• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

Flu Season Playdate Etiquette

February 9, 2011 by sarah dyer Leave a Comment

As we are in the midst of flu season I can’t help but be amazed by the number of sick kids that show up at school and at playdates. I know we all want to go to playdates so we aren’t trapped inside with our haywire tots, but there is nothing worse than showing up at one or dropping your kids off at school to have them hacked on by their BFF. They don’t care, but I do.

When my daughter was a couple of weeks old my friend brought over dinner for us (so kind) and she brought her daughter to play with my son. At the end of the brief playdate she mentioned that her daughter was coming down with a cold! A cold which my toddler son subsequently caught- I was so mad. Do you know what happens if a newborn catches a cold? They have to be hospitalized and potentially have a spinal tap. This fact the doctors kept making me aware of before we left the hospital after she was born in January – they never mentioned this to me when my son was born in July, which makes sense because flu season is over by then. By only letting my son touch the top of my daughter’s head the bottom of her feet she stayed healthy, so I suppose it wasn’t a huge deal, but it was still annoying and stressful.


I realize most kids have a runny nose that starts in November and doesn’t stop flowing until April. And that is fine, some runny noses are just that- a runny nose. But here are some common sense tips that will help keep us all healthy:

1. WASH HANDS – 100 times a day if possible 😉 ok, not really but it is an easy way to get rid of germs – keep a hand sanitizer on hand (especially if you’re traveling in an airport).

2. COUGH/SNEEZE INTO YOUR ELBOW – teach this to your kids as well – there is almost no point in coughing into your hands, you’ll spread your cold just as easily as if you didn’t cover your mouth at all, it just seems more polite.

3. If your child is running a fever – higher than 98.6F – after it breaks wait another 24 hours before they are exposed to others to avoid passing on the bug

4. A runny nose may be fine but if its green and tough to clean, it could be an indication of a bacterial infection so best to wait until it clears.

5. If your child wakes up with a crusty or leaky eye it could be pink eye which is highly contagious and needs to be seen by a doctor – absolutely positively stay home!

At the end of the day, colds are inevitable and actually healthy for your children to get as they help kick start their immune systems to make them more resistant to worse infections (www.webmd.com). But none of us have time to be sick or home sick with our kids, so if we all do our part we can lessen the number of times our houses come down with a cold over the season. Stay warm!
 

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About sarah dyer

Sarah is a mom of three awesome kids who make her laugh, cry and pull out her hair. She observes the world around her; applies her own experiences and then writes about them. She thinks shes pretty funny sometimes, but she could just be delusional and need to tweak her sleep/coffee ratio. Sarah waves the NAFTA flag having lived in small town NJ, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago and Mexico City and is now back in her hometown of Toronto.

Her current rule to live by is: Be Kind to Your Fellow Moms (Parents).

Follow her on Twitter @sarahdyer or for extra kicks start a game with her on Words with Friends (poper12).

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Search

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

ModernMom TV

Featured

Kissing Kids on the Lips: Fine or Not?

I recently read an article that says that parents should not … [Read More...] about Kissing Kids on the Lips: Fine or Not?

Must Have

STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

April has arrived which means it’s time to pull out the food … [Read More...] about STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

Did you know?

early signs you are pregnant with twins

Early Signs You Are Pregnant With Twins

When to Take a Toddler to the Emergency Room With a Fever

When to Take a Toddler to the Emergency Room With a Fever

signs of pregnancy

How Long Does It Take to Show Signs of Pregnancy?

fade hair color quickly

How to Fade Hair Color Quickly

Signs of PMS or Pregnancy

cold sore and fever blister remedies

Cold Sore and Fever Blister Remedies

basal temperature as sign of pregnancy

Basal Temperature As Sign of Pregnancy

Signs You're Having a Miscarriage

Signs You’re Having a Miscarriage

How Does IVF Work

How Does IVF Work?

Emotional Development of Adolescents

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2023 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.