Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

I need your opinion please. My 8 yr old, 3 yr old and 16 month old have mild colds. They are almost gone. Just a little stuffy, and coughing a little. If you were me, would you take them to church? They are happy and playing. They are not cranky or acting sick. I couldn't put the youngest in their classes, but I can keep them with me. The oldest can go to his class because he is school aged. Is it irresponsible to take them, or is it fine because it is just a small cold? Thanks!

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

Sure. Take them to church and keep the little ones with you.

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

I've heard that its actually right before most sumptoms occur or right at the start that colds are most likely to be spread. If this is towards the end of the cold I'd say go ahead but if its at the start I'd consider keeping them home.

Deanna

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

I'm too late to help for this morning, but I think colds are only contagious for 3-4 days. They shouldn't be contagious if they're at the end of the cold. But it's very considerate of you to care. One of my pet peeves is parents who don't care about spreading germs dropping off little ones who should obviously be at home.

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

Kids who are working out a cold (ie, past the contagious part) for sure at church! Kids who are STARTING a cold? NO WAY!!!

(of course, I post this as a ticked off mom of one little boy who picked up a cold last week at church, shared it with me, and now we are both coughing like seals. So I may be a little biased here. :O The whole barking cough side of things is making me really nervous about my upcoming c-section and recovery. Ouch!)

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

If they are at the end of the cold I would take them, but I wouldn't put the little one's in the nursery.

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

Thanks so much for the replies. It helps. Thankfully no small children are allowed in the nursery if they even have a runny nose or hint of illness. It seems my kids frequently caught colds from the nursery. I just don't want to stay home all winter everytime one of my kids has the sniffles. I do want to be considerate of others however.

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

I agree and I'm sorry about your cold Kristin! :hug As a side note, I think adults who are sick should stay away, too. There's NOTHING that can't wait until you're not contagious, IMO. Maybe we can fend off some of these big bugs that they say are coming our way (flus, etc).

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

I have to agree. I think that if children are still symptomatic they should still be home. My reason (also) though is because of the chances that they will catch something else and relapse. I often see sick children at the stores, library..wherever and I think it is really sad. What really bugs me is my SIL. She sends 3 of her kids up to the farm with Grandma for a couple of days, and every time they come they are sick. The littlest one is always coughing a horrible bronchial/juicy cough, nose running and I constantly hear the "oh it's just allergies" bit. And he is running around outside with no scarf, no hat, no gloves, coat not zipped up and it is 45-50 degrees and windy? So sad. I honestly think that DD has stayed so healthy because I just don't let her around kids when they are coughing or showing any signs of illness. (And I also realize that many times the onset doesn't show symptoms and a child can be contagious. I guess hand washing is so important) Also when we go to the store it is our routine that I always give DD one of those antibacterial hand wipes to clean the shopping cart with. She loves doing this and I have more peace of mind. We always wash our hands when we get home. (oh and if I am sick, I don't go anywhere. I hate it especially when I go to the store and there are constantly sick cashiers blowing their noses. YUK! I think, and you are touching my food??? Ugh. Sorry, started rambling!

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

Our church nursery used to have a "snot chart" at the sign in desk. It had computer generated faces of children with different colored snot coming out of their nose. Clear and clear with white were o-kay yellow and green and little one needed to go home. The area we lived in was very prone to allergies and people would tryand pass off an obviously sick child as "Oh its just allergies!". The snot chart was the source of much :giggle! But it worked for the most part!


BTW: Colds are spread when the virus in the kid's snot gets on someone else's hand and they put their hand in their eyes or nose. So the earlier in the cold the higher the viral load (the immune system hasn't kicked in yet) and the more snot they have. Wet sneezes, coughing, drippy noses and little ones that can't remember to use kleenex are the most contagious. By the end of the cold it really isn't that big of a contagion issue.

Magan

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

We don't go to church when any of us have something possibly contagious. I don't want someone with a weakened immune system to have to stay away from church because we're there sick. We've gotten to be real sticklers for that in recent months. :shifty

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

That's a good point. Also if your kid has or is getting over a cold their immune system is taxed and they could pick up something they might have otherwise been able to fight off.

Magan

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

My big pet peeve is restaurant workers who work sick. I think it should absolutely be disallowed!

I stayed home from church a couple of weeks ago with a cold because I didn't want to pass it on. On the other hand, we did all go to a family Christmas party last year at the tail end of the flu :blush

I don't think it's good to avoid all illness. Our immune systems need some practice but it's easy enough to catch stuff without people going to church sick. BTW, does anyone else NOT want to shake hands at church? I think it is gross and I don't know how to politely get around it.

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

It doesn't bother me...but I understand why it would for some people.

My dh will not shake hands with people if he has the slightest hint of illness--which is a big thing as he is expected to shake everyone's hand as they file out of church. I really appreciate that he does this.

As for going....I probably would if my kids were as the OP described....we usually sit off by ourselves up in the balconey. However, I most likely would hold them back from Sunday School...it just all depends on their exact symptoms, time line of the illness, etc.

Re: Opinion needed. Should kids with colds go to church?
 

It actually only bothers me (or mainly) in the winter. I think in the winter greeters should not shake hands. They are shaking the hand of every man woman and child that comes through the door and when the sounds of sniffling, snorting, coughing and sneezing overpower the sermon, I think it's nasty to be passing those germs around for some sort of social custom.

In the summer when people aren't so sick, it doesn't really bother me that much lol. I think that is really considerate of your husband!