We all know parents have it tough. Not only do you want your children to do their best in school, make friends and enjoy life to the fullest, but you probably wouldn’t be averse to swaddling them in cotton wool to protect them from germs and illnesses if you could. Unfortunately, and as much as we wish otherwise, kids do get sick. It’s the nature of the environments they find themselves in and their immature immune systems. In other words, safeguarding their health in the long term sometimes comes down to knowing when to stay home from school for a day or two so they can recover in peace and — just as important — avoid making their classmates and teachers sick, too.
Below is a go-to guide on when to keep a child home from school, addressing common concerns and queries parents may have. Just remember: a soft blanket, a bowl of soup and your patented brand of TLC are sometimes the best medicine.
When to stay home from school: typical scenarios
Before looking closer at when to keep your kids home from school, one piece of common sense applies: always consult your family doctor if you believe your child is sick. Professional health care providers are best placed to advise you on whether your child requires medicine, acute care or simply twenty-four hours of uninterrupted rest.
It can also be worth calling the school to find out directly if you should keep your child out of the classroom. Children’s Health points out that “Most schools and daycares have their own sick policies about when to keep a child home. You should become familiar with your school’s fever and sick day policy as it may be narrower than what physicians recommend.”
If you are still in doubt, keep them home. As Kathleen Lima, a paediatrician at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, asserts, “It’s important to keep your child home from school so they may recover. We also don’t want to continue to spread viral illnesses that may jeopardise the health of their classmates, teachers and friends.”
School’s out for the day
There are several illnesses and symptoms where a trip to school could be harmful not only for your child, but for the entire classroom. Here are some scenarios where we strongly advise keeping your little trooper tucked up in bed at home:
- Fever: The classic catch-all childhood illness. A child with a fever should remain at home until they are completely fever-free without the use of any fever-reducing medication. A fever can be indicative of an underlying infection, and sending a child to school in this condition may end up exacerbating their symptoms and exposing other children to potential illnesses. Note: A healthy temperature range is between 36.1 and 37.2°C. Anything over 38°C is considered a high temperature or a fever.
- Chickenpox (varicella): Depending on where you live, a chickenpox vaccine may be one of the required vaccinations for school and daycare, meaning they won’t have to hear you say “Don’t scratch!” a hundred times a day. If a vaccine isn’t mandatory and your child does contract chickenpox, you should keep them home until at least five days from the onset of the rash and until all the blisters have crusted over. Note: As KidsHealth points out, chickenpox often starts with a fever, so be on the lookout.
- Other contagious illnesses: If your child has a highly contagious illness such as measles, mumps, scarlet fever or whooping cough, it is best — and often mandatory according to many school policies — to keep them at home until they are no longer contagious. This may take several days, so settle in for the long haul. Also, be aware that some contagious illnesses require antibiotics to treat, which means you’ll need to keep your child home anyway to administer the medication.
- Vomiting and diarrhoea: Stomach viruses are highly contagious, and children experiencing vomiting or diarrhoea should absolutely stay home until they have recovered and are no longer at risk of spreading the infection. As well as making them personally comfortable, this is an essential way to build confidence in kids among their peers.
In each case, be sure to keep your child home for at least 24 hours after the symptoms have subsided. The UK government has published an excellent checklist of when to keep kids home from school as well as for how long depending on the illness.
The maybes and the all-clears
There are some situations when keeping kids home from school is entirely at your discretion. Here are some of the most common examples:
- Cold symptoms: Everyone catches a cold from time to time, but the severity of the cold can be the deciding factor on when to keep a child home from school. If your little one is experiencing severe cold symptoms, such as a runny nose, sneezing and coughing, it may be better to skip school until they’ve recovered to prevent the spread of germs. In addition to the usual cold medicines, you can try our natural remedies to help them get some relief while they’re stuck at home.
- Head lice: This is unpleasant, but very common among children and there is nothing you can do to prevent it. While you can help stop lice from spreading by wet- or dry-combing your child’s hair, there is no benefit to keeping them home from school.
- Conjunctivitis, tonsillitis and glandular fever: As Luisa Dillner in the Guardian points out, “the recommended time off school is — surprisingly — none.” These are minor illnesses that tend to resolve themselves without any particular treatment, so in principle there is little you can do. Of course, it is important to keep in mind that your child could be in some discomfort due to these illnesses, so you may wish to keep them home anyway.
Feeling fine but contagious all the same
Different illnesses have varying incubation periods, and some may not show any immediate symptoms. However, there are certain circumstances where it is prudent to keep your child home even if they appear healthy:
- Close contact with a sick individual: If your child has been in close contact with an individual diagnosed with a contagious illness, it is recommended to keep them home for the duration of the incubation period (think COVID-19 for a recent example). This allows time for symptoms to manifest, preventing the potential spread of the illness to others.
- A compromised immune system: Children with weakened immune systems caused by certain medical conditions or ongoing treatments may be more susceptible to infections. In these cases, it is essential to consult with your child’s healthcare provider to determine the best course of action regarding school attendance.
- Chronic health conditions: If you have a child who suffers from a chronic health condition (e.g. asthma or diabetes), then you are likely already aware that they should stay at home if they are experiencing a flare-up. School environments can be unforgiving at times, so it is better to wait until they are firing on all cylinders again before sending them back into the fray.
Can my child go to school with a cough?
This is a good question, and the answer is: it depends. In the post-pandemic age, any cough could be linked to a possible COVID-19 infection, so it is always a good idea to have your child do a rapid lateral flow test before heading off to school.
In general, though, the following applies: If it is simply a mild cough — which the NHS describes as “tickly and doesn’t produce any phlegm” — and they are exhibiting no other symptoms, then it is most likely fine to give your child a little cough syrup in the morning and send them to school. This is also the case if they typically have a cough at certain times of year due to seasonal allergies.
If, however, they are suffering from a persistent or chesty cough, i.e. one that results in the production of phlegm to help them clear their airways, then it would be wise to keep your child home. Not only can you tend to them and reassure them (as we all know, a cough can be an exhausting experience), but by keeping them out of school, this minimises disruption to the classroom. Be aware that a persistent cough may be a sign of a more serious illness, so always consult your GP.
A final word of advice: go with your gut
Outside of contagious illnesses, there is no hard science when it comes to knowing when to keep a child home from school — and every case is unique. But you do know your child, which means you can tell better than anyone if it is worth skipping a day or two of school to benefit from bed rest. By staying informed and proactive, parents everywhere can strike a good balance between ensuring their child gets the most out of their education and safeguarding their health.