Although there is no vaccine, there is a cure for swine flu; once the flu has caught on, it is curable if detected in time. I think it is up to you and what you feel the risk is by sending them to school.
Source(s):
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/dealingswine-flu/356675/

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Very difficult question to answer. I'm thinking if I had kids I would be very concerned.

If there were cases within 50 miles of my school I would be VERY VERY concerned.

From my understanding--and I'm no expert on this--no one has died in the United States yet. They are saying this is treatable if caught early. So, if it were me I would be ok with them going to school IF they were taking precautions in the school AND my kids had hand sanitizer with them and used it all day long!
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If you have a toddler and home, then I think that I would start a search for home schoolers pronto. If you found someone that was highly recommended, I think that you might move your kids there at least for a month, until you can evaluate the situation better.
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That's obviously a very difficult decision.

For now, start by educating your kids about frequent handwashing and tell them to avoid people that are coughing or sneezing. Send them off to school with hand sanitizer and tell them to wash their hands before they eat. And tell them to not touch faces or eyes. Instruct them to not share drinks or food with anyone.

But be alert to the news! The second there's a case near your area you are perfectly within your rights to keep your kids home. I completely agree that people send sick kids to school all the time. I've heard of teachers turning kids away because they got sent to school with chickenpox!

Anyway, I think you need to stay alert and keep your kids home when there is information of suspected cases near your area. I guess it's about striking a balance between being careful but not letting the situation interfere too much with daily life. At least summer's almost here so if things keep getting worse, school will be out and your kids can stay home all the time.

CDC is a great source of info. I've been going there a lot.
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
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I am not a doctor, but I do work at a hospital and deal with the flu issue every year with my kids and with work.

My questions to you are the following: Do you normally keep your kids home when there is a flu exposure at your local school? Do you regularly get flu shots every year? Do your children have problems with their immune system or asthma/respiratory problems?

People die every year from the seasonal flu virus, every year about 36,000. The big issue is that this particular strain is one that most people do not have an immunity to and it was not part of or related to the vaccine in the last round of flu shots. When the flu leads to death it is usually the very young or the very old; basically people who's immune systems are too weak to handle the infection.

By escalating the threat level, the CDC has the ability to respond quickly in situations where it local authorities are unable to respond appropriately in an epidemic situation. To a certain extent, due to our 24 hour news cycle, this threat has been blown out of proportion. I say this, because while it appears that this virus appears to be very contagious, statistically the the death rate from this virus is not any greater than seasonal flu.

My best advice, teach you kids to wash their hands regularly. If they cannot wash their hands (no soap or water) or you don't have an alcohol based sanitizer, actually rubbing your hands together can break down some infectious agents. Unfortunately, I cannot find a link for that fact but I did hear about it from a NPR Science Friday podcast with a bacteriologist a few weeks ago.

Don't bother to keep them out of school. The only way to keep them isolated from this type of outbreak is to keep your entire family isolated, which would mean your entire family staying home until this is completely over. But then what about next year and the next seasonal flu?

If your family does get exposed/infected, go to the doctor. There are medications that mitigate the symptoms and monitoring the symptoms and responses to the virus are very important.

As for me, my kids have asthma and get the flu shot every year; I wouldn't keep them home until after them actually had the flu.

I have included some additional links below with more information.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWcd0Nbgc_R4&refer=home
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HandWashing/
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As a Registered Nurse I would say to keep the kids home now! I would not hesitate. Don't wait for them to become ill. It will exacerbate your fears.
If you can, get school work for them and keep them home where it is safe. Keep them away from public places such as Supermarkets, Hospitals (unless they are sick) and other Public areas where they will be exposed to the Virus.An ounce of prevention is worth more than.... you know the rest.
Source(s):
Medical, Nursing, Immunisation training.

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Given that there is a girl in your area who is showing symptoms, even though not yet confirmed, if I were in your shoes I'd keep my kids home, and for a few days I'd limit my own excursions. I'd do one big shopping trip for groceries and toiletries, and then keep everyone home until you find out whether or not she is a confirmed case or not.

It's possible to find sources saying either answer, as are already showing in the answers here. But I'd follow that gut instinct/Mom instinct and keep them home. The President has even suggested school closings.

Last night at my kids' pre-pro ballet school, all the kids were using hand sanitizers. Kids were pulling hand sanitizer out of their gear bags and using it both before and after switching shoes. I got some Lysol out of the supply cabinet and sprayed doorknobs, light switches, the sinks and the toilets between every change of classes. The school had strep go around this winter and some other kind of flu, and it was a combined effort of parents spraying the dickens out of everything between classes, and a strict policy that kids feeling the least sick had to stay home that licked both quickly. Last winter they didn't have this policy and the kids kept reinfecting each other. Dancers can quickly loose muscle and flexibility if they sit out a class or two, but they loose much more if they're sick for weeks on end.

This is a private pre-pro school, though, so government schools may have different policies. But your kids belong to you, and you have to do what you can live with if you're wrong.
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I think that this H1N1 virus is very dangerous, but the main thing we must note is. keep the self and the environment and our own. and keep ourselves in order to truly fit and healthy, I think also if we do not use one mask per day day in the life of us, when we want out of the house
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I don't think you should keep your kids at home unless they actually get sick. The swine flu isn't really that much different from any other kind of flu, it's just more widespread. There is always a risk of your children getting sick and always being worried of this won't accomplish anything. The chances of them dieing of the swine flu is also very small. So, send your kids to school if they're not sick. If they are sick, then keep them home so they don't get other kids sick. Finally, make sure you teach them the importance of good hygene.
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