Dropping off a kid with a fever

I know I'm not the only one who has cheated and knowingly dropped off a kid with a fever.  Yeah, I know what the rules are, but there are times when people need to dump the kid and get on with their day.

Generally, daycares and schools don't want kids with fevers over 100 degrees.  Some places make you wait a full 24 hours after the fever is under before the child is allowed back.

Unfortunately, this does not always fit into a busy schedule.

I know why they don't want my sick kid there, but there are times when I have things that I need to do.  It's actually pretty easy to mask the fever.  A couple of children's tylenols will get the fever to dip enough to get through drop off.

After you pull away from the school, it will take quite a while for the caregivers to identify the illness and call you back to pick up the kid again.  Usually, it will be enough time to take care of whatever urgent thing you need to get done (working out, buying groceries, playing golf...).

Kindergarten is a lot easier than daycare for this.  They actually had thermometers in the daycare classroom, so you had to be a bit quicker on drop-off.  Those are the days when the kid could not go straight to a caregiver for a hug on arrival.  The friendly hello hug is where the caregivers figure out the elevated temperature before you can even sign in the kid.  If that happens, you get trapped - that thermometer would be in the mouth before you could escape, and you'd be leaving with the sick kid.

That's the advantage of kindergarten - there are fewer caregivers.  There's less chance for someone to discover the scheme until it is too late.

The most impressive deception I ever pulled was when my daughter was only two years-old.  On the way in to daycare, she threw up in the car, all over her jacket.

I pulled over and assessed the situation.  The jacket would not make it to school, but the rest of the outfit could be salvaged.  I went to work with baby-wipes doing a thorough clean-up of the area.  The next step was to get the kid to drink some water to cleanse the mouth.  The final step was some cologne that I had left in my glovebox.

Moments later, the kid was dropped off at school, and I was on my way to my appointment.  My day was saved, and my kid was fine.  Nobody was harmed, and she made it through the whole day.  No harm, no foul.


For one thing, that 100 degrees is kind of an arbitrary number.  The doctor doesn't even worry if the fever is that mild.  I can imagine the nurse on the phone covering the receiver and laughing when I call in a 100 degree fever.  Yeah, the kid is sick, but the following advice almost always follows: take children's tylenol and call back if the fever gets higher.

That degree of non-concern has relaxed my concern over a fever.  The nurse often asks questions about how the kid is acting - is she lethargic or acting normally?  Usually when sick, my kid is loving life and in a great mood - she's getting extra attention, TV time, and crackers on the couch.  So when I call in a fever, I usually report a very happy young child.

In the end, I use my best judgement of my kid before dropping her off.  If she's obviously sick, she'll stay home.  But if she's happy and in a good mood, there's no reason to let a slight fever keep her out of school.

Common sense wins over a number on a thermometer every time.

** Obviously I am NOT a doctor, so it would be extremely unwise for you take this as medical advice.  In fact, don't take this as medical advice - take it as advice on how to ignore medical advice. **