Sick Kids : Should You Stay or Should You Go?

We are at the height of cold and flu season, so the question that is going to haunt moms for several months, "The kids are sick should I stay home or go?"

This is not an easy question especially depending on how much you want to go to the event. It's much easier for some when you are sick because you do not have anything to loose. Your family is already going to get it, but if your kids are sick and you can stay home: do it.

It get's tricky when you and your kids are healthy and you know that where you are going is sickness. Six years ago, I tried this. I knew that I was going into a very sick situation with my six week old daughter. I did not want to and I was very stressed the entire time we were around the sickness, but I did not think that I had a choice. Guess what happened? She got very sick.

Another time, I was scheduled to help a friend watch her kids only to find out that her kids were sick. I did not want to ruin her day, so I kept them. My four-year-old daughter ended up in the ER with a temperature of 104. That is a bad scenario to start and mix that with a high deductible insurance and it makes it worse.

This year the stomach flu has been in full force.  When presented with a similar situation this year, the opportunity to go to a party with other kids that potentially have the stomach flu, we did the research.

Center for Disease Control has a list of facts regarding the stomach flu and others. Did you know that you can be contagious with the flu for 1 to 4 days before you show symptoms? Most people get sick themselves 2-3 days after they have been exposed.

What do you do if your gut is telling you not to go, but the desire to go is intense. Consider that choosing to go will result in everyone in your family getting sick. If you can go and enjoy the day, and that is an acceptable outcome then go. If on the other hand you do not want to see your kids getting sick, risk getting others sick, paying to go to the doctor, etc, then do not go. Every family's decision is going to be different. I have some friends that welcome sickness with the reason being boosting their children's immune system. I do not share that philosophy.

You and your husband need to make a decision for your family and go with it. I cannot promise you that everyone will understand or appreicate your decision, but you should go with your gut and then don't doubt yourself! You are not the bad guy.

~Julia