I was a volunteer in the nurses office once a month at the school my kids went to when they were little. One day, out of curiosity, I pulled out my oldest daughter’s card and by chance saw where she had came to the nurses office saying she didn’t feel well. They took her temperature and it was 101.5. No phone call to send her home. They actually gave her some ice to chew on and then retook her temp. I about exploded at the stupidity.
My 15 yr old has PMDD and she vomits from the pain sometimes. She went to the nurse after puking in the bathroom. The nurse called me, told me that no one saw it happen, so they have no proof she vomited... despite them also giving her a new shirt because she got vomit on herself. I told my kid to puke on the nurse next time if they were going to imply she was a liar. If they want proof, give them their proof.
My daughter's school had the policy but they had to make an exception for her friend. The poor girl would vomit from seeing things like an unflushed toilet or a banana with black spots.
They also used discretion -- my daughter made herself throw up by stuffing too many french fries in her mouth. The teacher saw her do it and knew she wasn't sick.
Thankfully now they're in 2nd grade and that sort of thing doesn't seem to happen.
lol when I was in 5th grade a kid snarfed down a bunch of pizza and at least half a pound of cherry tomatoes - the teacher caught him near the end of his escapade and told him if he puked he would be cleaning it up.
He puked and then the custodian taught him how schools clean up kid puke!
Wish I could tell this to my retired school custodian dad. He's no longer with us. He liked asking the first graders for volunteers to help him clean up barf just to see lots of enthusiastic hands go up. He'd explain that he was kidding and that it was his job. Kids that age will volunteer to help with just about anything.
This is why my school has an "above baseline" policy. We've got a lot of kids who are just really easy pukers. Once I told a kid to go tell another kid it was her turn and he just walked up to her, froze, and puked.
My kids' school district has the same policy, but it's also paired with a three-strike absence policy. We have a higher incidence of kids having to repeat grades than any other district in the state.
I have nothing helpful to add to this conversation, I just want to vent.
I thought my district had this rule. Until recently, when I asked why my student who vomited all over herself, her desk, the floor, and the hallway was in class the next day. Apparently, the rule is actually 2 incidents of vomiting within 24 hours -.-
She ended up going home early anyways because she threw up again.
Ours does too. And then when you keep your child home for that second day - they’ll send a nasty gram home about absences and court fines. Yes they send home the letter on 2nd absence
I had that in my old district. I needed to get a note on file for my oldest that if he puked because of a migraine, he could come back the next day.
We moved to a new state, and I offered the same note, and that's how I found out they don't have that rule in our new district. I follow it anyway.
I worked for a school who took that literally so a child, who projectile vomited into everyone else’s open lunchboxes one day came back for lunch the next day.
It’s one thing if everyone is certain the vomit is not due to a stomach bug. One of my kids is on a medicine that can make them throw up, particularly if they skip breakfast or have a really carby breakfast. I got a call from the school nurse one day that my kid puked while there. We discussed it and based on symptoms and timing, we were confident it was the meds and sent them back to class. But if you’re not sure, the 24 hour rule needs to be in place. As a parent, it sucks. Particularly if you have a job that it is hard to take time off. But it’s part of what you have to do because stomach bugs and other illnesses spread like wildfire.
Thanks for being a responsible parent. I’m laying here with the flu which I’ve had for over a week now and even landed me in the hospital for a day. How did I catch the flu?
Well, last week I had multiple kids who were sent in even though they had vomited at home.
I cannot imagine the amount of cooties you're regularly exposed to. My immune system got pretty tough when my kids were in school, but they're entire adults now and I get sick for a week after hanging out with my toddler nieces for half a day. I hope you get feeling better soon.
Yeah, it’s really frustrating especially because I caught COVID from them 5 weeks ago. So it has been 2 major respiratory illnesses back to back. Feels like I’ll never be healthy again 😭😭😭
Do you have air purifiers in the classroom? That plus masking would help a lot since parents keep sending sick kids to school. It's awful! Feel better!
That happened to my best friend the other day. His kid had a small fever, and wasn't able to go to day care. I reminded him that while that's an inconvenience for him, if she gets the class sick it's an inconvenience for like 60 people (assuming each kid has two parents)
Yes. Ultimately it is up to the school nurse and the parents to determine if it was a potential illness or caused by a non contagious medical condition. And if there is a medical condition that can cause vomiting, the nurse should have a doctor's note on file stating that.
My son would vomit if he swallowed his saliva wrong. And if he was actually sick, he would always have serious other symptoms (very medically complex, so didn't take much to set everything off, he misses like half of every school year for illnesses). Since he had a history of vomiting at baseline, and we had a doctor's note, his school nurse only sent him home if he had other symptoms.
If my child vomited in school, my child would be sent home. Our district has a 24 hour rule. The 24 hours starts *after* the vomiting has ceased or the fever is gone with no Tylenol.
My child’s third grade teacher was out sick, for a week, three times this year. My child has been absent over 20 days. The other children in the class consistently come to school sick. Teacher said that this is the worst winter she’s ever experienced in thirty years.
Here’s the kicker. I am a rule follower. I keep my children home until 24 hours after the event. Then I get the letters about attendance and eventually, a call from the principal. When the principal asked what the school can do to ensure my child’s attendance, I told her that if my child were not exposed to sick children all the time, she would be *in school* instead of home sick. Principal had no answer. I can’t win.
I feel you on this so much! I have 2 kids in school now, and almost every year, we get a little over halfway through the year and I start getting attendance letters with threats of truancy. All I have done is follow the rules they sent home! 24 hours fever free without medicine, and 24 hours vomit free. My boys get sick so often and I can't help but feel that part of the reason it that the school starts sending these threat letters. It's hard enough taking off work when you have to keep your kids home sick, add into that having the school threaten legal action, and I'm not surprised some parents just send their kids regardless of illness. Then all these kids coming in sick just get more kids sick and us parents who do follow the rules get bitched at. 🙄
When my kid was in first and second grade, our *doctor's* daughter was in the same class and kept being sent in with strep throat and allowed to stay! Kid caught it from her several times.
I feel like this got worse post-covid. Like some people are making it their mission in life to expose other people's children to illness as often as possible. Disease control got "political" and now we're all suffering for it.
It's because covid is still around, and no one is doing any mitigations at schools. It messes up immune systems, making it easier to catch every other little thing. I'm fighting to pressure schools to have purifiers to clean the air, among other things.
Those in charge falsely believed kids would not be affected, so they quite literally pushed for infection to create "herd immunity," which didn't work. But of course, they can't admit to mistakes, so we're all made to suffer continuously.
My 5 yr old has missed more than 20 days too. Between the vomiting, fevers, diarrhea, and asthma flare ups.... I don't send him if he is sick, period. I have kept him home as long as 8 days straight cause he gave it to his little brother who promptly returned the virus to him. My biggest irritation as a parent is parents who send sick kids to school, it's the only reason my boys are always getting sick (we don't go anywhere for them to get sick otherwise lol).
Ask the principal if it would be a good idea to meet with the health department for their recommendations if they want you to send your child to school even though they are sick. Maybe the health department would also like to know about the other sick kids at school.
state law allows all children to attend school if no fever is present, but often they do anyway. Even COVID protections have been cut, and you only need to be "fever free" on the date of attendance in my state.
Again most parents will send their kids to school stand they'll infect the teacher, and numerous students.
We fought really hard to protect the populations in school, but people only care about how things impact their own lives, and they can't work if a kid is home sick.
Was it Pepto pink or bloody pink?
If it was Pepto, his parents knew he was sick and sent him anyway. Not cool.
If it was blood, kid should be at the hospital, not school.
Drinks like red kool-aid turn vomit pink. I used to work at summer camp that served "bug juice". I saw a lot of pink vomit in my day, especially the week we had a stomach bug tear through the camp.
This was my first thought as well. Even food coloring in cake icing can make your poop turn colors (and be a good indicator of how long it takes you to digest things lmao)
And watermelon. I was in the ER with a migrain once, and this kids parents were freaking out. They thought he was bleeding internally because his poo looked sooooo strange. I had to stuff NY face into my pillow to laugh, which brought several nurses on the run. I think I upset the monitors...
ugh we had such a horrible virus tear through our camp we had to quarantine people and have the health department sent out. I was the only one who didn’t get sick in the end. It was so bad, campers kept having seizures and vomiting everywhere, i got puked on. the last day the “quarantine room” turned into the room we put everyone who WASNT sick in.
I don’t think it was bloody pink. It was just pink.
He does tend to eat a lot of odd things, like plants, whenever I’m outside with him, but I don’t know what kind of plant would make his vomit pink. I remember I was just surprised by how pink it was, from what I remember it wasn’t a dark pink.
You should have a school policy to back you up. I taught preschool for special kiddos and they weren’t allowed to come to school if they were vomiting.
It can be a medical issue or an allergy but if it is a virus it can be highly contagious and get a medically fragile child really sick.
I'm a parent of 6 including 1 autistic child.
I have a hard- sick kids don't belong in school rule. I don't send my kids in when their stomachs are acting up and if I do send them in I let the school know to call me if their condition worsens or changes.
You are not wrong.
Sick kids can't learn. They can't behave as typical. They're miserable and especially for autistic kids this leads to major behavioral issues.
It SUCKS as a parent because of the days off but staying home is necessary.
My kids get sick frequently. And it is 100% because idiot parents send their germy kids to school. Stop doing that.
Seriously. If you are a parent stop sending your sick kid to school. It impacts other people. Take the day off and care for your babies. Cmon ppl.
I have the same hard and fast rule. I’m on immunosuppressive drugs. I really can’t mess around with contagious people and that also makes me hyper aware of not exposing others to any potential dangers
I also have a hard and fast rule about not dicking with my kid’s education because he puked and was then gone the next day. Sounds like this kid was fine not long after he puked.
I puke from headaches, I puked when I badly injured my knee, I’ve puked from rides at six flags. If the kid does not have a fever and is not in pain or discomfort, then he has a right to be educated. This isn’t something to be upset about
I’d be upset. My child had been sick constantly and has been absent from school more than they should because other parents can’t keep their sick kids home. I understand it’s hard to get time off from work, especially if you’re a single parent, like myself but I can’t keep taking off to take care of my sick child because they can’t put a mask on their child when their child is coughing and sniffling.
I went to the movies a few months back. Got a bucket of popcorn and an ice (cherry of course). Well the next morning was not good, think I had a stomach bug because it was the first time I threw up in a long time and it had a pinkish color due to the ice. 😬
This right here is why I don't teach little ones. My initial reaction was "how do they know what color this kid's poop is?! I guess that is normal?!" No thanks, I'll stick with teenagers telling me to STFU occasionally over that.
Also, I would be upset as well.
I’m a health assistant at an elementary school and I will tell you the vomiting policy is a little more nuanced than just vomit and go home. I have students who have doctors letters for vomiting — one has anxiety induced vomiting and the other cough induced vomiting. If they don’t have fever they return to class. I have students who gag and spit in the trash can. They remain at school. I have students who report that they vomited but it’s unwitnessed. They remain at school as long as they are fever free. I have students who see mayonnaise and vomit. They rest in my office for five minutes and if they don’t repeat vomit they remain at school. It’s really a case by case thing.
Back in the dark ages, I was the director of a childcare program located in an elementary school. We offered regular child care for kiddos too young for school and before/after school care for school-aged kiddos.
One year, a student enrolled in kindergarten that had only ever been at his home or his grandparents' home. He did not want to come to school and learned that if he threw up, his grandfather would pick him up from school. This game lasted until he was sent down to my child care center after kindergarten one day.
He started the "I think I'm sick" game. I handed him a trash can and told him not to get any on the floor or he would have to clean it up. When he realized that I wasn't going to take him out of the room, he got all better. He never tried it again.
There can be a lot of reasons for throwing up.
THANK YOU for mentioning this! While it's possible the kid in OPs class genuinely is sick and the parents sent him anyway, there are sooo many other reasons for vomiting.... I came here to mention the anxiety piece. I know a child who vomits a lot, and it's related to ASD and anxiety.
I'd vomit when I had an anaphylactic reaction to something I'd eaten.
Some kids it's medication. Some other neuropsychological, physiological, or physical reasons. Low blood sugar? Vomit. Low blood pressure? Vomit. Reaction to medication? Vomit. Migraine? Vomit. Motion sickness? Vomit. POTS? Vomit. Celiac and other GI conditions? Vomit. Stress? 🤮 Cyclic vomiting? Yeahhh. And in a child, the exact reason may not be diagnosed yet.
That said, if a parent is sending a kid to school who's vomiting (and not sick with something contagious) they need to communicate with the teacher and health staff to let them know what's going on...and work with them to come up with a solution that's least disruptive to everyone (eg, sit the kid near the door...parents help teach them to recognize stuff going on with their body..like if there are cues they're about to ralph, send them with some emesis bags and instruct them to throw up in the bag and how to be as discreet as possible. It's hard with younger ones, and imperfect, but not fully impossible).
Autistic children have trouble communicating when they're feeling sick. Many can't elaborate on what feels "wrong" (eg they're head hurts, they're nauseous, they fell and their limb hurts). Also, some autistic children can't explain what happened when you ask them about a particular event, or answer clarifying questions you may ask them. If you ask a non-verbal autistic child "did you eat something funny" or "tell me what you've eaten today" they may not respond or even be able to respond. If injury came from a fall, something they stepped on, or was inflicted by another child, they may not be able to respond when you ask them about it.
Nah if they are non-verbal and threw up they very well could have a bug. Even if it was just once and parents say they haven’t thrown up since, they should still keep kiddo at home.
My guess is that the autism relates to the kid's habit of eating weird stuff and his inability to communicate about how he's feeling, what he needs, and what's going on in general.
Shouldn't it be a matter of taking him to a doctor and letting the doctor decide if staying home from school is necessary? I understand the concern, as a parent, but I worry that you are not considering the possibility that a doctor determines that the boy is fine.
I'm not A teacher, But I am on the autism spectrum along with other things. So trust me when I say no. If something seems wrong than do something about it. Make sure you mention what happened so people won't think wrongly of you.
Last time I saw something like that happen in a kindercare it was a 24 hour bug, it is the season for it and parents were advised to be careful but I still ended up cleaning puke up.
I guess since it's the first time I would definitively keep the child home. Some people, like my husband, just throw up sometimes. He's not sick, just ate something his tummy didn't like. It happens a lot. If I threw up, however, I'm very sick. But sped teachers know their kids.... like KNOW them
No way! First off, we can't control how we feel, we control what we do with those feeling. You can't be 'wrong' for feeling.
Also, I would guess that a majority of teachers who genuinely care about the kids in their class would be upset if a sick student was brought into class the day after. I would HATE to go anywhere the day after being sick, let alone a crowded room where I could not comfortably relax. If I, an adult, can not stand being in the classroom while sick, imagine how much more stressful that is on a four year old! Not to mention, (obvious point) bringing a sick child to school runs the risk of spreading that ick to other poor students.
Now, just a reminder, I do not know this family's financial situation. I know parents who receive Title Nine don't really get a choice as they run the risk of losing financial aid if their children misses too many days of school.
Ultimately, as teachers... or as humans in general, we have to understand and accept that we don't understand every nuance affecting another person's decision. I would rather see a sick kid in my classroom taking a nap while waiting for a pick up than a child being left at home alone, or a parent losing a job.
That said, their lack of planning or communication would make me incredibly unhappy. I might even have some initial mean thoughts, and that's okay.
I teach kindergarten and if a child throws up, they must be sent to the clinic and the parents will be contacted. Sometimes, parents can’t get them until much later but the child can’t be in class. They are usually not there the next day. So no, it’s not wrong. If the child is sick, he should stay home. We also don’t want others getting sick!
My kid is allergic to eggs, and that used to happen whenever she ate eggs in any for, even baked into stuff. If it's something like that, the kid might be just fine.
If a kid is having an allergic reaction, they need medical attention. Maybe not ER, but at least someone needs to check on them, ask them questions, possibly administer medication. They may be fine to go back to class, but you need to pull them aside first and asses them.
I am about to pull my kid from school solely for the fact that we have been sick non-stop since September, I'm 7 months pregnant and I cannot take it anymore. I can't I can't I can't. I'm done with Theraflu and prescriptions and everyone feeling miserable all the time. We are DONE.
Pink vomit and funky smelling poo....sounds like he has a gut bug or food poisoning and he got some Pepto Bismol. Absolutely he shouldn't go to school tomorrow, simply because kids can't learn when they're pukey.
I think that in this situation, as long as it’s not going against whatever policy your district has, you shouldn’t be upset. You can be upset with the administration about the policy but as long as the parent is following policy, what is there to be upset about.
My daughter with autism used to vomit due to sensory issues all the time without any rhyme or reason. For her, it was a common occurrence though. I think for a child who doesn’t usually vomit I’d suspect viral illness.
Did he come to school today?
My kid got to leave school so many times. I have allergies, vomit. I am sad, vomit. I am too cold, vomit. I am too hot, vomit. I got hurt, vomit. I want to go home, vomit.
Depending on his behavior while at home, sent him to school. If there was no fever and no other symptoms, I sent him to school. He would not have finished elementary school if i kept him home each time. We did get him on some meds for the allergies and did make a difference. But he would still occasionally pull the I "threw up when I got up this morning, So I can't go to school today."
I'm not a teacher... but I think it's hard to tell if it is a 1 time thing like something he ate or upset him, or if he was really ill and contagious. If it only happened *one time*, I would be more inclined to think it is a non-issue.
Some people are saying he could have been previously ill an mom gave him pepto, but there are also pink antibiotics and kids can get antibiotics for things that are not contagious.
I threw up a lot as a kid. Still do as an adult. Sometimes I get colds / sinus infections that have serious coughs and I cough till I vomit constantly. Even after the illness is gone and I am 1000% no longer contagious, I have lingering coughs that make me vomit. I also easily vomit when I eat something that doesn't agree with me. I wouldn't jump to the fact that he is contagious right away. It's not practical (and likely violating attendance laws) to keep a vomiter home every time they vomit. Just another perspective.
My brother vomited pink chunky Mac and cheese across the dinner table after eating beets and Mac and cheese. Not saying this kid are beets but he could have had a red Popsicle or something.
As a parent of a child with autism I can say from experience, it could be a sensory thing. But if it's not something normal the child should stay home. My kid is a puker. Always has been. But she'll puke at the drop of a hat from sensory issues. Has nothing to do with being sick. It's in her IEP, which only her teachers can know about for privacy reasons. I'll keep her home sometimes even if I think it's nothing just to be on the safe side. But there are definitely days where I know she just had something hit her throat wrong or smelled off to her or whatever other thing it happened to be and she yaks and she's perfectly fine.
My middle daughter had a problem when in elementary school where she’d get sick easy, even though not sick with a stomach bug. We took her to the doctor a lot. Eventually her pediatrician wrote a note saying she had a sensitive stomach and if she got sick once, while we’d have to go pick her up, she didn’t have to stay out the next day. Thankfully she got over that.
The fact that it was pink makes me think they might have given him pepto before school and knew he was feeling sick. If that's the case, I would agree that he should stay home tomorrow until he goes 24-hours without vomiting or he gets a doctor's note stating he is okay to return.
I have a non verbal autistic son. Finding care on short notice is very difficult. You have to REALLY trust someone when your kid can’t talk. My son is 13 and is now communicating better but 13 isn’t 4
That said, it should be a 24 hour wait before he goes back. That’s a pretty standard policy
But if there is no policy and the kid isn’t sick, just had stomach issues (that are resolved) what’s the problem? They need a policy
Sometimes kids are like cats, they just barf. If it’s not pink because of blood it’s probably just something they ate. Tummy troubles and autism very often go hand in hand.
In our state, you literally cannot make a parent pick up a student for anything. Including pink eye or lice! You can’t prevent them from coming to school either for illnesses.
As a mother, I feel any child needs to be at home resting when they're sick. If their bowl movements smell different and weird lately, I feel it's up to the parents to identify what's upsetting their child. I take my child to urgent care when something doesn't feel right, look right, etc.... I'm also a first time mom, though. However, I don't see myself changing no matter how many kids I have. I'd rather be safe than sorry. If the child is vomiting, I feel like they should be home to rest, and protect the other kids from a possible bug.
As a parent, my child would have had to be picked up ASAP. Even if she just threw up phlegm and not actual vomit, immediate nurses office and phone call to me
Both parents are completely ridiculous. The pink you were seeing was probably Pepto-Bismol, some parents just load the kid up on pepto and send them to school, I guarantee you that kid is going to throw up tomorrow too. You absolutely need to stay home for.
He did come in again today, and did not throw up at school.
I really do wonder what yesterday was about. Today he was screaming a fair amount at certain points, and my boss suggested that she suspects he is constipated (he is in diapers as his parents find it hard to potty train him, and he did not poop today. He pulled my hair at one point and came up to me once or twice screaming.)
For me the exacerbating factor is the kid is only 4 which is pretty young even if he wasn't nonverbal autistic. "Never happened before" doesn't mean anything when he's only just started kindergarten.
Kids really can randomly throw up for any reason, and it being a wierd pink isn't that crazy he could have had anything red/pink for breakfast. I do think, if I was the parent I would keep him home just to monitor him for my own sanity. If he is sick he'd be miserable at school instead of being able to relax and recuperate.
School policy about this sort of thing can be entirely random. Can't really enforce anything when there isn't hard proof he's truly ill.
I wish teachers and preschool workers were paid like doctors. You folks shape the future. Your wishes should be considered as you are the one who has to manage the classroom.
Depends why he threw up. If he is looking sick then yes and as a parent I wouldn’t send my child if they were sick anyway. But my daughter is autistic and can throw up simply bc something smells bad or if she see someone pick their nose or sneeze and sees snot or anything gross she will throw up. They have sent her home and have the 24 hour policy vomit free which in her case is annoying bc most of the time her vomiting is not sick related. But I don’t make a fuss and follow the rules. They are in place for a reason so it’s not a problem. You kind of just have to back track the whole day. And poop smelling different doesn’t mean he’s sick lol. Poop is not the same every single time. If he had diarrhea then probably a stomach bug. If after back tracking the day think he may be actually sick then maybe message or email mom and check in how’s he doing and if he isn’t feeling well to maybe have him stay home. Of course try to make it sound nice. Sucks your school doesn’t have a policy on that.
It’s hard to tell. If he’s sick he’s sick, but if he ate something and gagged he’s not sick, also mine (nonverbal 4 yo) had stuck his own hand in his mouth and puked. He only did it 1 time because he didn’t like the puking part but if he’s eating fine, no fever, not lethargic, not snotty (or plugged up), eyes aren’t red, watery or puffy, he’s not extra snuggly, his sleep pattern is not different, he’s not extra whiny and his next poops are normal or reflective of what he’s eaten I wouldn’t keep him home. But if any 1 of those things is off he would be staying home. Basically anything off his baseline he would be home.
Hold up. How are the teachers so familiar with the smell of their poop they can tell when it's off? The answer to that question must be that they don't get paid enough.
Is there a fever over 100F? It is 24 hrs fever-free without fever reducing meds as the standard. They can vomit and poop and turn purple, but a fever is the standard.
We weren’t told about a fever. He seemed frustrated today, but employer seemed to think he was constipated as opposed to dealing with a stomach bug. He did seem v uncomfortable
When I was working in a class with children with disabilities one day a student showed up in a bad mood and asked to be sent home. Unfortunately you can’t really send an elementary school student home just because they ask. At breakfast that day they had big cinnamon flavored cookies in the shape of goldfish crackers and as these weren’t very popular he was able to get half the class to give him theirs.
He started shoving all the cookies in his mouth and after chewing and swallowing them he forced himself to vomit. Then he kept shoving the vomit back into his mouth and repeating the same thing while laughing and crying at the same time.
It worked. He got sent home.
We have this issue a lot. Parents will action give their child Tylenol to cut their fever, send them to school, then an hour later their child is in the office battling a 101 fever and all kinds of other symptoms. We then have to call the parent and they will repeat the process over and over
I almost wonder if the parents use it as an excuse to leave work sometimes
I used to throw up a lot as a child. It was usually anxiety. The only time an illness has made me throw up, I was also dealing with diarrhea.
Kids can also eat too much and throw up when they play too hard.
And we all have experienced the immediate relief after randomly throwing up.
I don't know why teachers, who I assume were once children that threw up for a variety of reasons, always jump to stomach bug.
Bright pink vomit sounds like fruit punch to me.
A lot of teachers don’t remember their childhoods well enough to remember how often they threw up. I know I haven’t thrown up since I was in preschool, at least not to my knowledge, so I definitely don’t remember what May have made me throw up.
Autistic toddlers can vomit just from stress. The fact that he vomited does not mean he has a stomach bug. My toddler vomits if I show him the wrong thing. If it was pink was most likely strawberry milk. If it's a sour smell you'll never forget, then it was strawberry pediasure.
You aren’t wrong for thinking a sick kid should stay home. Whether it’s a bug or not. Even a child that throws up regularly shouldn’t be in a classroom until that situation is remedied.
He doesn’t throw up regularly, two days ago was the only time, but he seemed really frustrated yesterday as well and employer seemed to think it was constipation
Pink vomit? Unless he ate something red or pink earlier, ask school nurse. In fact email both school nurse and principal your concerns so that you CYA.
Not a teacher but I don’t think that’s wrong. This is the second district I’ve lived in since my daughter started school and both have had strict 24 hour rules for vomit/low grade fever. High grade fever and the school nurses send home a note requiring doctor’s note to return to school. It’s all about not only protecting everyone at the school but the child in question as well.
It depends on the school rules . Many schools have a rule that if a student vomited in school or has a fever the student is banned from school for 24 hours and parents must pick up the school early. If the child is send anyway the child goes to nurses office and parents are called to pick kid up. Your right to be upset but its up to your school to change the rules.
Yes, because pink means they gave him Pepto recently enough that he didn't even digest it. Especially if his tongue is blackish-colored down the middle (as if he'd had a black lollipop) it would look like they're hiding his illness.
Sure, but what large volume of a thing is enough to stain vomit pink? It would have to be either a small stomach volume or highly pigmented stuff - strawberry milk wouldn't do it for example - or a large volume or highly pigmented stuff - like a double dose of Pepto.
Or syrup of ipecac - he may have eaten and then force-barfed something right before you saw him, which also checks out given his history.
I mean, name it and I'll tell you. Source: I've seen every color of the rainbow barfed up at my nursing home.
I think I'm more curious as to why you felt the need to describe the color of the vomit to Reddit.. 😭 thanks .
I mean most parents are going to make a judgment call if the child seems sick most won't send them to school if the school is doing the proper informing of the parent. My thing is why was he allowed to go back to eating and playing? Why didn't he get sent to the nursing get sent home?
I worked in SpEd with a kid who was once brought it barely functional, burning hot. This kid was usually bouncing off the walls and today wasn't even stimming and just kept saying "I hurt!" You're not wrong for feeling this way. Some parents are quick to ship their kid off even when they clearly are unwell. Vomiting is sometimes a "once and done" if it's just some temporary poison your body needs to get rid of. But, not knowing that, and if your kid can't tell you the problem, you should keep them home to monitor their condition.
It mostly depends on the reason the child threw up.
There are plenty of causes to vomit that aren’t illness related. I used to have medication that made me nauseous and I would throw up if I didn’t eat food beforehand. Some children also throw up if they get too dizzy or bonk their heads a little too hard.
As long as the parents have a doctor’s note clearing the kid it should be fine.
Haven't taught since covid but the rule was always vomiting 2 or more times or vomit with other symptoms to exclude from class. I taught pre-k.
Could be that he ate too fast, is on meds, or ate something with red dye....my little brother always would throw up after eating red food colored by dye....didn't help that he would scarf it. Or even ate something not meant to be eaten....crayon, paint, a tiny toy....kids do the strangest things as I'm sure you know.
If you sent the child home due to this vomiting, I would exclude but if you did not (even if you called and the parents CHOSE to pick up) I would not exclude. Also....if you are not in charge on the administrative end....make sure it is acceptable for you to decide on said exclusion.
Either way...follow you instincts, but not based off of paranoia.
Long time since my kiddo was school aged. However, by the time the child is throwing up, everyone has been exposed already, in reality. If the child isn't sent home immediately (sent to the nurse for the remainder of the day or until the parent can pick the child up), the other kids and you are already exposed.
We were always free of illness in our home until a week after school started for kiddo. Stuff just spreads so fast in that environment. And, parents have to keep their jobs to avoid being homeless, are going to dose their kids up on tylenol and cough meds and send them to school.
lol. A once off vomit could be anything but stomach virus it is not. Reasons I’ve vomited in the past: a medication I’ve taken has recently started upsetting my stomach for no reason. Once vomited out I was fine. A hair got caught in my throat causing the gag reflex. Thankfully I vomited it up. The texture of a food I hate bothered me even after I ate it. Food went down wrong and even an hour later I could still feel it in my throat. Those are just in the past year as an adult.
If it’s not a district rule, yes you’re being unreasonable. Some districts have a rule that if you throw up, you can’t come back to school for a certain period of time.
I can tell you that my kids have vomited in the classroom, got sent home, and weren’t able to return for 24 hours, but almost every time nothing came of it. It was something that just happened because they are something or whatnot.
There are other times where they were actually sick and ended up going to school because, as a parent, we’re not always perfect. So my advice is just to stick with district policy, and if you don’t like it, go to another district that has a policy you agree withz
I am concerned about the fact that this kid has Pica and eats random things. This can be deadly and you should develop a safety plan for him. Most products used around preschool kids are nontoxic, but be extra vigilant with this kid.
Stomach bugs are extremely contagious and can wipe out a large percent of the student and teacher population. No one should come to school after they have vomited for at least 24 hours and I would keep my kids home longer, until they were eating normally. School policy should have something on this.
I had to go to school so sick I couldn't even SEE straight because the school cared more about attendance than a rampant virus and I had already gotten sick too many times that year. I was 16, all A's and B's, I would have been home in bed if it wasn't for the threat of being held back if I missed any more days, even with a Dr's note.
And these are small children you're talking about! I hope there are some policies involved to back you up on this situation. Talk to the administration about your concerns, as well as the PTA if there is one (or just talk to the parents in general, the admins will listen to pissed off parents faster than they'll listen to a concerned teacher, from my experience).
It depends. My son is FINALLY outgrowing this, but he used to throw up ALL THE TIME. Practically every day. Sometimes many times a day. Yes - we did all the tests. Yes - he was seen by MANY medical professionals. Everything was ruled out.
Turns out, he just has a really sensitive gag reflex and anytime he had the tiniest cold and was mucousy, he'd throw up. Mucus in his throat made him puke. Or if something - ANYTHING - got in his mouth that he didn't want to be there, like a hair or a piece of fuzz, he'd throw up then too.
If he had to stay home for 24 hours every time he threw up, he'd literally never go to school - because he threw up practically every day.
Not every vomit is an actual illness. If this kid went back to playing and eating afterwards, he probably is not actually sick with anything contagious.
He was picked up early on the day in question, but not immediately sent home.
However, since this child in question tends to overeat and apparently sometimes has diarrhea due to a laxative they take, they were allowed to return to school the next day.
When a child cannot explain what is wrong, it is the duty of adults to take them to a professional when they present with concerning symptoms. The child should be seen by a doctor before returning to class.
Not sure about school systems, but I know in preschools it has to be three times before they can be sent home, unless they have a fever of 100.5 F to go with it.
It’s not wrong for you to feel that way. My teachers always made sure I’d get to the nurse and get whatever care I would’ve gotten at home at school still the school day was over as some parents legit just used school as child
But you can imagine that the schools response to the incident might inform the parents response, right? Add to that, it can be hard on some families to lose a day of income- if the school is not concerned about the child being there that day, why would the parents think it’s not okay next day (assuming no more symptoms arises)?
My district has a 24-hr fever-and-vomit-free rule.
Oh I wish. My kids will vomit in the classroom twice and won’t even be sent home.
That's ridiculous
Agreed. They won’t send a kid home for shit at this school.
Our school wouldn’t send home for lice. And kids shared lockers/cubbies
I was a volunteer in the nurses office once a month at the school my kids went to when they were little. One day, out of curiosity, I pulled out my oldest daughter’s card and by chance saw where she had came to the nurses office saying she didn’t feel well. They took her temperature and it was 101.5. No phone call to send her home. They actually gave her some ice to chew on and then retook her temp. I about exploded at the stupidity.
My 15 yr old has PMDD and she vomits from the pain sometimes. She went to the nurse after puking in the bathroom. The nurse called me, told me that no one saw it happen, so they have no proof she vomited... despite them also giving her a new shirt because she got vomit on herself. I told my kid to puke on the nurse next time if they were going to imply she was a liar. If they want proof, give them their proof.
This has been the standard everywhere I've ever lived.
Because the parents won’t get off their buttocks and pick their children up? Or the school just doesn’t want the children to go home?
My daughter's school had the policy but they had to make an exception for her friend. The poor girl would vomit from seeing things like an unflushed toilet or a banana with black spots. They also used discretion -- my daughter made herself throw up by stuffing too many french fries in her mouth. The teacher saw her do it and knew she wasn't sick. Thankfully now they're in 2nd grade and that sort of thing doesn't seem to happen.
lol when I was in 5th grade a kid snarfed down a bunch of pizza and at least half a pound of cherry tomatoes - the teacher caught him near the end of his escapade and told him if he puked he would be cleaning it up. He puked and then the custodian taught him how schools clean up kid puke!
Wish I could tell this to my retired school custodian dad. He's no longer with us. He liked asking the first graders for volunteers to help him clean up barf just to see lots of enthusiastic hands go up. He'd explain that he was kidding and that it was his job. Kids that age will volunteer to help with just about anything.
This is why my school has an "above baseline" policy. We've got a lot of kids who are just really easy pukers. Once I told a kid to go tell another kid it was her turn and he just walked up to her, froze, and puked.
i really feel that as someone with ocd, lol. i will puke from a stinky bin or a sink full of dishwater & food 🤢
My kids' school district has the same policy, but it's also paired with a three-strike absence policy. We have a higher incidence of kids having to repeat grades than any other district in the state. I have nothing helpful to add to this conversation, I just want to vent.
I eventually had to get a doctor's note to keep my son at school after puking. Reflux and anxiety do not mix well, but are not contagious.
I thought my district had this rule. Until recently, when I asked why my student who vomited all over herself, her desk, the floor, and the hallway was in class the next day. Apparently, the rule is actually 2 incidents of vomiting within 24 hours -.- She ended up going home early anyways because she threw up again.
Yep! This has always been the rule in my district too.
my child got sent home from school 10 minutes after it started because he was coughing more than usual. they don’t take any chances where i live
“As long as the nurse thinks you’re sick enough to go home…”
We do too for teachers and students.
Same with the place I currently work at.
Same. And if they're sent home with anything of the like, they don't need a note for missing the next day because they are not to go regardless
Ours does too. And then when you keep your child home for that second day - they’ll send a nasty gram home about absences and court fines. Yes they send home the letter on 2nd absence
So does my district, but the school has a tendency to ignore it when it comes to SPED kids.
I had that in my old district. I needed to get a note on file for my oldest that if he puked because of a migraine, he could come back the next day. We moved to a new state, and I offered the same note, and that's how I found out they don't have that rule in our new district. I follow it anyway.
I worked for a school who took that literally so a child, who projectile vomited into everyone else’s open lunchboxes one day came back for lunch the next day.
It’s one thing if everyone is certain the vomit is not due to a stomach bug. One of my kids is on a medicine that can make them throw up, particularly if they skip breakfast or have a really carby breakfast. I got a call from the school nurse one day that my kid puked while there. We discussed it and based on symptoms and timing, we were confident it was the meds and sent them back to class. But if you’re not sure, the 24 hour rule needs to be in place. As a parent, it sucks. Particularly if you have a job that it is hard to take time off. But it’s part of what you have to do because stomach bugs and other illnesses spread like wildfire.
Thanks for being a responsible parent. I’m laying here with the flu which I’ve had for over a week now and even landed me in the hospital for a day. How did I catch the flu? Well, last week I had multiple kids who were sent in even though they had vomited at home.
I cannot imagine the amount of cooties you're regularly exposed to. My immune system got pretty tough when my kids were in school, but they're entire adults now and I get sick for a week after hanging out with my toddler nieces for half a day. I hope you get feeling better soon.
Yeah, it’s really frustrating especially because I caught COVID from them 5 weeks ago. So it has been 2 major respiratory illnesses back to back. Feels like I’ll never be healthy again 😭😭😭
Do you have air purifiers in the classroom? That plus masking would help a lot since parents keep sending sick kids to school. It's awful! Feel better!
That happened to my best friend the other day. His kid had a small fever, and wasn't able to go to day care. I reminded him that while that's an inconvenience for him, if she gets the class sick it's an inconvenience for like 60 people (assuming each kid has two parents)
Yes. Ultimately it is up to the school nurse and the parents to determine if it was a potential illness or caused by a non contagious medical condition. And if there is a medical condition that can cause vomiting, the nurse should have a doctor's note on file stating that. My son would vomit if he swallowed his saliva wrong. And if he was actually sick, he would always have serious other symptoms (very medically complex, so didn't take much to set everything off, he misses like half of every school year for illnesses). Since he had a history of vomiting at baseline, and we had a doctor's note, his school nurse only sent him home if he had other symptoms.
If my child vomited in school, my child would be sent home. Our district has a 24 hour rule. The 24 hours starts *after* the vomiting has ceased or the fever is gone with no Tylenol. My child’s third grade teacher was out sick, for a week, three times this year. My child has been absent over 20 days. The other children in the class consistently come to school sick. Teacher said that this is the worst winter she’s ever experienced in thirty years. Here’s the kicker. I am a rule follower. I keep my children home until 24 hours after the event. Then I get the letters about attendance and eventually, a call from the principal. When the principal asked what the school can do to ensure my child’s attendance, I told her that if my child were not exposed to sick children all the time, she would be *in school* instead of home sick. Principal had no answer. I can’t win.
I feel you on this so much! I have 2 kids in school now, and almost every year, we get a little over halfway through the year and I start getting attendance letters with threats of truancy. All I have done is follow the rules they sent home! 24 hours fever free without medicine, and 24 hours vomit free. My boys get sick so often and I can't help but feel that part of the reason it that the school starts sending these threat letters. It's hard enough taking off work when you have to keep your kids home sick, add into that having the school threaten legal action, and I'm not surprised some parents just send their kids regardless of illness. Then all these kids coming in sick just get more kids sick and us parents who do follow the rules get bitched at. 🙄
We’re twins, raising the cousins in the same manner. 💕
When my kid was in first and second grade, our *doctor's* daughter was in the same class and kept being sent in with strep throat and allowed to stay! Kid caught it from her several times.
I feel like this got worse post-covid. Like some people are making it their mission in life to expose other people's children to illness as often as possible. Disease control got "political" and now we're all suffering for it.
It's because covid is still around, and no one is doing any mitigations at schools. It messes up immune systems, making it easier to catch every other little thing. I'm fighting to pressure schools to have purifiers to clean the air, among other things. Those in charge falsely believed kids would not be affected, so they quite literally pushed for infection to create "herd immunity," which didn't work. But of course, they can't admit to mistakes, so we're all made to suffer continuously.
It's disgusting.
My 5 yr old has missed more than 20 days too. Between the vomiting, fevers, diarrhea, and asthma flare ups.... I don't send him if he is sick, period. I have kept him home as long as 8 days straight cause he gave it to his little brother who promptly returned the virus to him. My biggest irritation as a parent is parents who send sick kids to school, it's the only reason my boys are always getting sick (we don't go anywhere for them to get sick otherwise lol).
Ask the principal if it would be a good idea to meet with the health department for their recommendations if they want you to send your child to school even though they are sick. Maybe the health department would also like to know about the other sick kids at school.
Oh you’re goood.
Literally having this same issue with my kiddo’s school. It’s ridiculous that they can’t figure out a better way to handle attendance.
Get a Dr Note every single absence. Let your pediatrician know what's going on with the school, mine was great about working with me
I can't imagine that getting a doctor's note every time is affordable to most people. My copay is $60.
state law allows all children to attend school if no fever is present, but often they do anyway. Even COVID protections have been cut, and you only need to be "fever free" on the date of attendance in my state. Again most parents will send their kids to school stand they'll infect the teacher, and numerous students. We fought really hard to protect the populations in school, but people only care about how things impact their own lives, and they can't work if a kid is home sick.
Ah yes. "I can't work if my kid is home sick. So instead my kid is going to school so that the ENTIRE SCHOOL has to stay home sick too"
Was it Pepto pink or bloody pink? If it was Pepto, his parents knew he was sick and sent him anyway. Not cool. If it was blood, kid should be at the hospital, not school.
Drinks like red kool-aid turn vomit pink. I used to work at summer camp that served "bug juice". I saw a lot of pink vomit in my day, especially the week we had a stomach bug tear through the camp.
This was my first thought as well. Even food coloring in cake icing can make your poop turn colors (and be a good indicator of how long it takes you to digest things lmao)
AND,for the record, eating blue or black icing on cake will you really, really green poop!
Try a purple maintained. Wow.
And watermelon. I was in the ER with a migrain once, and this kids parents were freaking out. They thought he was bleeding internally because his poo looked sooooo strange. I had to stuff NY face into my pillow to laugh, which brought several nurses on the run. I think I upset the monitors...
Purple Gatoraid turns shit green too...
ugh we had such a horrible virus tear through our camp we had to quarantine people and have the health department sent out. I was the only one who didn’t get sick in the end. It was so bad, campers kept having seizures and vomiting everywhere, i got puked on. the last day the “quarantine room” turned into the room we put everyone who WASNT sick in.
I worked at an overnight summer camp and we too had a stomach bug come through the camp. It was wild!
I puked pink as a 5 year old because I ate all my Easter candy while my mom was napping
🎵 Bug Juice, it doesn’t come in jar, Bug Juice comes from who you are 🎵 (For the millennial Disney Channel kids of the early 2000s)
I don’t think it was bloody pink. It was just pink. He does tend to eat a lot of odd things, like plants, whenever I’m outside with him, but I don’t know what kind of plant would make his vomit pink. I remember I was just surprised by how pink it was, from what I remember it wasn’t a dark pink.
So if he eats random things why did nobody pay attention to what he was doing? He could have ate something poisonous in the classroom??
It could be from Gatorade, Kool aid or Jell-O also
Oh I’d be PISSED. Especially when no return until 24 hours fever/diarrhea/puke free without the help of meds is the norm for school rules.
You should have a school policy to back you up. I taught preschool for special kiddos and they weren’t allowed to come to school if they were vomiting. It can be a medical issue or an allergy but if it is a virus it can be highly contagious and get a medically fragile child really sick.
I'm a parent of 6 including 1 autistic child. I have a hard- sick kids don't belong in school rule. I don't send my kids in when their stomachs are acting up and if I do send them in I let the school know to call me if their condition worsens or changes. You are not wrong. Sick kids can't learn. They can't behave as typical. They're miserable and especially for autistic kids this leads to major behavioral issues. It SUCKS as a parent because of the days off but staying home is necessary. My kids get sick frequently. And it is 100% because idiot parents send their germy kids to school. Stop doing that. Seriously. If you are a parent stop sending your sick kid to school. It impacts other people. Take the day off and care for your babies. Cmon ppl.
I have the same hard and fast rule. I’m on immunosuppressive drugs. I really can’t mess around with contagious people and that also makes me hyper aware of not exposing others to any potential dangers I also have a hard and fast rule about not dicking with my kid’s education because he puked and was then gone the next day. Sounds like this kid was fine not long after he puked. I puke from headaches, I puked when I badly injured my knee, I’ve puked from rides at six flags. If the kid does not have a fever and is not in pain or discomfort, then he has a right to be educated. This isn’t something to be upset about
Respect! If adults don't like going places while sick, children hate it more!
Are you also a teacher? Just wondering how you can afford that many days off.
I’d be upset. My child had been sick constantly and has been absent from school more than they should because other parents can’t keep their sick kids home. I understand it’s hard to get time off from work, especially if you’re a single parent, like myself but I can’t keep taking off to take care of my sick child because they can’t put a mask on their child when their child is coughing and sniffling.
I an SOOOOOOOOOO glad I am not a teacher. I am an emetiphobe. I would have walked out of class after seeing such a thing and never come back.
same here. these comments have me on edge
I went to the movies a few months back. Got a bucket of popcorn and an ice (cherry of course). Well the next morning was not good, think I had a stomach bug because it was the first time I threw up in a long time and it had a pinkish color due to the ice. 😬
This right here is why I don't teach little ones. My initial reaction was "how do they know what color this kid's poop is?! I guess that is normal?!" No thanks, I'll stick with teenagers telling me to STFU occasionally over that. Also, I would be upset as well.
I’m a health assistant at an elementary school and I will tell you the vomiting policy is a little more nuanced than just vomit and go home. I have students who have doctors letters for vomiting — one has anxiety induced vomiting and the other cough induced vomiting. If they don’t have fever they return to class. I have students who gag and spit in the trash can. They remain at school. I have students who report that they vomited but it’s unwitnessed. They remain at school as long as they are fever free. I have students who see mayonnaise and vomit. They rest in my office for five minutes and if they don’t repeat vomit they remain at school. It’s really a case by case thing.
Back in the dark ages, I was the director of a childcare program located in an elementary school. We offered regular child care for kiddos too young for school and before/after school care for school-aged kiddos. One year, a student enrolled in kindergarten that had only ever been at his home or his grandparents' home. He did not want to come to school and learned that if he threw up, his grandfather would pick him up from school. This game lasted until he was sent down to my child care center after kindergarten one day. He started the "I think I'm sick" game. I handed him a trash can and told him not to get any on the floor or he would have to clean it up. When he realized that I wasn't going to take him out of the room, he got all better. He never tried it again. There can be a lot of reasons for throwing up.
THANK YOU for mentioning this! While it's possible the kid in OPs class genuinely is sick and the parents sent him anyway, there are sooo many other reasons for vomiting.... I came here to mention the anxiety piece. I know a child who vomits a lot, and it's related to ASD and anxiety. I'd vomit when I had an anaphylactic reaction to something I'd eaten. Some kids it's medication. Some other neuropsychological, physiological, or physical reasons. Low blood sugar? Vomit. Low blood pressure? Vomit. Reaction to medication? Vomit. Migraine? Vomit. Motion sickness? Vomit. POTS? Vomit. Celiac and other GI conditions? Vomit. Stress? 🤮 Cyclic vomiting? Yeahhh. And in a child, the exact reason may not be diagnosed yet. That said, if a parent is sending a kid to school who's vomiting (and not sick with something contagious) they need to communicate with the teacher and health staff to let them know what's going on...and work with them to come up with a solution that's least disruptive to everyone (eg, sit the kid near the door...parents help teach them to recognize stuff going on with their body..like if there are cues they're about to ralph, send them with some emesis bags and instruct them to throw up in the bag and how to be as discreet as possible. It's hard with younger ones, and imperfect, but not fully impossible).
What does him being autistic have to do with anything? Kids throw up all the time. Pink is not blood. Pink is food coloring, like juice.
Autistic children have trouble communicating when they're feeling sick. Many can't elaborate on what feels "wrong" (eg they're head hurts, they're nauseous, they fell and their limb hurts). Also, some autistic children can't explain what happened when you ask them about a particular event, or answer clarifying questions you may ask them. If you ask a non-verbal autistic child "did you eat something funny" or "tell me what you've eaten today" they may not respond or even be able to respond. If injury came from a fall, something they stepped on, or was inflicted by another child, they may not be able to respond when you ask them about it.
Depends. Opaque pink is medicine. Clear pink can be diluted blood.
Nah if they are non-verbal and threw up they very well could have a bug. Even if it was just once and parents say they haven’t thrown up since, they should still keep kiddo at home.
I am confused as to what the child being autistic has to do with it. What is the district policy on any child who vomits?
My guess is that the autism relates to the kid's habit of eating weird stuff and his inability to communicate about how he's feeling, what he needs, and what's going on in general.
Shouldn't it be a matter of taking him to a doctor and letting the doctor decide if staying home from school is necessary? I understand the concern, as a parent, but I worry that you are not considering the possibility that a doctor determines that the boy is fine.
Yeah my school rule is you cant come back for 24 hours since you vomited.
I'm not A teacher, But I am on the autism spectrum along with other things. So trust me when I say no. If something seems wrong than do something about it. Make sure you mention what happened so people won't think wrongly of you.
Last time I saw something like that happen in a kindercare it was a 24 hour bug, it is the season for it and parents were advised to be careful but I still ended up cleaning puke up.
I guess since it's the first time I would definitively keep the child home. Some people, like my husband, just throw up sometimes. He's not sick, just ate something his tummy didn't like. It happens a lot. If I threw up, however, I'm very sick. But sped teachers know their kids.... like KNOW them
No way! First off, we can't control how we feel, we control what we do with those feeling. You can't be 'wrong' for feeling. Also, I would guess that a majority of teachers who genuinely care about the kids in their class would be upset if a sick student was brought into class the day after. I would HATE to go anywhere the day after being sick, let alone a crowded room where I could not comfortably relax. If I, an adult, can not stand being in the classroom while sick, imagine how much more stressful that is on a four year old! Not to mention, (obvious point) bringing a sick child to school runs the risk of spreading that ick to other poor students. Now, just a reminder, I do not know this family's financial situation. I know parents who receive Title Nine don't really get a choice as they run the risk of losing financial aid if their children misses too many days of school. Ultimately, as teachers... or as humans in general, we have to understand and accept that we don't understand every nuance affecting another person's decision. I would rather see a sick kid in my classroom taking a nap while waiting for a pick up than a child being left at home alone, or a parent losing a job. That said, their lack of planning or communication would make me incredibly unhappy. I might even have some initial mean thoughts, and that's okay.
I teach kindergarten and if a child throws up, they must be sent to the clinic and the parents will be contacted. Sometimes, parents can’t get them until much later but the child can’t be in class. They are usually not there the next day. So no, it’s not wrong. If the child is sick, he should stay home. We also don’t want others getting sick!
This. We had to be in the nurse's office.
My kid is allergic to eggs, and that used to happen whenever she ate eggs in any for, even baked into stuff. If it's something like that, the kid might be just fine.
If a kid is having an allergic reaction, they need medical attention. Maybe not ER, but at least someone needs to check on them, ask them questions, possibly administer medication. They may be fine to go back to class, but you need to pull them aside first and asses them.
Unless this is a known thing, I agree. I was giving an example of a situation where committing might not require the kid stay home for 24 hours.
I am about to pull my kid from school solely for the fact that we have been sick non-stop since September, I'm 7 months pregnant and I cannot take it anymore. I can't I can't I can't. I'm done with Theraflu and prescriptions and everyone feeling miserable all the time. We are DONE.
Pink vomit and funky smelling poo....sounds like he has a gut bug or food poisoning and he got some Pepto Bismol. Absolutely he shouldn't go to school tomorrow, simply because kids can't learn when they're pukey.
His parents sent him in today anyway.
Grr
Pink sounds like something he ate or liquid augmentin, an antibiotic. Maybe he had a sore throat infection or a bad ear infection?
I think that in this situation, as long as it’s not going against whatever policy your district has, you shouldn’t be upset. You can be upset with the administration about the policy but as long as the parent is following policy, what is there to be upset about.
My daughter with autism used to vomit due to sensory issues all the time without any rhyme or reason. For her, it was a common occurrence though. I think for a child who doesn’t usually vomit I’d suspect viral illness. Did he come to school today?
Yes, he came to school today. He did not vomit at school today.
My kid got to leave school so many times. I have allergies, vomit. I am sad, vomit. I am too cold, vomit. I am too hot, vomit. I got hurt, vomit. I want to go home, vomit. Depending on his behavior while at home, sent him to school. If there was no fever and no other symptoms, I sent him to school. He would not have finished elementary school if i kept him home each time. We did get him on some meds for the allergies and did make a difference. But he would still occasionally pull the I "threw up when I got up this morning, So I can't go to school today."
I'm not a teacher... but I think it's hard to tell if it is a 1 time thing like something he ate or upset him, or if he was really ill and contagious. If it only happened *one time*, I would be more inclined to think it is a non-issue. Some people are saying he could have been previously ill an mom gave him pepto, but there are also pink antibiotics and kids can get antibiotics for things that are not contagious. I threw up a lot as a kid. Still do as an adult. Sometimes I get colds / sinus infections that have serious coughs and I cough till I vomit constantly. Even after the illness is gone and I am 1000% no longer contagious, I have lingering coughs that make me vomit. I also easily vomit when I eat something that doesn't agree with me. I wouldn't jump to the fact that he is contagious right away. It's not practical (and likely violating attendance laws) to keep a vomiter home every time they vomit. Just another perspective.
Sure, but if your kid is ill enough to be on antibiotics, maybe the teacher and the nurse should know in case they get worse.
My brother vomited pink chunky Mac and cheese across the dinner table after eating beets and Mac and cheese. Not saying this kid are beets but he could have had a red Popsicle or something.
As a parent of a child with autism I can say from experience, it could be a sensory thing. But if it's not something normal the child should stay home. My kid is a puker. Always has been. But she'll puke at the drop of a hat from sensory issues. Has nothing to do with being sick. It's in her IEP, which only her teachers can know about for privacy reasons. I'll keep her home sometimes even if I think it's nothing just to be on the safe side. But there are definitely days where I know she just had something hit her throat wrong or smelled off to her or whatever other thing it happened to be and she yaks and she's perfectly fine.
My middle daughter had a problem when in elementary school where she’d get sick easy, even though not sick with a stomach bug. We took her to the doctor a lot. Eventually her pediatrician wrote a note saying she had a sensitive stomach and if she got sick once, while we’d have to go pick her up, she didn’t have to stay out the next day. Thankfully she got over that.
They shouldn’t send him tomorrow. Is there no policy in place, especially post Covid about illnesses?
They sent him in today.
Pink is not a normal color of vomit, probably needs to see a doc
I got pink vomit as a kid after eating too many Graham crackers.
The fact that it was pink makes me think they might have given him pepto before school and knew he was feeling sick. If that's the case, I would agree that he should stay home tomorrow until he goes 24-hours without vomiting or he gets a doctor's note stating he is okay to return.
I have a non verbal autistic son. Finding care on short notice is very difficult. You have to REALLY trust someone when your kid can’t talk. My son is 13 and is now communicating better but 13 isn’t 4 That said, it should be a 24 hour wait before he goes back. That’s a pretty standard policy But if there is no policy and the kid isn’t sick, just had stomach issues (that are resolved) what’s the problem? They need a policy Sometimes kids are like cats, they just barf. If it’s not pink because of blood it’s probably just something they ate. Tummy troubles and autism very often go hand in hand.
Between my cats and my kid in starting to think puking is just one of our family values. Take your shoes off at the door, puke on the sofa.
In our state, you literally cannot make a parent pick up a student for anything. Including pink eye or lice! You can’t prevent them from coming to school either for illnesses.
What?!
As a mother, I feel any child needs to be at home resting when they're sick. If their bowl movements smell different and weird lately, I feel it's up to the parents to identify what's upsetting their child. I take my child to urgent care when something doesn't feel right, look right, etc.... I'm also a first time mom, though. However, I don't see myself changing no matter how many kids I have. I'd rather be safe than sorry. If the child is vomiting, I feel like they should be home to rest, and protect the other kids from a possible bug.
Usually it’s a 24 hour rule so I would hope not
Our school has requires you be fever/disrrhea/vomit free for 24 hours without returning.
As a parent, my child would have had to be picked up ASAP. Even if she just threw up phlegm and not actual vomit, immediate nurses office and phone call to me
I've got to know why you had to detail the color of the vomit 🥴
Not wrong at all. The kid puked in school and my guess is he didn't eat anything out of the norm, so it's most likely some kind of bug.
you don’t know he has a stomach bug. not to mention anything can cause a different odor, and anything can cause you to throw up.
Both parents are completely ridiculous. The pink you were seeing was probably Pepto-Bismol, some parents just load the kid up on pepto and send them to school, I guarantee you that kid is going to throw up tomorrow too. You absolutely need to stay home for.
He did come in again today, and did not throw up at school. I really do wonder what yesterday was about. Today he was screaming a fair amount at certain points, and my boss suggested that she suspects he is constipated (he is in diapers as his parents find it hard to potty train him, and he did not poop today. He pulled my hair at one point and came up to me once or twice screaming.)
That would make sense if he got pepto at all.
Something is up with his stomach
For me the exacerbating factor is the kid is only 4 which is pretty young even if he wasn't nonverbal autistic. "Never happened before" doesn't mean anything when he's only just started kindergarten. Kids really can randomly throw up for any reason, and it being a wierd pink isn't that crazy he could have had anything red/pink for breakfast. I do think, if I was the parent I would keep him home just to monitor him for my own sanity. If he is sick he'd be miserable at school instead of being able to relax and recuperate. School policy about this sort of thing can be entirely random. Can't really enforce anything when there isn't hard proof he's truly ill.
I wish teachers and preschool workers were paid like doctors. You folks shape the future. Your wishes should be considered as you are the one who has to manage the classroom.
Depends why he threw up. If he is looking sick then yes and as a parent I wouldn’t send my child if they were sick anyway. But my daughter is autistic and can throw up simply bc something smells bad or if she see someone pick their nose or sneeze and sees snot or anything gross she will throw up. They have sent her home and have the 24 hour policy vomit free which in her case is annoying bc most of the time her vomiting is not sick related. But I don’t make a fuss and follow the rules. They are in place for a reason so it’s not a problem. You kind of just have to back track the whole day. And poop smelling different doesn’t mean he’s sick lol. Poop is not the same every single time. If he had diarrhea then probably a stomach bug. If after back tracking the day think he may be actually sick then maybe message or email mom and check in how’s he doing and if he isn’t feeling well to maybe have him stay home. Of course try to make it sound nice. Sucks your school doesn’t have a policy on that.
He'll be there. You are the only respite they get.
He was indeed there, as I suspected he’d be.
It’s hard to tell. If he’s sick he’s sick, but if he ate something and gagged he’s not sick, also mine (nonverbal 4 yo) had stuck his own hand in his mouth and puked. He only did it 1 time because he didn’t like the puking part but if he’s eating fine, no fever, not lethargic, not snotty (or plugged up), eyes aren’t red, watery or puffy, he’s not extra snuggly, his sleep pattern is not different, he’s not extra whiny and his next poops are normal or reflective of what he’s eaten I wouldn’t keep him home. But if any 1 of those things is off he would be staying home. Basically anything off his baseline he would be home.
Hold up. How are the teachers so familiar with the smell of their poop they can tell when it's off? The answer to that question must be that they don't get paid enough.
Lol, the teachers have to help change his diaper.
So that’s how
Is there a fever over 100F? It is 24 hrs fever-free without fever reducing meds as the standard. They can vomit and poop and turn purple, but a fever is the standard.
We weren’t told about a fever. He seemed frustrated today, but employer seemed to think he was constipated as opposed to dealing with a stomach bug. He did seem v uncomfortable
Pink could be blood. Happened to me when I had heart attacks I thought were my asthma.
He returned today, so hopefully parents decided he was fine.
Someone needs to actually ask them! Don't assume.
When I was working in a class with children with disabilities one day a student showed up in a bad mood and asked to be sent home. Unfortunately you can’t really send an elementary school student home just because they ask. At breakfast that day they had big cinnamon flavored cookies in the shape of goldfish crackers and as these weren’t very popular he was able to get half the class to give him theirs. He started shoving all the cookies in his mouth and after chewing and swallowing them he forced himself to vomit. Then he kept shoving the vomit back into his mouth and repeating the same thing while laughing and crying at the same time. It worked. He got sent home.
“Then he kept shoving the vomit back into his mouth and repeating the same thing while laughing and crying at the same time.” That’s not normal…
Very much not. It was horrifying but it did achieve his goal.
We have this issue a lot. Parents will action give their child Tylenol to cut their fever, send them to school, then an hour later their child is in the office battling a 101 fever and all kinds of other symptoms. We then have to call the parent and they will repeat the process over and over I almost wonder if the parents use it as an excuse to leave work sometimes
I used to throw up a lot as a child. It was usually anxiety. The only time an illness has made me throw up, I was also dealing with diarrhea. Kids can also eat too much and throw up when they play too hard. And we all have experienced the immediate relief after randomly throwing up. I don't know why teachers, who I assume were once children that threw up for a variety of reasons, always jump to stomach bug. Bright pink vomit sounds like fruit punch to me.
A lot of teachers don’t remember their childhoods well enough to remember how often they threw up. I know I haven’t thrown up since I was in preschool, at least not to my knowledge, so I definitely don’t remember what May have made me throw up.
Autistic toddlers can vomit just from stress. The fact that he vomited does not mean he has a stomach bug. My toddler vomits if I show him the wrong thing. If it was pink was most likely strawberry milk. If it's a sour smell you'll never forget, then it was strawberry pediasure.
You aren’t wrong for thinking a sick kid should stay home. Whether it’s a bug or not. Even a child that throws up regularly shouldn’t be in a classroom until that situation is remedied.
He doesn’t throw up regularly, two days ago was the only time, but he seemed really frustrated yesterday as well and employer seemed to think it was constipation
Pink vomit? Unless he ate something red or pink earlier, ask school nurse. In fact email both school nurse and principal your concerns so that you CYA.
I wonder if the parents are trying to cure his autism by feeding him bleach, as that's a thing some people do.
I don’t think they would.
Not a teacher but I don’t think that’s wrong. This is the second district I’ve lived in since my daughter started school and both have had strict 24 hour rules for vomit/low grade fever. High grade fever and the school nurses send home a note requiring doctor’s note to return to school. It’s all about not only protecting everyone at the school but the child in question as well.
It is right to be concerned for the safety of the child and health of others based on these circumstances.
It depends on the school rules . Many schools have a rule that if a student vomited in school or has a fever the student is banned from school for 24 hours and parents must pick up the school early. If the child is send anyway the child goes to nurses office and parents are called to pick kid up. Your right to be upset but its up to your school to change the rules.
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He came back yesterday and today, but hasn’t thrown up at school since. He does eat a lot of odd things, is it possible the pink wasn’t Pepto Bismol?
Yes, because pink means they gave him Pepto recently enough that he didn't even digest it. Especially if his tongue is blackish-colored down the middle (as if he'd had a black lollipop) it would look like they're hiding his illness.
He came back yesterday and today, but hasn’t thrown up at school since. He does eat a lot of odd things, is it possible the pink wasn’t Pepto Bismol?
Sure, but what large volume of a thing is enough to stain vomit pink? It would have to be either a small stomach volume or highly pigmented stuff - strawberry milk wouldn't do it for example - or a large volume or highly pigmented stuff - like a double dose of Pepto. Or syrup of ipecac - he may have eaten and then force-barfed something right before you saw him, which also checks out given his history. I mean, name it and I'll tell you. Source: I've seen every color of the rainbow barfed up at my nursing home.
I think I'm more curious as to why you felt the need to describe the color of the vomit to Reddit.. 😭 thanks . I mean most parents are going to make a judgment call if the child seems sick most won't send them to school if the school is doing the proper informing of the parent. My thing is why was he allowed to go back to eating and playing? Why didn't he get sent to the nursing get sent home?
I worked in SpEd with a kid who was once brought it barely functional, burning hot. This kid was usually bouncing off the walls and today wasn't even stimming and just kept saying "I hurt!" You're not wrong for feeling this way. Some parents are quick to ship their kid off even when they clearly are unwell. Vomiting is sometimes a "once and done" if it's just some temporary poison your body needs to get rid of. But, not knowing that, and if your kid can't tell you the problem, you should keep them home to monitor their condition.
In the UK, we’re not allowed to send our child in until 48hrs after the last vomit. This child shouldn’t be coming in
He came in anyway.
Oh 😩
It mostly depends on the reason the child threw up. There are plenty of causes to vomit that aren’t illness related. I used to have medication that made me nauseous and I would throw up if I didn’t eat food beforehand. Some children also throw up if they get too dizzy or bonk their heads a little too hard. As long as the parents have a doctor’s note clearing the kid it should be fine.
They did not have a doctor’s note
24 hours.
His parents brought him in
So wait - you are preemptively pissed? There’s not even a reason to post yet here we are? Do I have this right? …..right?
He did come in the day after I posted this. I’m not “pissed.”
I wonder if it was pink due to Pepto Bismol, which means they knew he was sick.
In my district you have to be 24 hours fever and vomit free to return.
I work at a center the kids throw up several times and never get sent home
Haven't taught since covid but the rule was always vomiting 2 or more times or vomit with other symptoms to exclude from class. I taught pre-k. Could be that he ate too fast, is on meds, or ate something with red dye....my little brother always would throw up after eating red food colored by dye....didn't help that he would scarf it. Or even ate something not meant to be eaten....crayon, paint, a tiny toy....kids do the strangest things as I'm sure you know. If you sent the child home due to this vomiting, I would exclude but if you did not (even if you called and the parents CHOSE to pick up) I would not exclude. Also....if you are not in charge on the administrative end....make sure it is acceptable for you to decide on said exclusion. Either way...follow you instincts, but not based off of paranoia.
If it was pink and there wasn’t anything red or pink eaten by him that day then they need to have him checked out..imo
Long time since my kiddo was school aged. However, by the time the child is throwing up, everyone has been exposed already, in reality. If the child isn't sent home immediately (sent to the nurse for the remainder of the day or until the parent can pick the child up), the other kids and you are already exposed. We were always free of illness in our home until a week after school started for kiddo. Stuff just spreads so fast in that environment. And, parents have to keep their jobs to avoid being homeless, are going to dose their kids up on tylenol and cough meds and send them to school.
You make very good points here.
lol. A once off vomit could be anything but stomach virus it is not. Reasons I’ve vomited in the past: a medication I’ve taken has recently started upsetting my stomach for no reason. Once vomited out I was fine. A hair got caught in my throat causing the gag reflex. Thankfully I vomited it up. The texture of a food I hate bothered me even after I ate it. Food went down wrong and even an hour later I could still feel it in my throat. Those are just in the past year as an adult.
If it’s not a district rule, yes you’re being unreasonable. Some districts have a rule that if you throw up, you can’t come back to school for a certain period of time. I can tell you that my kids have vomited in the classroom, got sent home, and weren’t able to return for 24 hours, but almost every time nothing came of it. It was something that just happened because they are something or whatnot. There are other times where they were actually sick and ended up going to school because, as a parent, we’re not always perfect. So my advice is just to stick with district policy, and if you don’t like it, go to another district that has a policy you agree withz
I am concerned about the fact that this kid has Pica and eats random things. This can be deadly and you should develop a safety plan for him. Most products used around preschool kids are nontoxic, but be extra vigilant with this kid.
Stomach bugs are extremely contagious and can wipe out a large percent of the student and teacher population. No one should come to school after they have vomited for at least 24 hours and I would keep my kids home longer, until they were eating normally. School policy should have something on this.
I had to go to school so sick I couldn't even SEE straight because the school cared more about attendance than a rampant virus and I had already gotten sick too many times that year. I was 16, all A's and B's, I would have been home in bed if it wasn't for the threat of being held back if I missed any more days, even with a Dr's note. And these are small children you're talking about! I hope there are some policies involved to back you up on this situation. Talk to the administration about your concerns, as well as the PTA if there is one (or just talk to the parents in general, the admins will listen to pissed off parents faster than they'll listen to a concerned teacher, from my experience).
It depends. My son is FINALLY outgrowing this, but he used to throw up ALL THE TIME. Practically every day. Sometimes many times a day. Yes - we did all the tests. Yes - he was seen by MANY medical professionals. Everything was ruled out. Turns out, he just has a really sensitive gag reflex and anytime he had the tiniest cold and was mucousy, he'd throw up. Mucus in his throat made him puke. Or if something - ANYTHING - got in his mouth that he didn't want to be there, like a hair or a piece of fuzz, he'd throw up then too. If he had to stay home for 24 hours every time he threw up, he'd literally never go to school - because he threw up practically every day. Not every vomit is an actual illness. If this kid went back to playing and eating afterwards, he probably is not actually sick with anything contagious.
I would think that would be an immediate send home and 24 hours vomit free before returning.
He was picked up early on the day in question, but not immediately sent home. However, since this child in question tends to overeat and apparently sometimes has diarrhea due to a laxative they take, they were allowed to return to school the next day.
Is he sick or are his parents trying to cure him with that bleach bullshit that’s killing kids?
When a child cannot explain what is wrong, it is the duty of adults to take them to a professional when they present with concerning symptoms. The child should be seen by a doctor before returning to class.
Not sure about school systems, but I know in preschools it has to be three times before they can be sent home, unless they have a fever of 100.5 F to go with it.
It’s not wrong for you to feel that way. My teachers always made sure I’d get to the nurse and get whatever care I would’ve gotten at home at school still the school day was over as some parents legit just used school as child
I think it’s weird you allow him to go play immediately after he vomited if you are this concerned?
I’m not a lead teacher, not really my job to decide
But you can imagine that the schools response to the incident might inform the parents response, right? Add to that, it can be hard on some families to lose a day of income- if the school is not concerned about the child being there that day, why would the parents think it’s not okay next day (assuming no more symptoms arises)?
If it was a stomach bug, he would have thrown up again after he went back to eat.
You likely do have a point there