Am I over stepping by taking the temperature of my sons friends?

[bbhaag]

So I wanted to get everyones take on this. I bought a Infrared Thermometer off Newegg last week and have been taking the temp of my 13yo sons friends before I allow them in the house.
My wife and I don't want to get sick and a lot of the kids coming over started going back to school for in person learning last month so it makes us kind of nervous. We don't want to be unfair to our son though because we understand that socializing and interacting with his peers is an important part of growing up especially in your teen years.

Are we being overly paranoid and/or confrontational by doing this or is it even something we should be doing in the first place?

 

[ultimatebob]

Unless you live in a COVID hotspot... yes. Yes, you are being way too paranoid.

 

[Exterous]

Depends - are you taking them rectaly?

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

So I wanted to get everyones take on this. I bought a Infrared Thermometer off Newegg last week and have been taking the temp of my 13yo sons friends before I allow them in the house.
My wife and I don't want to get sick and a lot of the kids coming over started going back to school for in person learning last month so it makes us kind of nervous. We don't want to be unfair to our son though because we understand that socializing and interacting with his peers is an important part of growing up especially in your teen years.

Are we being overly paranoid and/or confrontational by doing this or is it even something we should be doing in the first place?

Your house, your rules. Kids don't have to come over.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Depends - are you taking them rectaly?

Pictures?

 

[lxskllr]

I wouldn't do it, and I'd consider it to be on the weirder side of acceptable, but still acceptable. Like Osiris said, your house, your rules. You need to do what makes you comfortable.

 

[EliteRetard]

Non-contact Temperature Assessment Devices During COVID-19

Benefits & limitations of using temperature assessment devices (thermal imaging systems and non-contact infrared thermometers) to identify people with COVID-19

www.fda.gov

Even if you do it right, checking temperatures isn't very reliable.
I'm thinking an even more controlled scenario may be appropriate.

I would plan the event, and not have them come over "just because". What exactly do they want?
Everybody wears proper masks, watch them properly wash hands, and maintain some distance.

For example, if they come over for games clean and sanitize any controllers and have them sit apart.
If any food or drink is involved, make sure they have their own separate servings, nothing is shared.

Being cautious and clean shouldn't be weird or taboo, it should be totally normal and practical.

 

[highland145]

Meh, the kids are alright.

 

[MtnMan]

Unless you live in a COVID hotspot... yes. Yes, you are being way too paranoid.

That's the kind of ignorance that puts people in the ICU. There is no place on the whole damn planet where people with COVID aren't walking around. Granted the numbers are higher in hot spots, but please tell us why they became hot spots.

Because people let their damn guard down.

Second to that, my house my rules... suck it up or leave.

 

[sdifox]

So I wanted to get everyones take on this. I bought a Infrared Thermometer off Newegg last week and have been taking the temp of my 13yo sons friends before I allow them in the house.
My wife and I don't want to get sick and a lot of the kids coming over started going back to school for in person learning last month so it makes us kind of nervous. We don't want to be unfair to our son though because we understand that socializing and interacting with his peers is an important part of growing up especially in your teen years.

Are we being overly paranoid and/or confrontational by doing this or is it even something we should be doing in the first place?

Nope. They should not even be at your house.

 

[brainhulk]

All kids entering must:

1. Take lysol intramuscular injection
2. Swish and swallow 60ml bleach sodium hypochlorite.
3. Spend 30min in the UV-C light ante-room immediately prior to entering
4. Povidone iodine nasal swabs to each nare

That should be sufficient

 

[EliteRetard]

All kids entering must:

1. Take lysol intramuscular injection
2. Swish and swallow 60ml bleach sodium hypochlorite.
3. Spend 30min in the UV-C light ante-room immediately prior to entering
4. Povidone iodine nasal swabs to each nare

That should be sufficient

Since anything like this would infringe on rights and completely destroy the country.

Better to just let a few million die so nobody even has to consider basic health/safety.

It's not like eliminating the disease by following a few basic rules would be worthwhile.

Example: Imagine how much better it would be if we still had smallpox, polio, measles etc.

Not one person would've had to suffer the loss of their rights or the chance of side effects.

Continuous suffering of disease is the lesser of two evils, especially if it's only like 2% fatal.

 

[Scarpozzi]

My cousin has a high school-aged daughter and 2 younger sons. His daughter's been coming over with friends frequently and he allowed her to travel to the beach with another family back in the Summer. At a minimum, temp checking isn't invasive.

Even then, I think there's definitely risk if they're not wearing masks while indoors. Your house, your rules. My kids are attending school in-person and have to wear masks. If either of them get it, we're toast, so we've been in outdoor only/masked contact with my parents since March....and not really much since school started back. (anything to minimize risk)

 

[pmv]

My first thought is it depends if there's anyone particularly vulnerable/at risk in your household. If someone in the family is very elderly or suffering from any condition that weakens their immune system then it's absolutely understandable, even quite moderate. Otherwise I'd say it was a little eccentric, but not entirely mad.

 

[WelshBloke]

An IR thermometer is pretty non invasive so I'd say its not a big deal to scan the little plague bearers before letting them in if you want.

I would say that my experience with them is that they are inaccurate pieces of crap though, and I say that as someone that has scanned hundreds of people with them over the last few months. I know that the manufacturers claim really good accuracy with them but my experience has been the opposite. I got really good at working out who had come in on a heated bus, who had driven and who had cycled just by their temperature!

 

[snoopy7548]

If it were me, I wouldn't even let other people's kids into my house - play/hangout outside or not at all.

 

[dullard]

The safest thing is to not let them in your house. Many people with Covid do not have a fever, so you are only going to catch the worst problem kids with a temperature gun. Now, if you combined temperature gun with a quick run test (checking for shortness of breath and cough), then you'd at least have a fairly reliable test.

Other options that both allow socialization and are relatively safe:
1) Let them play outside all they want (masked of course).
2) Put them in the garage with the garage door open (masked of course).
3) Choose a SINGLE trusted friend. Allow that friend inside (masked of course), but only if that friend also obeys the SINGLE trusted friend rule (i.e. your child is the only child that the trusted friend hangs out with).

 

[local]

If you are concerned about it then simply do not let them in. Taking temperature is just barely above worthless for this thing. Something like 45% of kids are asymptomatic and using a thermometer to make yourself feel better is just fooling yourself. We kept our kids out of school and they don't really have any friends to be concerned about but when the neighbor girls comes over some times after school we make them stay outside. Outsiders are not allowed into our house.

 

[repoman0]

It would be pretty normal up here, but a lot more normal to just not let them in the house at all. Probably why my region is doing a halfway decent job compared to the rest of this shitshow country.

 

[brianmanahan]

Nope. They should not even be at your house.

yeah i wouldn't let anyone else in my house

hang out outside, or not at all

 

[Brainonska511]

If it were me, I wouldn't even let other people's kids into my house - play/hangout outside or not at all.

I agree with this. They can hang out together, but it would have to be socially distanced outside with masks.

 

[Captante]

I would say that my experience with them is that they are inaccurate pieces of crap

Completely agree ... my experience is that unless you spend quite a bit on one they are not nearly as accurate as the old-fashioned glass kind. (mercury not required the red alcohol ones are fine) Frankly the digital ear-scanning models aren't a whole lot better.

As for the original question, from what I understand by the time you have a detectable fever you have most likely been contagious for several days at the least so pretty much a pointless "feel-good" strategy, however as also mentioned your house = your rules.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

And worse, kids can't run a fevor for some other odd reason? I get chinic sinus infections and on some nights I run a fever, which usually clears by lunch. Am I infected? No! Well I could be the walking dead.

 

[WelshBloke]

Completely agree ... my experience is that unless you spend quite a bit on one they are not nearly as accurate as the old-fashioned glass kind. (mercury not required the red alcohol ones are fine) Frankly the digital ear-scanning models aren't a whole lot better.

I think that the problem is that they just take the surface temperature of whatever you point them at if you use them perfectly correctly. That surface temperature is dependent on a lot of environmental factors that aren't to do with your core temperature. At least the ear probe ones avoid that, plus there's less chance of using an ear probe wrongly.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I went with the wife three days ago to the doctor's office to get the flu shot. Not a lot of people in there but one person walked in, sat down--seating was socially distant as much as they could have it--and when she began coughing and then sneezed everyone looked at her like she was the devil. I think even she realized the consequences of her uncontrollable action and wished she wasn't in that waiting room. Too funny.