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A recent story out of Connecticut sardonically declared April 23rd "Take Your Sick Child to Work Day," in order to call attention to the need for days off from work to care for sick children. This story has added significance, with the news of the spread of Swine Flu. You'd have to be living under a rock, not to have heard the advice from the experts: stay home if you're sick, and keep your child home from school or day care if they are sick.
The state of the economy, with its rising unemployment, makes this particularly difficult advice to follow. As the CT story points out, workers often have to choose between their children's health and keeping their jobs. Yet, that reality doesn't seem to have made its way into the official rhetoric.
In order for parents to be able to follow such advice during emergencies like an impending pandemic, the issue of sick child care needs to be addressed before emergencies strike. Otherwise, the advice is meaningless.
