Parents respecting parents

Well, sometimes unfortunate circumstances will inspire a blog post such as this one.
As a parent of 2 small children, I work very hard at keeping them healthy. We take vitamins, get plenty of rest, practice good handwashing and I wipe down the grocery carts before my kids put their hands on them. Still, sometimes they become ill because of the spread of germs that are beyond our control from playgrounds, restaurants, airplanes, weather changes, you name it. Germs love to spread and every parent knows that a sick child in the home alters a person's lifestyle.  For example, housework gets put on the backburner because, let's face it, it is hard to vacuum, prepare meals, do laundry, pick up toys, etc when you have children who simply want you to hold them all day because they don't feel well and schedules have to be rearranged.
The one place I feel should be a safe place to take my kids for a couple of hours is my bible study. They have childcare and my kids enjoy playing with the other kids very much. I don't worry because I assume that the other parents practice the same etiquette that I do in regards to sick children. I recently missed 2 weeks of bible study because my kids had colds and I didn't think it would be fair for me to expose the other children when I knew that my kids had germs to spread. I wanted to be there, I really did, but how fair would that be?
This week, I didn't get to enjoy my bible study because within the first 45 minutes, I learned, by her own admission, that another parent brought her sick children into the nursery. She prayed, "I pray that my kids get well because I feel like I can't go anywhere, even though I'm here, and thank God that they haven't paged me from the nursery. I pray that the other children are protected and my children don't spread their germs to them." I hope they couldn't read the shock on my face! I believe in healing and God's protection, but I also believe in wisdom and respect. This was an optional bible study, not a job where putting food on the table depended upon it.

I tried to stay and just put it out of my mind, but I couldn't get past it. I kept thinking that the longer I left my children in there, the higher the chances were that my kids would pick up whatever her kids had. I had to get out of there and rescue my children! I know it sounds dramatic, but so is having to cancel our plans for the next week and a half because of illness, not to mention what my kids would have to go through physically. I quietly gathered my things and slipped out the door, retrieved my children, immediately taking them to the restroom to wash their hands and wipe down their sippy cups. How sad.

If you are a parent, from one mom to another...when you knowingly put your kids in a nursery/childcare setting when they are sick, it is selfish and disrespectful. Think about how your actions affect others....just because it's the right thing to do.