Carey Hart hits back after uproar about his toddler’s hand, foot and mouth
Carey Hart and Pink are parents to two adorable and clever kids, almost two-year-old Jameson and seven-year-old Willow. The pair are doing the hotel circuit with their kiddos, as Pink continues here brilliant Australian tour, but they’ve navigated some tricky health challenges along the way.
Hand, foot and mouth
Firstly, Pink got very ill with a serious gastric virus that saw her hospitalised. Then this week, both Willow and Jameson got sick, from possibly different things, too.
While we’re not quite sure what had poor Willow laid up, we do know that Jameson has hand, foot and mouth disease.
It’s very common in small children, and the little guy looks to have a pretty crappy dose of it, with a rash across his face, on his hands and down his legs.
Read more about Pink and family:
- People shame Pink and Carey Hart over their son’s hand, foot and mouth disease
- Pink’s very intimate photo of her husband will have parents saying “same same”
- Pink flew her family to Bali for a holiday so she’s an Aussie mum now
Ouch!
Carey shared a photo of both Jameson and Willow, with some ‘brave face’ commentary about how hard family tours can be. He also explained that he’d taken Jameson down to breakfast that day and copped some backlash from a fellow diner.
“Wanna know how glamorous tour can be?” Carey posted on Instagram. “Jameson has hand, foot, and mouth; and Willow has a 102 temp. Both kids laid up and mama Pink still has to push through and do shows. I had Jameson at breakfast yesterday and this vile woman at the table next to us kept staring at him with a shitty look on her face. I told her it was bed bugs.”
Worries about exposing others to the virus
Many followers were quick to be supportive and send their get well messages, but others thought it was not a great idea to take a sick child into a restaurant. They too made their feelings heard.
As we discussed yesterday, hand, foot and mouth usually requires social exclusion (from school or daycare) while the rash/blisters are present. The liquid in the blisters is contagious, and the virus can be spread via saliva – or by coughing, sneezing, drooling etc. Once the blisters have totally dried up and the rash is gone, kids can return to their usual social routine.
Carey felt that he knew his own child and that Jameson was fine to be out and about. He was also keen to set critics straight, taking a couple on directly in the comments section of Instagram.
“Out infecting the world”
Yesterday, Carey updated fans on Jameson’s health, showing that the little guy was soldiering on and riding a car through the hotel – and suggesting he’s seen a paediatrician.
“Jameson and I out infecting the world ?” he posted. “#PediatricianSaysHeIsGoodButIWillTakeYourWord”
But other parents were not so sure. The debate continued to play out in the comments of the post, with people once again either pointing out that allowing contagious kids to roam free is not a good idea OR telling everyone to leave Pink and Carey alone.
“Please reconsider taking your contagious children out”
“HFM is highly contagious, it’s socially irresponsible to take an infected person, child or not, to a social setting where people are eating. You can contaminate everyone that comes in contact with your kid’s dishes. But nah, your need for IHOP is more important than everyone who is ‘judging’ you right?”
One particular comment caught our eye, and there have been others in the same vein over the last couple of days.
“I hope your children feel better soon. Another perspective: both my children contracted HFMD after one of them attended the baptism and party for a baby whose mother knowingly knew her baby had HFMD. My husband was the rarity: a healthy 41-year-old man who contracted a case so severe doctors gasped when seeing it. My husband has been laid off for months and contracted it the first week of his new job. He was in agony but had to power through it (thankfully he was able to telework). Two months later and he’s just now starting to look normal. I ask you to please reconsider taking your contagious children out. For most, infectious diseases are more of an annoyance than anything, but for others, it can be life threatening. And for working parents who literally cannot afford to miss a day of work, to knowingly put them in a position where they have to choose to work, sick or not making rent, that just seems a little mean. All the same, I wish your son a speedy recovery. If he shows any indication of difficulty swallowing, I strongly recommended reaching out to your doctor and asking for lidocaine. Good luck.”
It’s also worth noting that people who have existing health challenges might be particularly hard hit by viruses that most of us breeze through.
What do you think? Is it okay to take a child out when they’re unwell (and possibly contagious) or a total no-go? Let us know on Facebook.
