Every Tuesday, local experts will field your questions about your kids' health, your health, discipline, development, nutrition and other topics.

Please see our expert panel and send your questions to Sarah Lindenfeld Hall. You can remain anonymous. And help out local moms by offering your suggestions in the comments section.

Today, Dr. Mike Steiner, of the North Carolina Children's Hospital, answers questions about sick kids and cribs. Steiner also is an assistant professor in the division of general pediatrics and adolescent medicine at the UNC School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics.

A reader asks: Am I a horrible parent? My son was sent home from school a couple of days ago with a fever. He's been home the last two days. This morning, he woke up with a slight temperature — less than 101 degrees. I gave him Motrin and sent him to school. He seems to be doing OK. Is there any risk? He probably picked up the bug at school anyway.

Steiner responds: Of course you're not a horrible parent. Your son is lucky to have you paying close attention to his health. You didn't mention how old your son was, but for most school-age children with viral upper respiratory symptoms and a low-grade fever, it is perfectly safe to do whatever activities they feel up to doing. We generally do not recommend sending children to school when they have a fever, but honestly, the most important thing is good handwashing and trying to limit close contact with others while your son is infectious. In order to be fair to other parents and children, try not to send your son to school when he could cause others to get sick.

A reader asks: My child is about to turn 4 and is still in her crib. She's short for her age so it's not uncomfortable for her and she hasn't tried to get out. She actually speaks of it lovingly as her "cribby." Is there some rule on how long a child should stay in her crib? She's a great sleeper and I hate to take her out of it.

Steiner responds: There is no absolute rule of when children have to get out of their crib. Many cribs now can convert into daybeds, so children will be sleeping in the same "crib" into school age.

Even if you have a traditional crib with four sides, it is fine for her to sleep in it as long as she would like. The one thing I would recommend is checking this one test: Have your child stand up in the crib. If the railing is lower than the height of her armpits, then you should probably put down one side of the crib or take that side off. When children are this tall compared to their crib sides, they can easily crawl over the railing anyway, and making them crawl over it instead of just stepping from the bed to the floor is risking a bad fall.

When she is ready to transition to a different bed, you can help involve her in choosing the new bed to ease the transition.

She may end up being an adult who loves poster beds (with four posts and a top):)).