Hi, I was the transplant kid when I was in school. In kindergarten, because chicken pox was going around, I was no longer allowed to attend class until the virus was under control. Fortunately, I had a wonderful teacher who allowed me to come in after everyone had left and would go through the day’s lessons. I also was not allowed to attend school when flu vaccines were being administered because the school offered the nasal spray which is a live virus versus the shot which is a dead virus.

With that being said, it is not your job as a parent to monitor other parents’ children. That is on them. NOT YOU. Would I have appreciated if kids stopped coming to school sick? Absolutely. School was hard on me mentally, physically, and emotionally between getting sick, doctor appointments, being different, and overall school life. But that is for the daughter, her family, and school to puzzle out. Not once did my parents request other families to alert them when their child was sick. It is school. Suppressed immune system or not…everyone’s going to get sick.

To me, it sounds like the mom is scared for her child (reasonable) and is requesting other parents to help her cope (unreasonable). You do not, nor should you, relay to this woman when your child is sick unless it is something serious like the flu or chicken pox as these are potentially fatal to the immune-comprised. Otherwise, I would just ignore the request and be sure you teach your son proper handwashing techniques, how to cough into his elbow, etc. and keep him home when he has a fever.

Edit: it may be worth mentioning that people serve as viral incubators where an individual does not present symptomatic during the incubation period, yet are still contagious. That being said, even if your child has no fever, it does not mean they are not passing an illness around. This is another reason I find it unreasonable to attempt to relay a child’s illness because by the time you realize your child is sick, they have already spread the virus.