Tom Fletcher slammed for taking son Buzz to cinema - the morning after a vomiting bug

It all began with Tom’s initial Instagram post, a simple “I’m sick” captioning the above pic.

Then yesterday, Tom’s wife Giovanna shared a post many of us will be able to relate to: a detailed account of her family catching (what sounds like) a nasty vomiting bug.

She wrote:

“11:00: Get home from swanky InStyle BAFTA party.
11:01: Take make up off while eating cold pizza (the children's leftovers)
11:05: Get lost in social media
11:48: Find the cat miaowing loudly at the window and let her in
11:50: Brush teeth
11:55: Get into bed next to a poorly Tom and close eyes
12:10: Hear Buzz running in, and then crying because he hit his head on the door handle
12:11: Get into Buzz's bed, calm him down so he goes back to sleep
12:15: Ask Buzz to kindly stop pinching
12:16: Ask Buzz to stop pinching
12:17: Tell Buzz to stop pinching
12:18: All goes quiet
12:20: Buzz sits up and curls over. It takes me a second to realise he's being sick. Carry him to the loo.
12:21: A jovial Buzz says 'I'm not very well Mumma' on repeat while we clean him up
12:25: Buzz gets into our bed and is surprisingly affectionate
12:30: Buzz won't stop rolling around
12:39: Buzz settles in my arms
12:40: Ask Buzz to kindly stop pinching
12:41: Ask Buzz to stop pinching
12:42: Tell Buzz to stop pinching
12:43: All goes quiet
12:45: 'Mumma, my tummy hurts' followed by a mad dash to the loo.
12:50: Back in bed but with a very awake Buzz. Repeat the pinching section above
1:20: Buddy wakes up and wants a feed
1:35: Get back into bed, Buzz is up waiting for me.
1:40: More rolling around trying to settle
2:30: Buzz is finally asleep
2:55: It's mummy's turn to run to the loo and puke up the cold leftover pizza and the two nice cocktails she had at the posh event earlier... only no one is there to rub her back because they are all finally asleep.
The Fletchers are not very well.”

Just a few hours later, hubby Tom shared a snap of himself and nearly 3-year-old Buzz holding up ODEON cinema tickets...

(It seems that the tickets say 1am, but we’re guessing since Buzz was in bed around then, it’s most likely 11am!)

He added the caption:

“We're both sick so we're having a father/son trip to the cinema to cheer ourselves up.”

The reaction

It seems the post really hit a nerve with parents and non-parents alike – many of whom had seen Giovanna’s description of the bug, and felt Tom was ‘selfish’ for heading out to the cinema.

One follower commented: “Sorry you two are ill. I wish however you would have chosen to stay at home and not share your illness with others.”

While another added: “Common cold fair enough but something as contagious as a sickness bug is pretty selfish to go to the cinema where other small children could be.

"My son has been off school 4 days due to a nasty cough cold. I'd hate that he'd spread it. Get well and stay in the warm x”

But things continued to escalate, with others fuming:

“If it's a sickness bug, which is what was posted, then you should think of others who are not so lucky to have good health & not spread the bugs around.”

“Actually his wife said they were all throwing up so going to the cinema is literally the most selfish thing you can do! I work in a hospital and it's no wonder we are seeing a rise in the noro virus when people who are throwing up go into an easily contaminated area.

"I like you@tomfletcher but this is just stupid and selfish. What about all the immuno compromised people out there!!!”

“A bug is NOT just a bug if you are immuno compromised as my child is!!! What a selfish thing to say. The 48 hours rule is there for a reason!!”

“Fair enough if it's a cold, but going to the cinema with a sickness bug… isn't exactly the best thing to do… 48hr rule!!! Get well soon and take care xxx”

Though not all of the comments were against Tom’s decision. In fact, some were quick to note that many were over-reacting...

One commenter said: “Hahaha 48 hour rule isn't a law, it's a school rule. You can’t dodge a bug. It's in the air. Can't stand parent who are so ott. If your child have a bad immune system ....stay in yourselves.

"Stop judging other parents and look at yourselves crying over a bug.”

“I'm sorry but if Tom is sick why does that mean they have to stay confined to their house? I'm aware children may have awful immune systems but what if he needed to go to the shop, is that not allowed because he might infect someone else?

"Of course not. There are airbourne bugs everywhere and I'm pretty sure the majority of parents don't have their child in the cinema at 11am on a Thursday morning, I'm sure you'll all be fine.”

What we think

Argh, this is a real toughie, isn’t it?

Firstly, we have to agree with some of the commenters above about a cold – you can’t always stay inside your house for 2 – 3 weeks until it goes.

Even team MFM have passed a few colds around the office this winter ❄️️ ? but we know it can’t be helped.

Things do get tricky when it comes to vomiting bugs, though – you probably wouldn’t go into work, or take your child to nursery/school the morning after vomiting, so why would you go to the cinema? (Though we imagine it wasn't too busy at 11am on a term-time weekday...) And - we have to admit - we've no idea what exactly the bug was.

The NHS recommends anyone with a vomiting bug should stay off work, school or nursery for 48 hours – the so-called ’48-hour rule’ – so perhaps we should extend to busy public places, too, as a rule of thumb?

However, as someone rightly pointed out, it’s not a law. Besides, Tom and Buzz obviously felt well enough to get out and about – so perhaps the worst of their illness was over?

Mind, we're surprised little Buzz and his dad even wanted to leave the house! We know what we'd be doing after a rough night ? ? ?

At the end of the day, we really just have to play these things by ear.

We definitely shouldn't judge, and we don’t think Tom deserved the harshly-worded telling off he got in the comments of his post.

Hope the Fletchers feel better soon ?

What do you think?

Do you think it’s fine that Tom took Buzz to the cinema after their horrible vomiting bug experience the night before?

Or do you think Tom should’ve applied the ‘48-hour rule’ to the cinema, as well as school/nursery?

When was the last time your little ones had a nasty vomiting bug... and did you just know you were going to catch it?

We’d love to hear your thoughts and stories, so drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter!

Images: Instagram/Tom Fletcher, Instagram/Giovanna Fletcher

Read more

• Winter vomiting bug (norovirus) during pregnancy
• How to avoid norovirus this winter
• Your baby's first tummy bug - what it all means