JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As fall approaches, so does the season for viruses and illness — and for parents, the question of when to keep a child home from school can be a tough one.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says more than two-thirds of children miss at least one day of school due to illness or injury. And it’s not just the kids who are affected — school staff and parents are at risk too.
Dr. Shilpa Amin, chair of emergency medicine at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, says schools typically see a spike in sick kids right at the start of the school year. She says certain symptoms should signal parents to keep children home.
“If a child has a fever for 24 hours and it’s not going away with Tylenol or Motrin, you need to bring them to the ER, keep them home and see if that fever is going away,” she said. “If the child is coughing a lot, they’re spreading the germs.”
Dr. Amin says to also watch out for the child being tired, lethargic and experiencing diarrhea as other signs to keep the kids home.
She also offers several practical tips for keeping the whole family healthy. Washing hands for at least 20 seconds, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, keeping distance from people who are sick and wearing a mask can all help limit the spread of illness.
She acknowledges, however, that getting kids to follow those guidelines is easier said than done.
“Kids are kids, right? They’re not going to stay away from their sick friend because they want to play with them,” she said. “But it’s good that you have a conversation with them and say, ‘Hey, we want to keep you safe, so if your little buddy is coughing, you might not want to play with them on the playground, kind of stay away from them.”
For parents, Dr. Amin says exposure to whatever the kids bring home is sometimes unavoidable. But consistent habits — washing hands, sanitizing surfaces and wearing masks when needed — remain good practices to keep up throughout the house.
