Shocking Flu Find: What Is Making Your Kid Sick?

on February 3, 2011 at 5:27 PM

box of tissues We are on Round 5 of the flu in our home. Fevers, aches, you name it, we've had it. When my daughter is sick, that means five hours of Busytown Mysteries, complete with the theme song about Huckle, the one that sticks with you long after the sniffles are gone.

In my kiddo's class, germs are passed around like the potato chips at a Super Bowl party. Like a beer bong at a frat house. Like a juicy piece of gossip.

Chalk it up to part of growing up, right? Kids will get sick. Doesn't matter who they are around, if they are in the classroom, they will get sick. But a new study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says not necessarily.

After looking at how the H1N1 flu spread in one hard hit area of Pennsylvania, researchers found you weren't more likely to get the flu just by sitting next to a sick kid. No, the flu spreads faster from boy to boy and girl to girl.

That makes sense to me. Usually, boys play more with boys, and girls hang with girls. Sure, she has some guy buds in her class, but more often than not, my daughter is playing with other girls.

Okay ... but how does this news help me? It's not like I can tell my daughter not to play with Maddy or Julia or insert the name of her BBF of the week. The study was done to document how the flu is spread to see if school closings are appropriate during an outbreak, useful during an epidemic, which is great.

But, do you know what I really need? A study on how to get that blasted cartoon's theme song outta my head.

Will you keep your child away from same sex friends in an effort to prevent the flu?

Image via profernity/Flickr

Filed Under: toddler health, sick days, boys, girls

Comments (20)

sstepph

on Feb 3, 2011 at 5:34 PM

No. Kids get sick. You can't help it. All you can do is make sure they are washing their hands and eating & sleeping healthy.

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Facebook comment from Kathleen McBride

on Feb 3, 2011 at 5:35 PM

No, my kid could play with anyone she wanted to. Even if the scientific reasoning is correct (which I have my doubts about), the last thing I want to do is scare my kid from playing with her friends. In the long haul, girlfriends are more important.

blue_glass_mama

on Feb 3, 2011 at 6:05 PM

My kids never get sick---maybe they get one cold a year, thats it, my DD gets bladder infections but that is something else, as far a flu, and colds once a year or this year not at all so far.

sodapple

on Feb 3, 2011 at 6:23 PM

No, they equally will get my child sick lol.

other_mother

on Feb 3, 2011 at 6:45 PM

Change who your kids hang out with, and it is just other kids making them sick. It doesn't matter whether they are boy or girl. It just matters who they hang out with.

meatball77

on Feb 3, 2011 at 6:55 PM

All kids have to get a basic set of illnesses, after that they're going to get sick less. Most kids are sick a lot their first year in school or right after a move, there's nothing you can do about it. Telling your kid to ditch their friends is just going to make everyone unhappy.

Make sure your kids eat well and get enough sleep.

Beaz

on Feb 3, 2011 at 7:30 PM

With all the overuse of antibiotics, we're going to get bacteria strains that are worse than MRSA, airborne communicable and crap, and someday the kids will be laid off school just because someone comes down with a cold. So many people don't realize by trying to make their children "better" from the flu with them that they aren't doing anything but making things worse in the longrun. Scary to think about...:(

momoflilangel

on Feb 4, 2011 at 4:52 PM

no I wouldn't. Kids need to play with whom they like.

BeckyMitch

on Feb 4, 2011 at 5:31 PM

I think its just an immune system thing. Everyone is different. I never get sick ...the lady who sits next to me at work catchs a cold/the flu/strep just by walking near someone who has it. She eats right, hand washes, stays healthy. Kids are the same. I have a preemie who NEVER gets sick but his older brother always has a cold or something. You cant compare. I think you just teach them to wash their hands and send them out into the germy world and hope for the best. :)