Fever?

I read recently that the American Pediatric Association has come out with a new guideline regarding fever. The guideline states that if your child is running a low-grade fever and is not exhibiting any other symptoms, they may go to school. Apparently, this is in response to poor attendance due to fevers.

ARE YOU CRAZY? How many times has my child run a low-grade fever with no symptoms, only to develop symptoms within 24 hours? It will be interesting to see what happens to attendance rates if this actually catches on. It seems to me that children will be spreading all kinds of viral bugs to their classmates who will, in turn, need to be out of school. Part of the whole reason for keeping your child home is to try and contain any potential illness. My son has asthma and is very compromised during the winter. Please don't come around him with a fever, even a low-grade one.

My concern is that the American Pediatric Association is responding to pressure from working parents who can't send a child to school and, thus, miss work to stay home when the child may not ever develop further symptoms. But what about the times that they do. And, if my child is running a fever, even a low-grade, he's certainly not in a position to sit in a school room all day long. He needs rest and low stress levels, to keep that fever from developing into something worse.

I can assure you, this will be a topic of discussion with my Pediatrician at our next visit. Here's hoping the idea doesn't catch on.