**I don’t post guest posts, generally. Most that approach me want to use my reach to have my readers learn about their business. It generally has nothing to do with what you guys want to see. But I got an email from a long time reader who was recently home from work for a week with sick kids. When she found out another mom, who is a stay at home mom, knowingly sent her child to school sick and now her kids have what that child has, she needed an outlet. I think it is a necessary message. Do you agree with this mom?**

An Open Letter to To the Stay at Home Mom Who Sends Her Sick Kids to School

I am a hard working mother of five kids. I get up every morning, get my kids ready for school or daycare, prepare them for any after school activities, carpool with another family to get them where they need to be and absolutely love it. I would not have it any other way. My husband and I both work out of the home and rely on each other, family and great friends to get it all done. While we both have vacation and sick days, we cherish them and want to spend them on vacation with our kids or attending special events. Taking those precious days to stay home and take care of sick children is necessary, but we would rather use them for something else.

To the Stay at Home Mom Who Sends Her Sick Kids to School

School and sick children go together, however. We are aware of that and expect to deal with it. However, when I am overly conscientious of my kids spreading germs to other kids, and even stay home sometimes at the slightest worry that my children may be coming down with something, I recently learned that other mothers are not so thoughtful.

A few weeks ago I dealt with over a week of sick kids. One came home early from school with fever and it spread through the house like wildfire. Everyone was down, including my husband. I had to take 5 of my vacation days to take care of my family. I was fine with it and chalked it up to just having kids until I found out from other moms that a child in the same class as mine that was originally sick came to the school to administer fever medication to her child. The kicker is, the mom is a stay at home and made a comment in passing that she was ‘sick of her kid being home’ so she sent her to school, with a fever, and was there to give her meds to keep it down. The final straw is that I have talked to other moms who know her and she, apparently, routinely sends her kids to school with fever because she ‘needs a break’.

Now, I am an understanding mom. I know we all need a break from our kids. But knowingly sending your sick child to school to possibly spread it to other kids and then admit you are doing it is just irresponsible. While I can not verify that my child was infected by her child, I am still quite angry that she sees this as an option for her.

If you are a stay at home mom and you have the ability to have your kids home until they are well, why would you send them to school where they can infect kids whose parents face a real hardship if their children get sick? Isn’t that the whole point of your being at home? To take care of your kids? Do you understand that most of us would rather be home to and cherish our time with our kids? Thus making memories instead of making them take medications?

I have spent well over $250 taking my kids to the doctor, purchasing medications and other things needed to take care of my kids. Plus I am out 5 days right before summer when I was planning several trips with my family. Now I have to take one trip off the schedule and work when my kids are out of school.

So here is my question. Should I confront this mom? Question why it is OK to knowingly send her sick child to school just because she is tired of her being home?

I am pretty angry, to be honest. Angry enough to go to school officials and report her.

What would you do? Am I out of line in being upset about this?