What to do! What to do!!!! You were up all hours last night with a sick child. Coughing… coughing some more… one of those hacking coughs that make you look over and wonder if he’s struggling to breathe… whining and breathing all over you… By some amazing miracle, you don’t get sick yourself, but you are just a zombie from cuddling this poor soul. Then he wakes up as if nothing happened. Nothing! All happy and smiling and playing…”Ready to go to school, mummy?” Sorry, WHAT?! Was I with the wrong child!?! Nope you weren’t… you aren’t dreaming either. You breathe a sigh of relief but then he lets out that noise… that noise that makes your heart double beat for a second. That Hacking Cough That Looks Like He’s Struggling To Breathe.
Ok so technically he’s happy playing… if he’s at home, I will have to take a day off work. Then if he’s at school, other parents and teachers get peed off because he’s spreading his germs all over everyone!!!! What would you do?!
When I was a stay at home mum it was a no brainer. I would keep him at home and enjoy the extra cuddles and mayhem. But now I hate the choices you have to make as a working mum that taking a day off because your kid is sick can make you look like a liability to bosses who aren’t so forgiving (not all, I must admit). It sounds silly as I’m writing this, as I’m sure you are screaming at me through your screen to “put your child first!!!!”. Yes, I know, theoretically yes. It’s so hard!!!!!
I struggle to keep up with the demands of work and the demands of school. I don’t want to be THAT mum. The one who sends their kid to school who’s coughing everywhere. The one who forgets it’s non-uniform day. The one who doesn’t sign the book… how do you keep up with everything?!!!
The logical butterfly 