New School

[lovemygirl]

We recently decided to move and have bought a house in a different area than where we currently live. After buying the new house we discovered that there is another CF child in the area we are moving to, that is the same age as our child (2 other kids we also know about but are different ages)
There are 2 schools in the area, both with different programs. At the moment we both intend in sending our kids to the same schools and there is a risk they will be in the same class. I called the school and they said they could arrange to have them separated every year, but I think there would still be contact during non-classroom time.
My question is....would you send your child to the school with the other CF child so they can benefit from the program you like, or would you send them to the other school. The other school is a reputable school, just the program is different. The other school also has A LOT more students (5 kindergarten classes vs 3 classes), so there is more chance of her getting ill.
Just looking for opinions.

Thanks

 

[lovemygirl]

We recently decided to move and have bought a house in a different area than where we currently live. After buying the new house we discovered that there is another CF child in the area we are moving to, that is the same age as our child (2 other kids we also know about but are different ages)
There are 2 schools in the area, both with different programs. At the moment we both intend in sending our kids to the same schools and there is a risk they will be in the same class. I called the school and they said they could arrange to have them separated every year, but I think there would still be contact during non-classroom time.
My question is....would you send your child to the school with the other CF child so they can benefit from the program you like, or would you send them to the other school. The other school is a reputable school, just the program is different. The other school also has A LOT more students (5 kindergarten classes vs 3 classes), so there is more chance of her getting ill.
Just looking for opinions.

Thanks

 

[anonymous]

How old is your daughter, because you can always teach them very handwashing and to cover their mouths because people with CF live in the same houses and not get eachother's germs. It may be a little more difficult if they are in kindergarden, because kids will be kids and they love to share everything. But I think as long as you teach him/her the importance to not sharing their juice or coughing on eachother and washing their hands they'll be alright.

Ashley 20 w/CF

 

[anonymous]

How old is your daughter, because you can always teach them very handwashing and to cover their mouths because people with CF live in the same houses and not get eachother's germs. It may be a little more difficult if they are in kindergarden, because kids will be kids and they love to share everything. But I think as long as you teach him/her the importance to not sharing their juice or coughing on eachother and washing their hands they'll be alright.

Ashley 20 w/CF

 

[Augustmoon]

I will be having the same problem, as there are MANY CF families in my area also. We have around 10 CF families in my town alone...and these are just the families I KNOW of (through Great Strides, etc.). There are about 20 I know of in the surrounding communities (again, these are the only ones I know of)! Luckily we have several elementaries, but we (other parents and I) are still concerned due to the large number of CF families. Another mother brought it up with her daughter's doctor and he said it would be highly unlikely that they would spread bacterias. I STILL worry though, because they will eventually all be together. Maybe by then, we won't have to worry about it!!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif" border="0">) *postive thoughts!!* Is this common...to have this many families in one small town?????

 

[Augustmoon]

I will be having the same problem, as there are MANY CF families in my area also. We have around 10 CF families in my town alone...and these are just the families I KNOW of (through Great Strides, etc.). There are about 20 I know of in the surrounding communities (again, these are the only ones I know of)! Luckily we have several elementaries, but we (other parents and I) are still concerned due to the large number of CF families. Another mother brought it up with her daughter's doctor and he said it would be highly unlikely that they would spread bacterias. I STILL worry though, because they will eventually all be together. Maybe by then, we won't have to worry about it!!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif" border="0">) *postive thoughts!!* Is this common...to have this many families in one small town?????

 

[lovemygirl]

She will be starting kindergarten in Sept, which is why we are concerned. We keep stressing the importance of washing her hands but we can see by the amount of colds from pre-shool that she is probably too busy playing to worry about it too much.

 

[lovemygirl]

She will be starting kindergarten in Sept, which is why we are concerned. We keep stressing the importance of washing her hands but we can see by the amount of colds from pre-shool that she is probably too busy playing to worry about it too much.

 

[Liza]

In answer to you question, would I send my child to school knowing there was another CF child attending the same school for the good program? YES! If the school has already agreed to make sure that they are not put in the same class then for me that is a wonderful thing. Yes, they may come in contact with each other on the playground but that'd be about it. (thinking back to when my girls were in Kindergarten) Have you had the opportunity to talk with the other childs parents? I think as long as neither child has b.cepacia then there is no need for great worry.

Speaking from experience (2 teen girls w/CF), when they were forbidden to talk to other CF patients (all clean of b.cepacia) and forced to wear masks and gowns if they stepped out of their rooms (when in hospital) they felt like they were isolated and contagious. They felt like they were the only ones in the world with CF. Yes, they knew that wasn't true but that's how they felt. Even though we explained that it was all precautionary so that just in case the other CF patient had something they didn't or the other way around. Someone mentioned siblings not really catching stuff from each other. In our case I can say that is true. Colds, yes. But I have one daughter that's been on IV antibiotics several times in her 14 years of diagnosis and the other one once in her 14yrs. (first daughter diagnosed one week before the second was born)

Personally, I think short contact, like what your kids might have being in seperate classrooms is no real need for worry. I'd never thought to ask if there were other CF kids at our school. Although I know there have not been, at least at the same time as my daughters went. The school nurse would mention, "Oh, we had a student with CF one year, they moved." or "we had a student with CF last year, they graduated."

Liza
(Mom of 2 teens w/CF)

 

[Liza]

In answer to you question, would I send my child to school knowing there was another CF child attending the same school for the good program? YES! If the school has already agreed to make sure that they are not put in the same class then for me that is a wonderful thing. Yes, they may come in contact with each other on the playground but that'd be about it. (thinking back to when my girls were in Kindergarten) Have you had the opportunity to talk with the other childs parents? I think as long as neither child has b.cepacia then there is no need for great worry.

Speaking from experience (2 teen girls w/CF), when they were forbidden to talk to other CF patients (all clean of b.cepacia) and forced to wear masks and gowns if they stepped out of their rooms (when in hospital) they felt like they were isolated and contagious. They felt like they were the only ones in the world with CF. Yes, they knew that wasn't true but that's how they felt. Even though we explained that it was all precautionary so that just in case the other CF patient had something they didn't or the other way around. Someone mentioned siblings not really catching stuff from each other. In our case I can say that is true. Colds, yes. But I have one daughter that's been on IV antibiotics several times in her 14 years of diagnosis and the other one once in her 14yrs. (first daughter diagnosed one week before the second was born)

Personally, I think short contact, like what your kids might have being in seperate classrooms is no real need for worry. I'd never thought to ask if there were other CF kids at our school. Although I know there have not been, at least at the same time as my daughters went. The school nurse would mention, "Oh, we had a student with CF one year, they moved." or "we had a student with CF last year, they graduated."

Liza
(Mom of 2 teens w/CF)