Offended by sign on door of LYS

[NanaM3]

One of our local grocery stores has a good idea. They have hand sanitizing wipes that you can use to wipe off the handle of your cart and hands. I've only seen this at the one store but I think it is a very good idea. It is a sad situation when a parent brings a child out shopping and in the public when sick. I don't think they would like to be out and about when sick so I don't understand why they think it is ok for the child. Me, I'd rather be home curled up on the sofa with a good book and a hot cup of tea.

 

what a great idea ... I would go out of my way to a store that showed such good sense .... and concern for the customer ...

 

just remember all this the next time you open a door that the public has been touching ... yup, I'm definitely putting some extra gloves in each purse!!!!

[craftybutterfly]

I can see both sides. The ones who irritate me are at work. They are so "dedicated" (?) that they MUST come in to work with a fever. I know that in the private sector, that its not always that easy to take off when you're sick. but these are federal employee's who earn leave. when you go over the 15-year mark, you earn 2 days a month annual leave, and 1 day a month sick leave. so they CAN be home sick if they need to be. I'm on immune surpressing drugs (I have RA), and a bout of flu could put me in the hospital. These people come in my office sneezing and coughing and running a fever, and I'm thinking "oh geeze i'm gonna be sick". If they're sick, they should be at home in bed.

 

I agree that maybe the store owner could have worded the sign differently (that was a bit tacky and classless the way they did it, but I think other threads here about treatment at LYS's proves that that should not be a surprise to us), but I seriously doubt they were singling kids out for any other reason than the obvious (kids wipe their noses on anything when they think no one is watching). Then again, I've seen some adults do some pretty shocking things when they thought no one was watching, and in that respect, maybe they should have aimed it at all sick people and not just kids. I would not have felt "singled out" unless the sign said "melissa, don't bring your sick kid in here, thanks!"

[Cherokee2]

They have to put these signs up, because some people just do not have common sense! Besides, how many people do you know that won't go out in public, or take their kids, if they have a little cold? Very few. And I've seen adults who don't take precautions when they cough or sneeze.... up to and including people who work in fast food places!! No reason for you to be offended if you had your well child with you, though. You might be surprised at the rude things people will do.... like set their drink cup down on a stack of clothes... or put a perishable item on the shelf with crackers or cereal if they decide they don't want it. Or look the other way while their kid rips open a package of something. Retail stores lose money on merchandise they can't sell... and snotty yarn won't sell!

[Leticia]

wow, i dunno, i have a two year old. Although It's ideal to stay home, and wait a cold out sometimes you just can't do that. There are things to do, yeah sometimes i stop at micheals to get some yarn, because sitting at home with a sick child, and no yarn sucks. Colds are hard to get rid of, and can sometimes last for weeks. I dunno about you but you can't stay home for weeks without doing what you need to do or just get out of the house.

 

I Def would have been offended and would not go back. I know my daughter and I know how to control her. She does not touch anything, after I tell her not to touch, I also put her in a stoller to control her better in places like that, with no carts.

 

I can understand that the owner doesn't want sick ones in the store, but they singled out children, again as other people have pointed out children are not the only ones that get sick and are out and about.

[LittleJadeFrog]

I keep reading the comments on here but just as I go to reply something comes up and I am not able to so here goes. I agree with most of what is said.

 

I work in a nursing home/ALF. We hang signs every flu season. To the degree of - if you have the sniffles please visit another time. That is for the protection of the people that live here. It is not to offend. And if it does than too bad! There are alot of people here that are very susceptable to all kinds of contagents. But what alot of people do not understand is that the germs are spread BEFORE symptoms show too. You might not be "sick" but you are still contageous. That's whay colds spread so quickly before anyone "does anything about it." Damage is already done.

 

I am one of those "dedicated" workers. I HAVE to work. There is no one to cover my shifts when I am sick. I would rather be at home resting (crocheting ). I do not work closely with the residents. I am a phone operator. I take all the precautions though - washing hands, sanitizing, covering my mouth, etc. Yes kids are careless (I know I have 2 of them) but kids are not the only ones as we all know. So I agree that kids should have NOT been singled out, but I do agree that the sign is a necessary reminder. I think that the problem is that people do not think before they do things and some just don't even care.

[CLLinda]

I'm on the side of the store owner. People are very thoughtless about avoiding public places when they are contagious. Yes, sometimes it can be avoided. But usually not.

 

Kids get these winter illnesses a lot more than do adults. They also touch more things, sneeze without covering their mouths, etc.

 

I don't blame the shop owner at all. I think she was smart to put this warning up for parents who lack common sense. You're not one of

them, your child was healthy. But I'm sure it made a lot of mothers think.

 

Jean Leinhauser

She probably had someone bring in a sick kid, too sick for school or preschool, but mom takes them shopping anyway. There had to have been an incident to set the scene for this sign.

 

Some parents are just out of it when it comes to a sick child.

 

I had someone send a two year old to class, who had a 103 fever and a case of the runs. And then had meeting at work where they couldn't leave for 45 minutes. And the boy usually had a glass of milk with him, and that day he had a glass of 7up.

 

Or the parent that brings a child who has the runs, to school, and I change her when she gets sick and I get sick for Mother's day weekend. So the mom could go grocery shopping.

 

People just want to do what they want, not putting their child first. It's a very ME first society we live in.

 

I am also in favor of the store owner. Maybe someone is very easily sickened by germs in the store and this was her way of preventing someone getting sick.

 

I also am in a group of knitters/crocheters and a member has some breathing problems. When I have a cold or suspect I am getting one, I stay away, out of respect. People need to respect other people.

 

[mountainangel]

Many years ago co worker's child had chicken pox and they were scheduled for a vacation to the beach. They went anyway. Her response to people's concerns when she got back was that no one noticed he had chicken pox so it was o.k. I was apalled that she wasn't even concerned that other people the child came in contact with at the beach, hotel, airplane, airport, etc. could get chicken pox and become gravely ill from her child. So I can understand this type of sign. I can bet some parents may even drag their children out shopping when the child has the flu.

[Pyroteca]

I too agree with the shop owner. When I taught school, some parent sent their child to school with chicken pox. They gave it to me, at 25 years of age. I was just lucky I didn't end up in the hospital.

 

With the way that parents mind their children (as in not at all), I don't blame the shop-owner one bit. Parents often let their children run wild without any concern. This is cold and flu season, so extra caution is warranted. The flu can be deadly to the elderly or those with weakened immune systems.

 

The real problem is that there aren't enough responsible parents who will keep their children at home when they are sick. Hence the need for such a sign.

[mythunderbird]

I too agree with the shop owner. When I taught school, some parent sent their child to school with chicken pox. They gave it to me, at 25 years of age. I was just lucky I didn't end up in the hospital.

 

 

i know how you feel, when my son was in 2nd grade one of the girls in his class had the chicken pox, but because the mom thought that she was doing all of us a favor by giving it to our kids(after all its much easier in a child was her mentality) my son got them and almost died from them, he has severe allergies and asthma and it effected his breathing because he even had them inside his throat and could not swallow or breath easily, we ended up on a month of quarentine because ofcourse he gave them to his sister. when i saw the mother later at a pta meeting i asked her what was she thinking, her responce was well its better for the kids when they are small, i asked her where i should send the hospital bill as we had to take him to the er as he couldn't breathe, when i am sick as i am now i try and stay away from stores(except the pharmacy) and even then i don't cough into my hands or arms, i carry tissues with me and cough into them then throw them away. no one understands what that yarn shop owner went thru. i agree maybe it could have been worded better but maybe she had a medical condition herself.either way parents should make all efforts to keep their children home while sick, our sickness started out coming from my son who teaches 6th grade, on one day last month he had 5 kids out with colds, needless to say while they kept them home one day, they were not better the next day and yet they sent them to school and yep he got it which was bad as he has asthma bad, then i got it dd got it and now hubby has it. so who is at fault here? the parents who sent their sick kids to school. and if a parent can't take off work then they should have some kind of plan that they have someone to watch the kids while the work i would never dream of taking a sick child out yarn shopping, so while i do kind of agree with the ys owner, i think she should have worded it differently, maybe to the tune of, while we appreciate your patronage , please refrain from coming in while sick so we all can enjoy our art or something like that. but i think parents with sick kids need to realize, not everyone is thrilled by their little darling and in my opinion, maybe they could have a seperate place for children to play while mom shops. of course then she would have to spray lysol all over it when they leave

 

 

alot of the stores here have the germ free wipes at the place where the shopping carts are and they are a big hit stepping down off my :soap:soap

[CLLinda]

The thing that gets to me is not necessarily the sign, but the need to do such a thing. It isn't welcoming. It makes me wonder if this is one of those situations where ONE or TWO people came in with their sick kid, and rather than looking them in the face and politely saying. "I'm sorry to see your little one is sick. We really do appreciate your business, but it may be concerning to our other customers...etc.etc."...If I were the store owner I'd take the chance in ticking of the one offender rather than a multitude of customers. It drives me crazy when people post signs rather than confront the known offender directly.

 

That may be easier said than done. Sure, talking to the woman with the sick kid would have been great, but it takes nerve to do it.

 

A sign makes the rules known for everyone. And people don't like to be singled out, esspecially in front of other customers. And no matter how nicely it was worded, it would have been offensive.

 

I think the shop owner did the right thing. I just wish everyone would let there feelings known.

 

Last year, after a bunch of kids showed up sick to my classroom, I sent home a copy of the sign that's outside my door. It said to keep a child home for coughing, sneezing, and other signs of illness. Once I did that, I didn't have sick kids coming to school.

 

Our program is a two day a week program, that is available so moms can have a break. It's not rocket science class so if they miss it, it's not a big deal.

 

It's very frustrating to have sick kids in the classroom. Parents should do what's best for the kids, and maybe put off going to the yarn shop, etc. Sick kids need to be home.

 

[Amy]

Here's another perspective on this that hasn't been mentioned: if the store does want to bring this up with individual customers who come in the store and cause problems and address it right when it's happening, in order to protect themselves legally, the store really needs to have a publicly posted policy about this.

 

Then if the store decides to ask a customer whose kid is destroying merchandise to leave, and the customer pitches a fit, the owner/workers can simply point to the policy and ask the customer to return without the child or when the child is well.

[ErinLindsey]

I too agree with the shop owner. When I taught school, some parent sent their child to school with chicken pox. They gave it to me, at 25 years of age. I was just lucky I didn't end up in the hospital.

 

 

i know how you feel, when my son was in 2nd grade one of the girls in his class had the chicken pox, but because the mom thought that she was doing all of us a favor by giving it to our kids(after all its much easier in a child was her mentality) my son got them and almost died from them, he has severe allergies and asthma and it effected his breathing because he even had them inside his throat and could not swallow or breath easily, we ended up on a month of quarentine because ofcourse he gave them to his sister. when i saw the mother later at a pta meeting i asked her what was she thinking, her responce was well its better for the kids when they are small, i asked her where i should send the hospital bill as we had to take him to the er as he couldn't breathe, when i am sick as i am now i try and stay away from stores(except the pharmacy) and even then i don't cough into my hands or arms, i carry tissues with me and cough into them then throw them away. no one understands what that yarn shop owner went thru. i agree maybe it could have been worded better but maybe she had a medical condition herself.either way parents should make all efforts to keep their children home while sick, our sickness started out coming from my son who teaches 6th grade, on one day last month he had 5 kids out with colds, needless to say while they kept them home one day, they were not better the next day and yet they sent them to school and yep he got it which was bad as he has asthma bad, then i got it dd got it and now hubby has it. so who is at fault here? the parents who sent their sick kids to school. and if a parent can't take off work then they should have some kind of plan that they have someone to watch the kids while the work i would never dream of taking a sick child out yarn shopping, so while i do kind of agree with the ys owner, i think she should have worded it differently, maybe to the tune of, while we appreciate your patronage , please refrain from coming in while sick so we all can enjoy our art or something like that. but i think parents with sick kids need to realize, not everyone is thrilled by their little darling and in my opinion, maybe they could have a seperate place for children to play while mom shops. of course then she would have to spray lysol all over it when they leave

 

 

alot of the stores here have the germ free wipes at the place where the shopping carts are and they are a big hit stepping down off my :soap:soap

 

I had something similar happen. I worked in a McDonald's in the 1990s. Around 1995, there was an employee who would come in sick a lot.

 

So, around thanksgiving of 95, she was working with me and my manager in drive thru. Someone complained that one of the pop tanks wasnt working, so she drew some pop into a cup and tasted it. Then asked my manager and me to taste it. (from the cup she drank from) We did. Found out about a week later, this girl had mononucleosis.

 

I started to show symptoms of mono around Christmas, and had a full blown case of mono by New Years. The manager ended up with a milder case of mono, so she wasnt quite as sick as I was.

 

Well, several years later, I wasnt working there anymore, and was in a store somewhere in town, and saw my former manager. She told me it was her last day at work, she was taking disability. Turns out, she'd developed multiple sclerosis. I told her that I hoped she'd be able to go back to work sometime, somehow. Havent seen her since that day.

 

Fast forward to August of 2006. I developed optic neuritis in my left eye. Went to the eye doctor and a neuro, and they told me that they thought I had MS. I went home and read about MS, and found out that mononucleosis has something to do with MS. It's either a specific trigger for MS, or the mono somehow makes certain people more susceptible to developing MS. (somehow raises the odds of developing MS)

 

So, here I am, I've been diagnosed for almost an entire year, and I'd really like to go back in time and make the girl who came to work while sick with mono stay the heck home while she was sick. Or at least, if I'd known, I'd have avoided drinking from any cup she drank from.

 

I dont have any way of proving that's how I developed MS, but there's a lot of circumstantial evidence that mono is a trigger for MS. I'm ticked off that I'll be sick for the rest of my life now. It's interesting that me, my former manager and one other employee from that store all have MS now. I'd like to know if anyone else we worked with at the time has MS, I'd like to know if we have a "clustering" of MS from that particular workplace.

 

Oh, and now that I have MS, I have to be really extremely careful when I get a cold or any other illness that might cause a fever. Temperature changes from fevers or even from the weather can cause me problems now...and temperature changes from a fever can cause exacerbations that can cause permanent disability.

 

I cant avoid getting a cold (especially this week...my dad has a cold that's progressed to pneumonia, he's better now tho) and last night I started getting cold symptoms. Which, I can either blame on my dad, or I can blame it on all the children and adults who sneezed on me during the Xmas shopping season.

 

My mom is just begging me to take her somewhere (she never gets colds...that's just not natural) and she's all mad that me and my dad wont take her out to eat. (umm..hi? me and dad are both sick...and she still expects us to entertain her? in her defense, she doesnt drive, dad and I take her whenever she needs to go somewhere)

 

My mom used to drag me and my sister all over when we were sick. I'm staying home now.

 

I dont like people seeing me sick with a cold, when my nose is all red from wiping it, and I'm coughing too much to speak clearly. Plus, I'm tired as all heck.

 

If I ever have kids, they're staying home when they're sick.

[mamie]

I have never heard of such a ridiculous thing...that is wild. I agree with you, adults get sick, also.....oh wait, they are paying, guess that makes a difference to some...marjie

[LadyintheMoon]

Well I have a really big stash just for this reason! We're always catching something around here. And I'm lucky enough to not have to work right now, and even though the school complains when my kids miss without doctor's excuses, I still keep them home when they're sick... even if they aren't sick enough to go sit in a contagious medical center lobby all day.

 

Why do we get sick so often around here? Because my husband works at the one place most of you have agreed you have to go when you're sick... he's a PHARMACIST. Funny thing, he NEVER catches it. He has built up an immunity to it. But he brings it home to us no matter how often he santizes his hands.

 

But another thing, I have allergies and so does my 5 year old. We would both appear contagious at times even when we aren't. While I rarely take her into small shops like an LYS, (I'd rather wait until I'm alone) I agree it was the owner's right to post a sign, but I think it should have included everyone. Losing my business might not would have hurt her (although my husband and my bank account would surely disagree)... I would have felt very uncomfortable going in there when suffering from an allergy so I would have stopped going at all. I'd just find another shop or order online. I don't begrudge her the right to choose who shops in her store. And I would certainly take advantage of my right to shop somewhere else.

[catlyn]

I am of the firm belief that people should stay home when they're sick. Kids and adults alike.

I have recently had a cold, caught it from other people at my work who were sick. I had to take off a few days because I was so sick.

Then I was out just the other day and must have caught a virus causing intestinal upset, and had that for a couple of days resulting in some missed work.

If people would stay home when they or their kids get sick it would stop alot of this stuff from being spread.

But that is not going to happen no matter how much we wish it would. People are just ignorant, and self centered, why should THEY be deprived of anything just because they or their kid is sick?

I am appalled about the mother who took their kid to the beach with chicken pox, that someone posted about. That is just really showing a severe lack of common sense.

Some people today have no common sense and no concern for the next person.

[Kimblee]

Is I'm sick, the first place I want to visit is the craft store.

 

Not kidding, i want yarn and lots of it... if I'm gonna be in bed, I want to do something other than wonder if I'm dead yet.

 

But I SEND someone. I don't come myself, mostly because when i get sick, i am very sluggish to go any farther than to the loo and back. This time of year is awful. I'm on my second case of pneumonia.

[craftybutterfly]

The people that it applies to will completely ignore it.

The people that it does not apply to will be often offended.

 

Yep. I gotta agree with this one.