Sick babies in public places

So this is about the zillionth time this has happened to me and my DH. We go to lunch at one of our favorite places, ask to be seated away from a baby we see as we come in the door and they oblige - ONLY to seat a toddler and his MOO and DUH right next to us just minutes later. Then the toddler is making high pitched squeals and starts coughing (obviously from chest congestion) and we're giving them the evil eye and they are completely oblivious about it. We finally just got up and moved our drinks, silverware and ourselves to another table well away from them. Then watched in near disbelief as they sat 2 men nearly on top of the table right next to the coughing toddler and the men just grin and bear it!

I am one of those people who catch colds quite easily and knowing my limits I am very cautious but this toddler was allowed to chew on the menus and touch everything within reach -- with no reprimand.

Personally, I think it's a huge health issue and I'm sick and tired of being "expected" to simply grin and bear it when sick babies are brought out in public and the parents give you crap when you say anything (which we have plenty of times so we've given up ruining our day by having a major stress confrontation).

what do you all think about sick babies in public places?

Considering the fact that one of my relatives is HIV+, you better bet that I think that ANYONE who is sick and contagious should STAY HOME! Of course, I'm more concerned about food handling practices when eating out. I've seen restaurants pulling more stunts in this arena than ever!

Ew, that's disgusting! My husband and I joke about "kid plague" when we see little kids in public (with wetness coming out of every orifice...ewwwwwww), but your story is just plain gross. I've been leading something of a sheltered existence (the last few months was my first semester as a grad student, and I was unemployed, so if I wasn't at the university, I was usually at home) lately, and I've been petrified of getting sick as a result of it, so I've been really good about washing my hands when I come back from public places. But having a kid hacking and coughing all over you defeats that! There's no way I'd stand for that, and we never agree to be seated next to kids in restaurants, whether they're sick or not.

I tend to get sick easier than the average person because my immune system sucks, and admittedly I'm the dumbass who goes everywhere even when I'm very ill with something contagious. But kids are disgusting because they're either not taught to cover their mouths or they're too young to know how to do so, which results in kids sneezing, coughing, and otherwise spreading their germs all over you. It grosses me out. I recall one instance when my toddler cousin was being silly and laying on me while I was occupying the couch and she sneezed right in my face. She may not have been sick, but it was gross. I don't give a fuck whose mouth it comes out of, I do not like being sneezed on. perhaps it wasn't her fault, but that doesn't make it any less gross.

I agree with leaving kids home regardless of their health, but I advocate staying home with them if they're sick. There's no telling how many people out there have severely weakened immune systems who could get deathly ill from a simple cough, and parents don't care.

Ugh. Children in general are walking biohazards. Even parents admit this, but they don't seem to care. It would hurt Pweshus's self esteem to stay home, you know.

But it's aaaaaalllll about them, don't cha know? BUT! If an adult sat near a brat and was clearly suffering from a cold, etc., you can bet your sweet asses the moo and duh would have something to say about it.

Yuck! Kids are not even taught to cover their mouths anymore when they cough. No wonder disease are so rampant!

Same goes for sick adults who go to work. I worked in a call center and could not shake a horrible virus with awful coughing for a month. This is because the attendance rules were extremely strict. Besides, one does not get paid for the day if s/he is not at work. I know I have returned to work even if I was not over the flu because I need money to pay my living expenses. I do not have anyone doing it for me...

"FUCK WORK"

This is my hugest pet peeve. I have a very compromised immume system because of an autoimmune disease, and the medication that I take for it. I stay home a good majority of the time. When I go out I usually try to keep interaction with people who I am not sure are well at a minimum. Some things you just can't control though. I went to the grocery store 2 days before Christmas, and there was this toddler coughing up a lung, mouth uncovered, mom unconcerned. this cough sounded bad, like the kind of cough that could be the cough I'd die from! I tried to avoid him like the plague, but it seemed like every corner I turned, the little hacking bastard was right there. I don't know what the answer is.

put bells around their necks and shout unclean when you see one..

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Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

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mercurior Wrote:
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> put bells around their necks and shout unclean
> when you see one..

ROTF!!!!!!

I agree that sick kids and sick adults should stay home from both school and work! If you're not healthy, how are you expected to perform well? At any rate, my sister's two youngest kids got sick at the same time a few months ago, and she actually took off of work to care for them until they both got well again. She took them to their doctor for meds and didn't bring them outside and around anybody at all. 1 PNB point for Sis!

With all the fluids that young children seem to constantly expell, I'm guessing parent's just can't tell if a child is sick or not.