Principal Breaks Into Home, Checking on Sick Kids

[MaggieTheCat]

Probably because they had to work. My mom used to go to work when I was sick. I mean, what was my mom going to do when I had a stomach virus? Just sit there and watch me throw up? Not like she could actually do anything. And if it got worse, I could just call her or my grandmother.

Yeah, this. It sounds like the mother and father don't live together, so it'd be doubly hard for a single parent, especially if they're on a tight budget or if their work has a really strict attendance policy. At the call center I used to work at, we'd have parents come in once in a while and give us a heads up that their kids were home alone sick, and that they had given their kids the work number in case they needed to call if they started feeling worse.

[Eisa]

Yeah...my parents both worked when I was younger, so if I was sick...well, I stayed home alone. They also knew they could trust me, which was a bonus, I was really responsible.

That reminds me...one of the elementary schools I went to, the one I went to for sixth grade [sorry, we moved so much, I went to 4 ]...I could call myself in sick. They just trusted and believed me...AND I never took advantage of the privilege lol!

[MadMike]

It looks like several people already beat me to the Ferris Bueller references, so I'll just say this: The asshole is lucky he didn't get himself shot. And at least where I grew up, no jurly would have convicted the shooter.

[protege]

Same here. Principal or not, if he broke into my place, I'd assume he was there to rob it...and would defend myself.

[Mytical]

How in the name of all sanity can people be defending this? Wow. Coming over, sure. I can barely see that. Going inside? Absolutely not. I don't believe for a second some 'relative adult' let him in. He just took it on himself. *shudders*

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I am not defending the principal in any way, BUT...if there were sick kids in the house, why wasn't one of the parents at home?

Simple. The definition of "sick" in the schools often means that a child is not permitted to come to school under certain conditions. These conditions do not have to be life-threatening.

Mono, Chickenpox, Colds, Minor forms of Influenza, etc all qualify as "keep the sick kid from school" ailments. Yet in normal situations, these are not so debilitating as to keep an older child or teenager from dealing with the illness themselves.

Most of them are treated using the "Keep warm, drink fluids, eat something, take acetaminophen to reduce fever, and get plenty of rest" method. Hell that's what most Doctors will tell you to do with the kid.

Growing up, when I hit 14 I was on my own for dealing with my illnesses. If there were any problems, I could call my neighbor (and mother of my best friend) who would look in on me, my grandmother, or even my mother at work if needed. But the rest of it I knew to take the proper dose of Tylenol every 4 hours, could make myself soup and sandwiches, and would lie on the couch watching TV until mom and dad got home.

So it might have been enough to keep them out of school (after all a fever of 99.9 gets you sent home these days) and still be nothing serious.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Exactly. About the only reason why my mum ended up having take time out to look after me and my brothers when we were small was cuz if one got ill, the rest did too. -.- When we got older however, we'd just be left behind and told to look after ourselves. I mean, my older brother was babysitting at the age of thirteen so hardly an onerous task.

[AdminAssistant]

I guess I have a particular situation, since we lived out in the middle of BFNowhere there wasn't a next-door neighbor (closest was a half mile away). Plus, Mom had this thing of, "If you're sick enough to miss school, you're sick enough to go to the doctor."

Of course, this is the same woman who sent me to Kindergarten with *chicken pox* (I only had a small patch on my belly) because she wanted me to have perfect attendance.

[Plaidman]

I guess I have a particular situation, since we lived out in the middle of BFNowhere there wasn't a next-door neighbor (closest was a half mile away). Plus, Mom had this thing of, "If you're sick enough to miss school, you're sick enough to go to the doctor."

Of course, this is the same woman who sent me to Kindergarten with *chicken pox* (I only had a small patch on my belly) because she wanted me to have perfect attendance.

o_O Wowza.

See, even when I was sick, I'd still go to school because I could.

It was rare times when I couldn't go, and ma knew I was serious.

However she still had to work to pay bills, so few times I was left home alone at a young age, (Like six and up), I was expected to take care of myself and call grandma in an emergency.

Some kids though get a little sniffle, and parents make them stay home.

It all depends on the kid and parents. I've been home plenty of times from school alone while sick.

[taxguykarl]

A bar is a not a private place. You are free to go there and hang out and (if desired) check to see if someone is there. A home is a private place, you can not enter without proper permission.

The office tattletale ran into me at a Walgreen's on a day that I called in sick--I was picking up an antibiotic for that flu. Tellingly no one asked the tattletale what he was doing there.

Probably because they had to work. My mom used to go to work when I was sick. I mean, what was my mom going to do when I had a stomach virus? Just sit there and watch me throw up? Not like she could actually do anything. And if it got worse, I could just call her or my grandmother.

In my teens (the same age as these kids), I was often left home alone when sick...Mainly because I was in no shape to cause trouble.

This principal needs a good lawyer for this mess--if these kids had a history of feigning illness to skip that's one thing but this is clearly not the case.

[blas87]

Admin, my mom made me go to school with chickenpox as well, because I only had three dots on me and they were on my belly......

The teacher saw me stratching my belly violently and nearly went into shock as she called up my mom and said I needed to go home.

The same thing happend with pink eye.

[MaggieTheCat]

Pink eye is really contagious, from what I understand...even my last place of employment wouldn't let people with pink eye stay. Same with other things that are really contagious. They sent me home once when I got a call from my dr. informing me I had strep throat.

[blas87]

Oh lord, I've had pink eye quite a few times. The idiots at the grocery store actually didn't want to let me go home from work when I first started showing signs of it, and they demanded a doctor's note when I got back.

There is a big difference between a nice old eye infection from contacts, and whitish mucus-like snot textured shit dripping right out of your eyes and the entire white of one of your eyes is flaming. That's pink eye. And you want me to touch people's food stuff with that?!

[Greenday]

if these kids had a history of feigning illness to skip that's one thing but this is clearly not the case.

Even if they were skipping all the time, he has no legal justification for going and checking on them like this. That's what truancy officers are for.

[Eisa]

^Yeah, that's what I was thinking exactly. He STILL had no legal right to do that.


The first time I had pinkeye was in college. And I stayed. I didn't know that's what was wrong, I thought I'd just rubbed my eye too much or slept wrong or something. Came home and everyone was kind of like Yep, had pinkeye. Did you know they can apparently be caused by untreated sinus infections? Cuz I didn't. Oh yeah, and since I didn't know it was pinkeye, I didn't take the best precautions...so of course it spread to the other eye before it was done.