I have a 9-month-old. We often go to the library for baby story time and playing and books of course. Today we went just to pick up some books and see about some playtime. They have a children’s area with toys and toddler tables. About five minutes into playing, one of the other children, a toddler, does a gnarly cough. I kind of removed my baby from the direct area and didn’t encourage her to keep playing with him. Now he was like 3 and she’s a baby so she’s really a nuisance in his eyes anyways. But I didn’t want to have her sharing toys in that area.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who basically removes my infant from scenarios with sick kids?
As a parent to a toddler who has a perpetual cough, I’d be mortified if she was hacking around an infant. I’m too scared to even take her to play with other big kids if her cough is bad let alone coughing around babies.
I have serious health anxiety so I’d probably do the same if she was a baby. My daughter was born in September, the start of flu/cold/RSV season and I was a freaking crazy person about bringing her anywhere. The store, family or friends’ houses, restaurants; if someone even sneezed in our direction I was freaking out. So I feel you on this.
I’m actually glad you mentioned this. My daughter has had a runny nose and cough since we had COVID 10 weeks ago. She got double pneumonia shortly after that. Her pediatrician hasn’t been any help and has just been prescribing cefdinir over and over. She has an ENT appointment on the 21st, and I had planned to ask about allergy testing, which I probably still will do, but now I’m going to mention this also and see what they say.
Definitely not the only one! I would do the same especially with an infant. I would avoid bringing my kid somewhere sick anyway but if I had to, I’d keep her from others so we don’t pass on any illness.
How old is your kid? I think this is something most parents tell themselves when their kid is a baby until they realize how unrealistic it is. When your kid is in daycare or school they are going to be sick most of the winter. It’s just a fact of life.
It depends on other symptoms. If it isn’t your kid and you don’t know, then err on whatever side of caution you want. If it is your kid, the other symptoms will tell you what’s contagious etc. Just a plain cough normally isn’t, for example.
When they actually seem sick beyond the cough. Although we would let someone who was immunocompromised know he had a cough and wouldn’t bring him around a newborn.
If they’re not someone you know then just assume they are, but my older kid has a cough almost all year long thanks to school. He’s technically contagious but it’s just small colds. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to stay home because of a cough when your kid is literally sick all the time.
Yeah, I’d use daycare standards for anything in public, which is if they are free of fever and vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hours and acting relatively normal/happy, it’s okay to be out and about. Now, if I were visiting a friend’s house who had a baby, I’d warn them before that he had a cough and let them decide if we come over. But going to a public library? Fair game.
Same. Obviously I wouldn’t encourage play with a newborn/baby, but if I kept him inside every time he has a cough or a runny nose, the poor child would never see the light of day!
Right? And where I am, it’s cold/flu/virus season. I think if mine was like, older or in daycare I’d be less alert about it, but she’s not yet. When she had a lingering runny nose, I kept her home from baby story time so the other parents didn’t get upset or not let her play with their kids.
