WWYD: Temp Checks/Sharing Child's base temp

[mustardseed2007]

So our school is using an app to monitor health, ask screening questions and check temps which are thereafter rechecked when your kid gets to school. It's a health screening app...we have something similar but more robust at our company. 

It gives you the option of checking your kid's temp for a week and using that as the base temp for exclusions rather than the standard 100 degrees on the theory that some kids run warm and some run cooler so 100 could be a fever for some and some could have a fever at a lower temp or higher temp....


Would you submit base temps for your kids? Or not? 

I'm not sure what to do, I've never heard of this base temp thing before. 

[k3am]

If I knew my kid ran warm all the time, maybe? What happens if you forget?

In practice.. my kids don't run warm. It's an extra step. I'm having a hard enough time reminding DD to keep her ipad charged in the evenings, I wouldn't want to add yet another step into my process.

[waverly]

No I don't think so. My kids tend not to run high. DD did clock a 99 after running around in her jacket at school. But school should use the CDC which is 100.4, so even though she should be fine.

So I would watch for situations where the temperature was taken. For example if it is extremely hot outside, and we take temps with the surface (gun like) thermometer, we have gotten some high readings. Once we go back in the air conditioning it is more normal. So if the school is taking it and it is high, I would ask for clarification and then ask them to take it again if the child was just running around, drank something warm, or they were taking the temp outside in the heat. Otherwise, since 100.4 is pretty high, I think you should be good.

[mommyatty]

I would if you think your child runs on either end of the spectrum. When I was a kid, my normal temp was more than a full degree below normal. My normal was 97.4. So my parents would tell the school nurse every year that if my temp was over 99, to call them to pick me up. Now my temp is a little higher than normal. It’s more like 99.1. Remember this isn’t just a tool to keep kids out of school, it’s a tool to keep schools from having to shut down due to clusters. If your kid runs a fever, they need to be at home.

Btw in the heat last week at my Covid test, a point and shoot thermometer read my body temp in 104 degree heat as 94.6 degrees. When I left home, my ear thermometer read 100.6. So yeah. Not the best option.

[waverly]

mommyatty, we have a new thermometer that is mounted inside, so we no longer have to have managers take temps. This one is much nicer. Yes, it is inside rather than outside, but oh well. If they get a high reading they are to leave immediately and call us.

[sandandsea]

Aug 18, 2020 9:53:00 GMT -5 k3am said:

If I knew my kid ran warm all the time, maybe? What happens if you forget?

In practice.. my kids don't run warm. It's an extra step. I'm having a hard enough time reminding DD to keep her ipad charged in the evenings, I wouldn't want to add yet another step into my process.

This. If I thought it would be a problem I would do the extra work. But my kids don’t run hot (unless sleeping) so I wouldnt do base temps.

[erbear]

I would. My kids run low so I’d want to make sure I wasn’t sending them to school with a 99 temp, because that’s a fever for them.

[mustardseed2007]

Yeah I asked what the point of it is and what would happen and I wasn't getting a straight answer and so basically I think I'm not going to. I think the point is to exclude people who run cold earlier if they hit a lower temp that is potentially a fever for them.

DD definitely runs hot. I took her temp today just to see what it was for the purposes of this discussion and the first time I took it she came in at 100.4.! Of course my nanny almost ran out the door. But we took it a couple more times and she was 99.6 then 99.4. I know she doesn't have a fever right now.

[phdmomma]

My kids run really hot, so I would enter the average data so they don’t get sent when they are okay.

[mustardseed2007]

Aug 18, 2020 23:19:44 GMT -5 phdmomma said:

My kids run really hot, so I would enter the average data so they don’t get sent when they are okay.

When they first announced the idea of the base temp, I thought I would do it for DD for that very reason. But I followed up to ask how it would be used and it didn't sound like that would be a benefit to doing it. 

So yesterday dd clocked in at 99.8. That's normal for her. But I was asking if that means she wouldn't be sent home if she clocked a fever of 100.4 or above and they can't tell me that, which also makes sense. I mean if the guideline is 100.4 then 100.4 is it.

They said the point is to really help you catch a fever early for people who run cool. 

I don't know, that's a fine idea but I think it's starting to put more emphasis on the temperature symptom than its really worth. 

[waverly]

I don't see the point if they run low. I'm an adult, so it's a bit different. I run low and a fever for me would be anything above 98.6, like if I tested 98.7 I have a fever and I can sort of tell I have a fever. Definitely 99.

But kids I think can run higher. My kids definitely pull in 99's routinely after sleeping under blankets for example. Also like mommyatty, I think all of us need really accurate thermometers right now, obviously the kid wasn't really 100.4.

[twinmomma]

I wouldn't bother.
Our district isn't even doing temp checks on anyone. Parents are expected to do it at home and keep an eye on our own kids. But they decided that temps are too unreliable, the time and manpower it would take to get everyone through the doors would be impossible, and it would cause more issues with kids "running hot" and parents having to come back and get them. Plus, fever isn't even a 100% symptom.

[mustardseed2007]

Yeah we do it at work in our stores and I find it to be a bit of "sanitation theater". We do it to make our staff and guests feel comfortable and to be able to tell any health inspector that we are trying our best. But as far as the things we do, it's not the most helpful thing.

BTW I truly believe properly worn masks and regular hand washing are our most helpful things.

[mae0111]

I agree that temp checks are a little silly.

And parents that are going to dose their kids to send them to school every other year are most definitely going to do that this year, since around here kids can’t come back without a negative COVID test. No matter what the illness, 14 day quarantine or negative test for readmission. So an initial temp check is likely ineffective.

[sdlaura]

I kind of disagree that parents who had dosed kids and sent them in the past will do it this year.

I mean, if you are the kind of parent whose kid really didn’t feel well and had symptoms of something really contagious and you still sent them in the past, then maybe you still would try to send them now.

But I bet there are a lot of parents like me - In the past, if my kid felt generally fine and was acting normal but had a slight fever and I had something important to do at work, I might chalk it up to teething or something minor (especially for tiny kids) and send them anyway. But I will definitely be keeping them home for even a slight fever this year. I bought one of the infrared thermometers they use at camps and school so I can check them myself every morning.

My friend who lives in Oregon sent me a report that the state had done on kids and covid. And while most kids who had it didn’t have symptoms, the most common one among kids who had symptoms was a fever. So that made me think more that maybe temp checks are worth it since they’re so easy and cheap to do.

[waverly]

Jerks before Covid are going to be jerks during and after Covid.

However, with the spread and all the quarantines, I think parents will hopefully be more careful this year. When I sent my kid to daycare sick it was because they had no fever and was cleared by the doctor (HFM) or had a mild illness that was not going to kill anyone. Like they spiked a fever in the afternoon, but no fever the following morning. Yeah it wasn't quite 24 hours, but the odds of them spiking another fever were low and mostly something they outgrew.

Now, I don't want to be that person that is responsible for an outbreak. It doesn't matter anyway since we are going to nanny route, and the kids won't be in a childcare situation. I won't send them sick to sports or playdates.

[mae0111]

Little ones with teething fevers are different than the a-holes that had a kid up puking and with a fever all night, then give them Tylenol to buy them time to get to work. Then they shrug and say “oh, I can’t get there right now. Just keep Susie in the Nurse’s office until I can get there in a few hours”. We’ve got them at our school. And they’re not first responders. They’re people with office jobs that could be done at home with a sick 3rd grader.

They’re people that feel that the rules don’t apply to them. And if they felt that way before COVID, they’ll feel that way now.

Or maybe I’m just feeling too cynical.

[mommyatty]

People who don’t believe Covid is real, who think the numbers are inflated or overblown, who believe kids can’t really spread it, who believe it’s just like the flu, will absolutely dose up their kids. They see nothing wrong with being “revolutionary” in the face of “unnecessary government overreach.” Those people are why going back in person is never going to work. Their kids won’t wear masks, they are going to be spitting on other kids purposely because they think it’s funny, and will just generally act out the things they hear their parents say every night at the dinner table. We’ve already seen it starting with college students. It’s not going to get better when you go younger.

[waverly]

mae0111, no you are right. Those people are absolutely out there. I just hope they are a minority.


There is a big part of me that is sad for my kids and my pocketbook to not have in-person school. There is also a big part of me that is relieved because even if everyone is doing all they can viruses spread like crazy. Add just 1 crappy parent like you described above, and then entire classes and busses are quarantining.

[sdlaura]

mae0111 I’m sure those people are out there! I’m a natural optimist so I hope they’re in the minority like waverly said

ETA - I’ve also definitely sent my kids to school and had no idea they were sick at all or that they had a fever, only to get a call later that they were either acting odd (little kids) or went to the nurse’s office (older kids) and ended up having a fever so I needed to come get them. Hopefully temp checks will catch those instances too before I leave them at school having no idea they have a fever.

[erbear]

My principal made it clear in our parent meeting last week - do not even consider dosing your feverish kid up (even if you think it’s teething or allergies or whatever). Keep them home. If they are fever free the next day, great. He also spoke more sternly than I’ve ever heard him speak about how we are not fucking around with masks. If your kid is trying to be a dick about pushing the boundaries on masks, we’re sending them home and you can go remote.

[mae0111]

erbear - our principal says it every year. She tells the parents that the little ones squeal on them. My sister was a school nurse and said the same - the kids would come in at lunch and say “My mom said to come in to see you at lunch because my medicine would wear off.”

I hope hope hope it doesn’t happen, but thinking about our school, I know exactly which parents will try.

[mommyatty]

erbear- our school is making the students and parents sign a pledge that includes wearing masks and not doing risky things.

[mrspez07]

I would for DS1 (he’s 11).
He runs consistently in the 99 range. We jokingly blame it on his floppy hair over his forehead. At the dentist in May and this week at the doctors, the people taking his temps were alarmed because they were high, and the dentist, who had just opened back up, almost didn’t let him in (he was in the 99s that day). At the doctors, the nurse seemed concerned, it was at 100 or 100.2. When the doctor came in, he didn’t seem too worried, but it made me ask what the threshold might be at school screenings. I really don’t want him to get sent home from middle school because after walking there he’s warm but still below fever levels.

ETA: weirdly, I’ve found I’m warmer on the left side of my forehead, often in the 99s

[sandandsea]

When ds1 was 1-4 he had a constant runny nose and stuffiness from daycare. It was never anything major and we would send him daily without a second thought. Things are different now and even if we sent him I bet he’d be sent home even if it’s not Covid or serious.

[xctsclrx]

mommyatty I'm one of those people who thinks the numbers are highly inflated (I think this because of direct conversations with people in the medical field and them explaining the process of entering data) I can think the numbers are inflated and still not be a jerk about it. I know it's real and the side effects are awful. I just don't believe the raw numbers. Human error is a real thing and money incentives not correcting processes that lead to those errors

that being said my kids wear masks. I wear one. I keep my thoughts away from the kids. I have no issues wearing a mask going to the store or being in public. And do think its is appropriate to do so.

I am being extra cautious with my kids this year. Luckily I'm in a position that I have that ability.

I do think it's dumb my 2 year is wearing a mask all day at school. only because she constantly touches it and then touches everything else which I think makes it worse. (All the germs are on her mask that she constantly touches) but I still send her in one and enforce it on my side because it makes her caregivers more confident in having the kids and I'm okay with that. I really hope that it isn't a false confidence.

[mae0111]

Aug 20, 2020 8:52:19 GMT -5 xctsclrx said:

mommyatty I'm one of those people who thinks the numbers are highly inflated (I think this because of direct conversations with people in the medical field and them explaining the process of entering data) I can think the numbers are inflated and still not be a jerk about it. I know it's real and the side effects are awful. I just don't believe the raw numbers. Human error is a real thing and money incentives not correcting processes that lead to those errors

that being said my kids wear masks. I wear one. I keep my thoughts away from the kids. I have no issues wearing a mask going to the store or being in public. And do think its is appropriate to do so.

I am being extra cautious with my kids this year. Luckily I'm in a position that I have that ability.

I do think it's dumb my 2 year is wearing a mask all day at school. only because she constantly touches it and then touches everything else which I think makes it worse. (All the germs are on her mask that she constantly touches) but I still send her in one and enforce it on my side because it makes her caregivers more confident in having the kids and I'm okay with that. I really hope that it isn't a false confidence.

All of this. All of it. I will not dose my kids to get a fever down. I never have. I feel like total crap when I have a fever, and I assume they feel the same - so I dose them to make them feel better and then I keep them home.

I do think this is a real, very serious virus. I also firmly believe the numbers are inflated. The CDC has all but instructed medical facilities to report everything that could possibly be COVID as Covid, even without a positive test. So... end stage lung cancer? Seems like COVID to me! It’s 100% happening. But that doesn’t mean that COVID isn’t widespread and serious.

I’m disappointed that the kids have to wear masks, but I’m not pissed about it. I’m pissed about the required Flu vaccine, but that’s a different story. My kids are disappointed about masks, but know they have to wear them.

Like I said, I feel like the parents that dose when it’s a real illness are entitled, selfish a-holes who believe the rules don’t apply to them. At our school anyway. Others are desperate and need to go to work, but that is really not the case where we are. Most moms just really need to get to that 9am yoga class.

To clarify: I’m disappointed that masks are necessary. Like everyone else on the planet, I wish this whole thing would go away. I’m not disappointed because I feel like masks are stupid. They’re not stupid - they’re 100% necessary. I just wish things were different.

[k3am]

My coworker has stage 4 cancer. She's been told by her doctors that if she has a positive covid test and were to pass away.. it's a covid death. You know, despite being in and out of the hospital for years, and having a brain and body riddled with tumors.

[waverly]

No statistics are ever 100% accurate. We may have undercounted in the beginning due to limited testing, and maybe we are overcounting now. It all has to be taken with a grain of salt, triangulate the data and determine what is our purpose. What are we using the data for? To not overwhelm hospitals, to contact trace etc. It varies by state, even.

[librarychica]

I mean my grandparents both died of pneumonia. The cause of death on the death certificate said pneumonia. One had bone cancer, one had suffered ten years of brain deterioration due to Alzheimer’s. Maybe they wouldn’t have died of pneumonia if they were otherwise healthy, but pneumonia was the cause of death.

I knew someone who died last year in a car accident. He crashed his car likely because of an existing medical condition, but it was the crash that killed him. His death will go in the state car accident stats.