending kids to school if there contageus ,its not fair on other children and parents;
not sure about foreign kids being immunized,i would have tought they would have to be done before starting school or should be before be allowed to attend,

does anyone no ans to that ,

caseyann

sandra06 wrote: »

not sure about other doctor but mine dose not give sick notes for school,
its not that there not allowed more days ,if its more than 20 days and not genuine (parents not bothering to send kids to school)its investigated;
no parent should feel pressure my gripe is just sending kids to school if there contageus ,its not fair on other children and parents;
not sure about foreign kids being immunized,i would have tought they would have to be done before starting school or should be before be allowed to attend,

does anyone no ans to that ,

Yes doctors give sick notes for the kids to be off school when sick.
Trust me i have seen it,one girl i know her child who had been suffering with tonsillitis for years,they wouldn't pull them.And she was missing alot of school.They threatened her with prison and taking her child away from her.She was sending her child back to school.Even though letters sent to school and the child was sent home numerous occasions.They forced her to send the child back to school sick.
The child then they found had something wrong with her stomach.
I remember the first phone call she said she got was someone screaming down the telephone at her how she was a bad mother and wouldn't accept her written notes as she couldn't afford doctor notes after doctor notes.
This is just one example i know of more.The mother was driven to depression.

I agree its not fair on other families,its also not fair on the family of the child who is sick.A good week off but they only give way for three days then the notes must be brought in from doctors to prove it.
Who has fifty euro to pay for doctor notes these days?

byhookorbycrook

Caseyann, I have never heard of any school forcing a sick child in. The 20 days thing is not an isue if the child is genuinely illl. The NEWB form asks the school if the child has missed 20 + days if the school is worried about the child and if reasons were given for the child being out.

I can't imagine any school "screaming down the phone" or calling a parent a bad parent. If I were your friend, I would not like to have a child attend such a school,she should consider moving to another school.

I paid €150 to a consultant on Monday and had to make sure to get a cert for a sub to be in for me. Can't really afford that kind of money either, but didn't have a choice.

I don't know schools who insist on a dr. cert for children, as a rule. I know one family in a friend's school who used to send in notes saying x was sick all week/yesterday/for the last two days -sadly for them, the child would tell them in school where they really were - on holidays/mammy too lazy to get up/daddy sick because he was in the pub last night. So they did start looking for some kind of official note. As a result the child rarely missed school from then on.

caseyann

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Caseyann, I have never heard of any school forcing a sick child in. The 20 days thing is not an isue if the child is genuinely illl. The NEWB form asks the school if the child has missed 20 + days if the school is worried about the child and if reasons were given for the child being out.

I can't imagine any school "screaming down the phone" or calling a parent a bad parent. If I were your friend, I would not like to have a child attend such a school,she should consider moving to another school.

I paid €150 to a consultant on Monday and had to make sure to get a cert for a sub to be in for me. Can't really afford that kind of money either, but didn't have a choice.

I don't know schools who insist on a dr. cert for children, as a rule. I know one family in a friend's school who used to send in notes saying x was sick all week/yesterday/for the last two days -sadly for them, the child would tell them in school where they really were - on holidays/mammy too lazy to get up/daddy sick because he was in the pub last night. So they did start looking for some kind of official note. As a result the child rarely missed school from then on.

No sorry,what i meant not the school forcing the child in,the person from child welfare and he was screaming down the phone at her,even though the proof was there the child was not well enough to be in school.
This is only the short account of how bad it was from side of welfare people.

byhookorbycrook

I wouldn't want anyone screaming down the phone, but it would be nice if the NEWB could follow up. They certainly seem to be understaffed,children I know of who had missed 30+ days were not followed up on at all.

E.T.

caseyann wrote: »

My two cent worth.
People send in their kids when sick,because have the long arm of the law breathing down their necks and can only afford one doctors letter every so often,and if the child is already out the number of days allowed for being sick,they are not allowed anymore days.
On top of that the doctors only give three days for some illnesses so the letter only covers that.
I highly doubt any parent would like to send their child to school unless under pressure.
On top of that i was told by doctors in private, that the high problem of illnesses is non Irish from like African and Arab countries etc.,. have not been immunized properly is causing higher and new strains in Ireland.

The "long arm of the law" has nothing to do with chasing up absences - it's the National Education Welfare Board who deal with this. Children have to be reported after missing 20 days, but as I've posted, and seen posted many times, reports of 60+ days are not followed up, so I seriously doubt anyone was chased up for their child missing school due to illness.

I've never heard of a school asking for a doctor's cert for a sick child. Most parents don't even send in notes at this stage.

I totally agree with the OP about very sick kids being sent in, I don't know how many times I've had kids vomit in class, and when I ask if they felt sick earlier they've told me they vomited that morning at home, and their parents knew. It's unfair to all the other pupils and staff to send in a child with a contagious illness. Obviously I'm not talking about the sniffles or a run of the mill cough, but examples I've experienced are the vomiting bug (SO MANY TIMES!!!!), chicken pox (while still contagious), and contagious skin conditions.

The doctor who said that "the high problem of illnesses is non Irish from like African and Arab countries etc.,. have not been immunized properly is causing higher and new strains in Ireland." should be investigated - that's pure and utter racism. We've never had any African or kids from "Arab countries" in our school, and we've had plenty of bugs.

caseyann

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

I wouldn't want anyone screaming down the phone, but it would be nice if the NEWB could follow up. They certainly seem to be understaffed,children I know of who had missed 30+ days were not followed up on at all.

I agree and merely just sitting around house or wandering the streets,while their parents or parent is no where to be seen.
She didnt either when i spoke with her she was very distressed.The man who rang her then called to the house i advised her to have a male adult present during the interview.Soon changed his tune towards her.
It was funny i found in alot of the cases i have worked with and spoken to if a man around they spoke to them in a more respectful less accusing manner.But if a single woman with child very abrupt and in almost aggressive disrespectful tone.
I personally have seen kids biking around during school days and seem to be in school uniforms from travelling community who i believe are settled in houses.Yet they seem to be staying off the radar.Like junkies also and their children wandering around the streets after dark as young as 8 or 9 possibly.
But the sending to school thing,when do you send your child to school with sniffles?
That girl sent her child to school with sniffles and two hours later got phone call to take her home.Yet on other end of phone that other man was telling her she was at fault.

caseyann

E.T. wrote: »

The "long arm of the law" has nothing to do with chasing up absences - it's the National Education Welfare Board who deal with this. Children have to be reported after missing 20 days, but as I've posted, and seen posted many times, reports of 60+ days are not followed up, so I seriously doubt anyone was chased up for their child missing school due to illness.

I've never heard of a school asking for a doctor's cert for a sick child. Most parents don't even send in notes at this stage.

I totally agree with the OP about very sick kids being sent in, I don't know how many times I've had kids vomit in class, and when I ask if they felt sick earlier they've told me they vomited that morning at home, and their parents knew. It's unfair to all the other pupils and staff to send in a child with a contagious illness. Obviously I'm not talking about the sniffles or a run of the mill cough, but examples I've experienced are the vomiting bug (SO MANY TIMES!!!!), chicken pox (while still contagious), and contagious skin conditions.

The doctor who said that "the high problem of illnesses is non Irish from like African and Arab countries etc.,. have not been immunized properly is causing higher and new strains in Ireland." should be investigated - that's pure and utter racism. We've never had any African or kids from "Arab countries" in our school, and we've had plenty of bugs.

Are you calling me a liar(dont make comments about things you have no clue with? I dont like your tone.Point being they chase up easy targets who are worried and do give a dam about their kids.

Now move along with your typical racist card stuff.Seriously getting old.:rolleyes:

OH by the way,long arm of the law they are apart of,Thinking you are so condescending when eveyone else knows exactly what i meant.

D4RK ONION

Caseyann infracted for back-seat modding and general aggressiveness.

grind gremlin

I had a child brought in to school by his mum, though he looked clearly unwell. Within minutes of arriving the child looked visibly green!!!! He was a junior infant at the time. I ended up having him sitting with his head resting on a cushion while we called his mum to come collect him ( about thirty minutes into the school day). The poor little fella then vomited all over himself and the desk. I had to evacuate the class so I could clean up (which is no mean feat with 30 children) and put him lying on a beanbag by my desk. On arrival at the school, his mum was met by my classroom assistant at the school door. she informed her he'd just thrown up everywhere.

Her response was ' I hope x (me) doesn't expect me to clean up'.

I was so annoyed as I knew from the second I saw the child coming in that morning he was not well. Needless to say we ended up having a number of children out during the rest of the week as they were all vomiting.

#15

E.T. wrote: »

The doctor who said that "the high problem of illnesses is non Irish from like African and Arab countries etc.,. have not been immunized properly is causing higher and new strains in Ireland." should be investigated - that's pure and utter racism. We've never had any African or kids from "Arab countries" in our school, and we've had plenty of bugs.

That poster has a history of those type of comments in AH and Politics.

E.T.

That explains the whole racist card getting old comment. Thanks #15.

Tayla

In fairness though I don't see how that is racist? Seriously the racism card is definitely thrown around too much.
The doctor probably did think that, I was told when I had my baby that the HSE now recommends all babies up until the age of 1 are given vitamin D supplements because rickets have made a come back....she then said that most cases of rickets in the country are from foreign children....is that racist?

I am not in the slightest bit racist but it drives me mad when people refer to every little thing as racist.

If there are worse strains of viruses around as a result of immigration and a doctor happens to say that then please explain to me how that is racist?

Insect Overlord

Considering rickets is a condition caused by nutritional deficits, and not by anything contagious, I think it's very safe to say that there's nothing racist about it...

Tayla

No, I know that myself but I was trying to think of some situation to compare to what the doctor had told someone on this thread....something which another poster took as racist

E.T.

I took that as racist because the doctor was blaming an outbreak of a disease on a specific group of people, based on where they come from, without any concrete medical evidence to back them up.

There's been plenty of stories in the media over the last few years about the outbreaks of measles/mumps etc because so many Irish people haven't been getting their kids vaccinated. Any health professional should know this as at least one contributing factor which is why I feel very strongly that the doctor's statement (as written by the poster) was racist.

As I said, we've never had any children from Africa or the Middle East (to cover Arabic in a very general sense) and we've had plenty of measles and other contagious diseases in school.

caseyann

E.T. wrote: »

I took that as racist because the doctor was blaming an outbreak of a disease on a specific group of people, based on where they come from, without any concrete medical evidence to back them up.

There's been plenty of stories in the media over the last few years about the outbreaks of measles/mumps etc because so many Irish people haven't been getting their kids vaccinated. Any health professional should know this as at least one contributing factor which is why I feel very strongly that the doctor's statement (as written by the poster) was racist.

As I said, we've never had any children from Africa or the Middle East (to cover Arabic in a very general sense) and we've had plenty of measles and other contagious diseases in school.

Sorry i took it as you were calling me racist.Didnt mean to jump at you
Its what i was told so just relaying it back.

caseyann

Anyway,i have heard stories of schools ringing parents to come get their child when they so much as sneeze these days for fear of the swine flu.

E.T.

Oh no, I wasn't saying you were racist at all, but I definitely think the doctor's statement was.

Tayla

E.T. wrote: »

I took that as racist because the doctor was blaming an outbreak of a disease on a specific group of people, based on where they come from, without any concrete medical evidence to back them up.

The doctor probably got the impression from his own experiences, all doctors have their own opinions on things regardless of what medical research says, I know they shouldn't but they do and maybe that doctor had a very good reason for thinking it. I do not see that as being racist......he is not blaming a specific race of people as you say...he just thinks that's where the disease is from. To say he is blaming them is implying he spoke about that race in very derogatory and accusing way but he just said the diseases were coming from there.

I'll give you an example.....let's presume that all Mexicans had been exposed to some level of swine flu during the outbreak and only 10% of Irish people were.....now imagine that 1 million Mexicans moved to Ireland and a year down the line there was another outbreak of Swine Flu......

Now we know that viruses adapt and increase in strength as peoples immunity grows so imagine that the Swine flu virus would then be much stronger in Ireland because of the 1 million Mexican people (who had probably had some exposure) who now live here and that the Irish people who had never been exposed before would get a particularly nasty dose of it. Now if a doctor were to say that the Irish swine flu was terrible that year because of the immigration of Mexicans, is that racist?

No, it is the doctor describing the circumstances, it's nothing to do with race.

E.T.

That's a very different situation - the doctor in question was talking about illnesses that have been in Ireland for years, but blaming their resurgence on specific immigrants. Swine flu is fairly new to this area, we certainly haven't been innoculating against it for long, so I wouldn't consider it racist to say that it comes from a certain area.

Tayla

It's not very different at all.....I've given 2 comparisons now, it's impossible to give a direct like for like comparison but i've given 2 that are as close as I can get.

Saying that stronger or new strains of diseases comes from immigration is not racist ffs. Seriously don't belittle what actual racism is by saying that that is racist.

Maybe it was a stupid uneducated comment but definitely not racist.

angelfire9

Interestingly I've been both sides of the fence on this one

As a child I must have driven my mother mad because I had nearly every childhood illness known to man within a period of 18 months - Chickenpox, Whooping Cough, Rubella, Regular Measles, Mumps and frequent Tonsillitis
I was at school at the time and the teachers knew I was sick but they sent a note home at one stage telling my parents that if I didn't show up I would have to stay back a year to make up all the time i'd being missing!
(to clarify the vaccinations for Measles & Mumps didn't exist at the time AFAIK and I've no immunity to Rubella even now)
I was the child that went to Limerick Regional for a tonsillectomy and came out of hospital with German Measles (aka Rubella)

My own daughter suffered desperately from her tonsils from about 18 months until she got them out aged 4.5
She missed quite a chunk of junior infants but got nothing home from the school (would this be because the sick periods were for 2-3 days at a time every few weeks rather than 1 continuous period)??

As for the "racist doctor" where I live in Ennis there was a MASSIVE outbreak of TB at one of the hostels housing immigrants from Africa a few years ago
All hell broke lose with GP's in the area offering booster vaccinations to children & adults as well as a widespread immunisation program for new immigrants
The entire building had to be sanitised once it had being dealt with!
It is not racist to say that I'd never personally heard of a case of TB in Ireland since the late '60's-early 70's and yet in this situation clearly race was a major factor in this outbreak
Irish kids are vaccinated from babyhood against TB African kids apparently are not (though the majority of those affected in the Ennis outbreak were adults as far as I know)

killbillvol2

Tayla wrote: »

It's not very different at all.....I've given 2 comparisons now, it's impossible to give a direct like for like comparison but i've given 2 that are as close as I can get.

Saying that stronger or new strains of diseases comes from immigration is not racist ffs. Seriously don't belittle what actual racism is by saying that that is racist.

Maybe it was a stupid uneducated comment but definitely not racist.

Just to educate you a little - you can't catch rickets from Africans (or anyone else). :rolleyes:

PcAngel

Huge case of tb in a cork school last year. Many children caught it.

Tayla

killbillvol2 wrote: »

Just to educate you a little - you can't catch rickets from Africans (or anyone else). :rolleyes:

I think you'll find I never said you could so I don't need to be educated thanks :rolleyes:

but apparently although saying rickets is more common in foreign children is not racist, saying you can catch different strains of viruses from foreign children is :rolleyes:

byhookorbycrook

Ok, back on track please.

MadsL

you can catch different strains of viruses from foreign children is

Best not take them on foreign holidays then so :rolleyes:

yet in this situation clearly race was a major factor in this outbreak

There was an outbreak of TB in St Raphal's Daycare centre in Kildare, a Day Centre for Adults with Mental Handicaps does that mean that mental ability was "a major factor in this outbreak"??

Seriously, some people :rolleyes: would you just listen to yourselves.

byhookorbycrook

Last warning or I lock the thread, stick to the original post topic, no need for bringing nationality into it.

DGOBS

OP, just started reading this thread, am in agreement somewhat with you, but then alot of illnesses are more infectious before or after symptoms have appeared anyway. But sick children should not be in school

In your OP you should stop referring to children as 'IT'