Did I do the right thing?

--halo--

We are a bunch of sickies over here in the halo household.  We've had colds since last Monday and I'm so tired of it.  

We didn't go many places the week before last because Jackson started having AWFUL stranger anxiety.  And last week we stayed in for several days in a row because we both felt terrible.  So I finally took him to the park.  

But then I thought, oh, crap, I'm that mom that takes her kid out around other kids when they're sick.  But WTF are you supposed to do when you're going crazy staying inside all the time, and you've stomped all the dandelions in the yard, and you can only go around the block so many times.

Is that flame-worthy?  Do you take your kids to the park even when they're sick?  That's why we wash our hands, right?  ::sigh:: 

EMOmamma

All I can say is I would never expect the park to be clean.  

If Jackson was well enough to enjoy it I'm sure it was fine.  Hope you all feel better soon.

pitterpatter129

Points below -- I drop mine at daycare with a cold. Colds can last two weeks! You can't stay home for two weeks.

--halo--

pitterpatter129:

Points below -- I drop mine at daycare with a cold. Colds can last two weeks! You can't stay home for two weeks.

Seriously!  I SAH, but if I worked what the heck would I do with him?  We've been staying home from our mommy group activities to be considerate, but we have to get out somehow! 

belizeitornot

pitterpatter129:

Points below -- I drop mine at daycare with a cold. Colds can last two weeks! You can't stay home for two weeks.

 This exactly.  The first time H was sick after she started daycare I was uber cautious.  I called and asked how I should handle it and they said "look, unless she's got a fever and is acting off, bring her in. If a kid stayed home everytime they had a runny nose and cough they'd never be here."

So, she's had 3 colds since then and every time I take her temp before we go and if there's no fever, off we go. I mean, it would be nice if we could keep our kids segregated while sick to spare the others, but it's just not reality. (Unless you have the patience of a saint and nothing else to do)

desertlady86

I've taken my kid to Wal-Mart before but she is hardly ever sick. 

--halo--

See, I'm a total noob about what to do when he's sick. :P  He's only been sick a few times and it was only for a few days. 

TripMomma

We try not to take our kids out when they are sick, I know it can't always be helped though. If I am being honest, I do not appreciate when my kids get sick because someone brought their sick kids to class or whatever though. It is tough, on one hand I know sharing germs and colds goes with having kids, on the other hand I think thinking a little about others can go a long way in not spreading illness.

alicb

I think the park is different than mommy and me type activities. 

I put park in the same category as shopping carts or the toys at the doctor's office there are gonna be germs on them, period.  Maybe if your LO was going around licking other kids faces or something then as a mom at the park I would be mad but at the end of a cold, eh no biggy. 

If you were going to a mommy and me at someone's home or something and it's obvious the kids would be in close proximity for a long length of time, possibly eating together, etc. that would (errr does) tick me off.

Cheekers2010

alicb:

I think the park is different than mommy and me type activities. 

I put park in the same category as shopping carts or the toys at the doctor's office there are gonna be germs on them, period.  Maybe if your LO was going around licking other kids faces or something then as a mom at the park I would be mad but at the end of a cold, eh no biggy. 

If you were going to a mommy and me at someone's home or something and it's obvious the kids would be in close proximity for a long length of time, possibly eating together, etc. that would (errr does) tick me off.

Totally agree with all this.  I think you're fine.  Gray has been sick endlessly since I stopped bf'ing (thanks Enbrel).  Thing is he's had fevers and been really knocked out so I can't bring him out and about.  I totally would have brought him to the park in your situation. 

xxbabycakesxx

alicb:

I think the park is different than mommy and me type activities. 

I put park in the same category as shopping carts or the toys at the doctor's office there are gonna be germs on them, period.  Maybe if your LO was going around licking other kids faces or something then as a mom at the park I would be mad but at the end of a cold, eh no biggy. 

If you were going to a mommy and me at someone's home or something and it's obvious the kids would be in close proximity for a long length of time, possibly eating together, etc. that would (errr does) tick me off.

I agree with this too.  I try to not take Griff out if hes sick though. 

OhSewCrafty

EMO-mamma:

All I can say is I would never expect the park to be clean.  

If Jackson was well enough to enjoy it I'm sure it was fine.  Hope you all feel better soon.

This.

Plus, if we stayed home every day that Charlie could be considered sick (runny nose, occasional cough, etc.) we would almost never leave the house. I just make sure to bring handy wipes to clean off anything he touches, like a shopping cart, swing, etc. if he's actually sick.

jarebearsmom

OhSewCrafty:

EMO-mamma:

All I can say is I would never expect the park to be clean.  

If Jackson was well enough to enjoy it I'm sure it was fine.  Hope you all feel better soon.

This.

Plus, if we stayed home every day that Charlie could be considered sick (runny nose, occasional cough, etc.) we would almost never leave the house. I just make sure to bring handy wipes to clean off anything he touches, like a shopping cart, swing, etc. if he's actually sick.

This.   Sometimes they just have to get out to feel better 

lrn327

OhSewCrafty:

EMO-mamma:

All I can say is I would never expect the park to be clean.  

If Jackson was well enough to enjoy it I'm sure it was fine.  Hope you all feel better soon.

This.

Plus, if we stayed home every day that Charlie could be considered sick (runny nose, occasional cough, etc.) we would almost never leave the house. I just make sure to bring handy wipes to clean off anything he touches, like a shopping cart, swing, etc. if he's actually sick.

Ditto this too!

kj07

I'm also one that considers the park and playground to be dirty by definition. 

EVM1216

So long as DD is feeling up to the level of activity I take her.  Of course I've sent her to DC with a low grade fever before.    However, I'm fairly certain that those were teething, not cold related.

MrsDe2008

I think it's perfectly fine that you took him to the park. Like pp said, parks are germ fests to begin with, so one more sick kid in the mix is not a big deal.

My issue is when I took Sam to the park a few weeks back and there was a little girl there about the age of 5 that was clearly sick and was hanging all over Sam. I tried to be polite and get rid of her, but she hung on her like white on rice. This went on for about 5 minutes and I didn't notice a mom around the whole time. Seriously, you let your 5 yo run around a pretty big park without keeping an eye on her?!? Not cool. Anyway, I didn't mind that she wanted to touch and play with Sam, but I did mind that she was coughing in my kids face and constantly trying to kiss her. Finally, I just scooped Sam up and left. Sam wasn't enjoying herself with this kid hanging all over her and neither was I. ugh.

lindseybell3

MrsDe2008:

I think it's perfectly fine that you took him to the park. Like pp said, parks are germ fests to begin with, so one more sick kid in the mix is not a big deal.

My issue is when I took Sam to the park a few weeks back and there was a little girl there about the age of 5 that was clearly sick and was hanging all over Sam. I tried to be polite and get rid of her, but she hung on her like white on rice. This went on for about 5 minutes and I didn't notice a mom around the whole time. Seriously, you let your 5 yo run around a pretty big park without keeping an eye on her?!? Not cool. Anyway, I didn't mind that she wanted to touch and play with Sam, but I did mind that she was coughing in my kids face and constantly trying to kiss her. Finally, I just scooped Sam up and left. Sam wasn't enjoying herself with this kid hanging all over her and neither was I. ugh.

Blech.  That's really nasty.  I'd take Tadhg out to the park with a cold... in fact, I'm probably going to today! Kids can hang onto colds for a looooong time; you can't isolate yourself.  But you also can make sure that they're not french kissing some other healthy kid!