WAG Do you let your gymmie train when he/she is sick?

[sportymom]

My DD is currently sick. She has been feeling not well since last Sunday. She had a sore throat, maybe a very light form of bronchitis (no unpleasant caughing, though) and a cold. It was worst on Monday, where she really had to lie down. From Tuesday on, it got better every day.
Yesterday she felt quite ok again, although she still has a blocked nose and some insistent mucus in her lunges. She went back to school yesterday.

As the doctor said it was a bacterial infection, he ordered some antibiotics which she is taking twice a day.
DD was a wreck, because she couldn't go to practice and I also didn't let her exercise at home at all besides from small walks with our dog!

Tomorrow is the last day of the antibiotic treatment and I think I will let her go to training on Tuesday.

DD says she hates it when she is ill. She feels sooo weak then! Her team has a performance on June, 1st. I try to make her eat at least 1g of protein per kg to keep as much of the muscles as possible.

I am now unsure wether it was good to keep her out of training or not? I don't want her to lose muscles or skills or whatever...

Any advice? What are you doing when your little gymnasts are sick?

 

[profmom]

Depends on whether the child is contagious, what the illness is, and what skills s/he is working. Fever of about 99.7 F or so is an easy bright line for me, as is the 24 hour rule for vomiting or severe diarrhea. If it's the tail end of a cold, I'll usually let them go if they're not feeling exhausted but give them something like sudafed first to clear up the goop.

I don't like having them doing lots of flippy things if their sinuses are really bad. We are in the height of allergy season here, so the gym at times sounds like a TB ward with all the coughing. Fortunately, the OTC non-drowsy allergy remedies seem to work well with both of mine. And both of mine have gotten pretty good at determining for themselves whether they should go to practice, though occasionally the answer is, "Mom, I want to go, but can you stay for a half hour or so so that I can see how I am feeling?"

 

[JessSyd]

I am embarrassed to admit that I do. I enforce a 36 hour rule for anything gastro related and I won't let her train with a fever, but other than that I ask her if she feels up to it and if she says yes then I will usually take her with many reminders that she can go home early if she's not feeling up to it. I have had to override her a couple of times. I am a little bit impressed by her drive. She is not yet six, but she has to feel pretty terrible before she wants to skip training.

 

[my4buffaloes]

It depends on what it is, but I try to keep them home. Sometimes coughs and colds can linger for weeks though and that isn't really feasible when they are mostly feeling fine. Any sort of stomach trouble or fever and absolutely they stay home. Once on antibiotics I will send them after 24-48 hours depending on how they feel. I hope she is better soon!

 

[profmom]

I think this is yet another great learning opportunity for kids. When they are adults (or college students if they go straight to college after high school), they will have to make their own decisions about when they're too sick to go to school/work and when it makes sense to wash down a cold pill and soldier on. The decision to go/not go to practice is a terrific place to start having these conversations.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

^^^ (Profmom) I do the same thing. Fever, she obviously doesn't go. Vomiting or diarrhea, she stays home. A cold, we play it by ear. Sometimes she just can't make it 3.5 hrs if she's just getting over something, or feeling a little bit bad. If it's just a sore throat, a Motrin for school and gym seem to help tremendously.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

But seriously please don't bring your sick kids in to share germs!

 

[gymmomx2]

Fever = no
Severely runny nose = no
Tummy troubles = no
Severe cough = no

Basically at the onset of any illness, we don't send them. Once they are better, we do send them. My kids sometimes have a mild cough for weeks after a cold so I can't keep them out of practice for that long.

 

[cbifoja]

Mine doesn't tend to get truly sick. She might have a slight sore throat or headache....every now and then a stomachache. When she does get sick, she bounces back quickly.

I don't have a consistent rule. One mom says no school then no gym but I don't even do that. If I don't think she is contagious, if she isn't puking, or running a fever, AND she feels like she wants to go, then I take her. If she says no go, we don't go.

I REALLY like what Profmom says in post #5!!!!!

 

[curlymop]

It depends on whether he's contagious and whether he seems up to it, though I did unknowingly send one of mine to a competition this season with strep throat. Rapid test had come back negative, and he never had a fever.

For fever or vomiting, we follow the 24 hour rule before sending them back to school. I've learned we need to give even more time before going back to the gym. If they're getting over a cold, we just make a decision about whether they're up to it or whether they need to rest.

 

[Faith]

I often see that Mustafina quote bandied around, but I'm not sure it's the best example for kids.

Like profmom says, I let my child make her own decisions. I help her weigh up whether she'll benefit most from a) going, b) going, but watching/light conditioning/stretching, or c) staying home and getting some good R+R in.

Sometimes you're better off resting, healing/recovering more quickly, and getting back to quality training in a day or so, rather than having a week of crappy training feeling ill.

DD is now pretty good at knowing when she needs a rest vs. more training.

Plus there's the whole sharing germs around thing too

 

[gracyomalley]

Stomach trouble - HOME for sure. Fever (which, ladies, is temp over 100.4 says the pediatrician in me) stay home, unable to do school that day, home. can't breath (bad cough/asthma) home. cold symptoms - gym....unless its day 4 of 5 that week and I can tell the kid needs to rest...

 

[raenndrops]

No school due to illness = no gym
Fever of 100.0+ = no gym (unless it is because of "teething" ... YG tried to cut her 6 yr molars EVERY 4-5 months from the age of 2-1/2 until they FINALLY came through at 5-1/2. She would spike HIGH fevers in the 103-105 range. That high, no gym + cool baths and popsicles... but if it was ONLY 101, tylenol and gym. She is now, age 9, going through the same thing with her 12 yr molars... grrrrr!).
Tummy troubles = no gym. YG missed yesterday due to allergy drainage into her stomach. Went to school so she wouldn't be home alone, but was smart enough to call me and tell me she didn't want to go to gym. I could hear the stuffiness in her nose. She hadn't taken allergy meds this week so I told her to eat a couple slices or bread to soak up the yucks and get some rest.
Asthma / Allergies = Play it by ear. OG has sports induced asthma. We keep an inhaler in her gym bag, another in her locker, one in the car, and one in my pocket If she can't breathe, she sits. Both have allergies. If their noses are stuffed and ears clogged, they don't go upside down.
Contagious = no gym. Must have 24 hours of antibiotics in them for bacterial and wait 72 hours for viral.

 

[htimcj]

At this age (DD is 11) I try to let her decide if she can handle practice. If she is really stuffy or has sinus issues she usually chooses to not go. All that flipping and spinning really does a number on her head when she is stuffy and she is doing stuff that is potentially very dangerous if her head isn't into it. I also reminder that is can give it try and if she just can't get through practice to call.
But she also stays home when she has a fever or stomach upset. Don't want to share.

 

[my4buffaloes]

What gets me is the people that don't send their kids to school because they are sick, take their kids to the dr because they are sick, but STILL bring them to gymnastics.

 

[BachFlyer]

^^^^^ does week of Nationals count???^^^

If not, I will commence feeling ashamed. It was just a bad cold, and we didn't go to the doctor, if that makes me look less psycho

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

I think this is yet another great learning opportunity for kids. When they are adults (or college students if they go straight to college after high school), they will have to make their own decisions about when they're too sick to go to school/work and when it makes sense to wash down a cold pill and soldier on. The decision to go/not go to practice is a terrific place to start having these conversations.

A little OT but Out of all the professors I've had in four semesters for college only one has let people miss class if they are sick. All the other professors make you come anyway and if you miss it counts as an unexcused absence and if you have a certain amount of those (depends on the professor but usually 3 or 4 for the whole 15 week semester) you fail the class no matter what your grade actually is.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

yikes - College here is much more relaxed.

We had 5 pm lecture on a Friday - European Business - that soon got re-scheduled when no-one turned up.

 

[sce]

A little OT but Out of all the professors I've had in four semesters for college only one has let people miss class if they are sick. All the other professors make you come anyway and if you miss it counts as an unexcused absence and if you have a certain amount of those (depends on the professor but usually 3 or 4 for the whole 15 week semester) you fail the class no matter what your grade actually is.

That's awful. I'm sure it's a reaction to people skipping and saying they were sick. but the truly sick should not come to class, they just expose everyone else. What if you're throwing up, you bring a bucket to class?

 

[profmom]

If your class meets twice a week, four classes is two full weeks of a semester course, so I really hope anyone in that circumstance would go and have a chat with their local friendly dean of undergraduate education to try to work out some accommodations.