Kids get sick in NJ – Why it’s better to sometimes stay quiet

We're getting to that time of year when illnesses start to pop up in every part of the Garden State. Not just in New Jersey, but pretty much all over the country.

However, not every cold comes in the same way. Perhaps you may have a fever for one day but are fine the next. Even something like Covid may only last a short period of time thanks to how far our treatments have come for that.

But yet, some New Jersey parents are opting to stay quiet if their kid comes down with or has come down with anything. Yes, they might keep their child home from school for a day to rest but will send them back in the very next day if they're feeling better.

The reason some parents are keeping details away from the schools is simple. Some schools overreact and will force a child to stay home for a week when it's completely unnecessary to do so.

That also makes it hard to get a doctor's note to excuse the child. How can you get a note if your child was feeling better and had nothing going on while they were home? What if whatever they had didn't get to the level of having to go to the doctor?

It's happened to us once before when our school nurse wanted our son to stay home all week for something he came down with the Friday before. Now I will say on that Friday he did test positive for Covid, but was negative that Saturday (it was a very faint positive on the test, to begin with).

We did talk to the doctor and the doctor told us as long as he continues to test negative through Monday, then he can go to school. So our plan was to just have him miss Monday altogether to play it safe.

So Monday came and he still tested negative. He was also feeling a lot better, which is all great news. He clearly didn't have it badly since it only appeared to be a slight cold at best.

We called the school just to let them know he'd be out for the day but was expected to be back Tuesday. We also felt it would be the right thing to keep the school in the loop and let them know that he did test positive the Friday before, but was negative ever since and that the doctor said he should be good to go on Tuesday.

As soon as the school heard about Covid, they immediately said he had to be out for the entire week. It didn't matter that he was clear for three days and felt fine at that point, or that he was at school the Friday before when he ended up testing positive after school got out (and for the record, he only started to feel a little off that Friday while at school).

So my son ultimately missed an entire week of school instructions when he was feeling fine all week long. I understand the concern, but this was an overreaction.

As it turns out, we weren't the only ones this happened to, nor is our school the only one that's overreacted before. And I get it, it's a sticky situation for both sides to be in.

The school is looking out for the well-being of all the kids and staff. But if the doctor gave the all-clear, why continue to force them to stay home?

On the flip side, I also understand that some parents may force their kids to school when they clearly shouldn't be there. It's almost as if good judgment and common sense have gone out the window at times.

Look, you know when your kid should stay away from others. Unfortunately, when the schools overreact it deters the parents from sharing the full story with them. Just keep that in mind before sharing too many details. Sometimes, it's just better to stay quiet and keep it simple.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.