Parents send sick children to school

UK parents are sending their children to school when they are too ill.

According to results in Bupa’s How Are You Britain report, half of parents admit to sending their youngsters into school or nursery when they should be kept at home.

Contagious illnesses are not stopping them with 17 per cent sending in cases of diarrhoea and 13 per cent sickness.

Parents believed this was fine to do as children would start to ‘perk up’ once in.

Perhaps the honest answer from 18 per cent is down to childcare issues with their work.

With cases such as conjunctivitis, parents are keeping their child off school even when the Health Protection Agency advises is unnecessary.
 
Spokesperson for Bupa, Dr. Annabel Bentley, said: “Parents should keep children with vomiting and diarrhoea off school or nursery for 48 hours to protect other children’s health. For conjunctivitis, which is usually viral, medical guidance is that a child can go to school or nursery.”