Did/do your toddlers constantly get sick in daycare?

[mrsfrenchy]

This is really getting old.

My DD is 15 months. She started daycare for the first time last January and was sick a few times (though not bad at all), kept a runny nose through April pretty much, and end up with a mystery virus that landed her in the hospital for dehydration at the end of April. We were home together all summer (I'm a student).

She started daycare again this fall and so far she has had a bad cold (fever, cough, feeling generally lousy), a stomach bug, a flu like thing (mild cough with 102 fever, lethargic, and feeling lousy, and is now working on her second bad cold. It's only been 2 full months since daycare started back and we've already missed at least 2 weeks worth of days all together.

Obviously, my first concern is her and I feel really bad that she feels that crappy. But on a more selfish note, I'm tired of paying for daycare that doesn't get used! And it doesn't help that she has seperation anxiety issues that get worse everytime she's out for a few days because of illness. And I really hate to miss my classes. I'm starting to feel like the whole "breastfed babies get sick less" thing is a load. Because DD is still nursing and she seems to get sick quite a lot.

Does it get better? Ever? I'm really hoping that #2 (due in January) won't be quite like this.

[GuildJenn]

In my far ranging experience as a mother of one child, it was bad the first year, and got better after about 18 months of it, and much better after two years. September brings new kids into the mix so... yeah, new germs. My hope is that grade one will be easier but chances are... new germs.

I also think it gets better when they stop putting toys in their mouths...whenever that is. My son is over 4 and still tends to nibble things absently.

[Alyantavid]

My kids were constantly sick in daycare until we discovered a food allergy. Now they're extremely healthy. For the record, one was bf over a year, one was not. The amount of sickness was basically the same.

[Ceinwen]

Mine does! We can't seem to shake it either. She landed in hospital in May with rotovirus and dehydration. Since then it's been chronic ear infections, and she's going for tubes next month. My older dd didn't start daycare till age three and was never sick the way my younger dd is (who started daycare at 16 months).

[GoestoShow]

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Edited by GoestoShow - 12/17/10 at 9:07am

[Alyantavid]

Also, are you giving antibiotics for any of these illnesses? If so, that's just damaging her immune system and she can't fight off the new bugs going around.

[betsyj]

The first year was awful-my son caught every illness it seemed. I even made a little poem up to document his first year.

Roseola, RSV
Hand, foot and mouth disease
Coughs and colds that make me wheeze
Pink eye, vomiting, diarrhea
One ear infection and a bite from Sophia

This year so far we have been disease free-but that is possibly because he caught everytihng last year.

[GuildJenn]

Originally Posted by GoestoShow

My mostly formula fed 10 month old started daycare at 3 months. I think he's been out maybe 3 times for illness.

So, I have to answer no. My kid is not sick all the time from daycare. I think you need to ask what's going on at the daycare if your kid is getting sick that much. Are hands being washed properly? Are toys being sanitized properly? Is there a high turnover of kids and/or staff? Are there snacks being shared --- like all the kids put their hands in a box or are the snacks distributed by the personnel to each kid separately or to each kid in their own containers?

Or maybe because your child started later she didn't have as much exposure to some of the things she's exposed to now, so some of the things that aren't affecting toddlers who've been in daycare since 3 or 6 months are affecting her.

Anyway, I'd talk to one of the daycare administrators and see if something else might be going on that is contributing to the ongoing illness.

While I agree with all of the above to a point, I do think the toddler stage is different than a baby for starting daycare and getting exposed to the germs that first time.

The kids are way more mobile and in a group, they do end up gnawing on each other's toys and even each other in a totally different way from a baby or a 3 year old. I'm not sure I would actually want the quality of my child's day to be that all the toys have to be wiped down between each child (although ours were always disinfected at the end of each day).

Also each kid is different, and each kid's immune system comes online differently. But communication is good! I just wanted to share that we were pretty happy with our daycare's practices and our son ended up sick still.

[GoestoShow]

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Edited by GoestoShow - 12/17/10 at 9:09am

[caenach]

We had a lot of illness when DD started daycare, but much less now, especially with a really stable kid population at DCP.

Now that we're headed into flu season, I've stressed to our DCP that we're "working on" good hygiene habits and that I'd like them to help DD wash her hands and face regularly. We do a bath when we get home in the evening. DD gets a multivitamin, fish oil, and a probiotic every morning and I take pretty much the same. She eats yogurt with some flaxseed meal and vit-c rich fruit every day for lunch. I guess we'll see how much that all helps!

I'm not anti-vax, so I got a flu shot last week and will get the H1N1 vaccine if I can.

[plunky]

Originally Posted by Alyantavid

Also, are you giving antibiotics for any of these illnesses? If so, that's just damaging her immune system and she can't fight off the new bugs going around.

This is harmful misinformation. Antibiotics do not "just damage the immune system".

[Alyantavid]

Originally Posted by plunky

This is harmful misinformation. Antibiotics do not "just damage the immune system".

They do damage the immune system. Their entire purpose is to kill bacteria. This kills good and bad bacteria. Yes, it kills the bad stuff and makes people better, but it also kills the good stuff and weakens the immune system, making it harder to fight off future infections.

[kirstenb]

DS only ends up being out sick a few times a year. He gets sniffles every few months but nothing serious. I haven't really noticed a big difference from when he was an infant to now.

[Skippy918]

YES!! I am still breastfeeding as well! He started daycare at 4 months back in January and had the constant runny nose until May. Throw in RSV, 3 ear infections, more colds, and then recently some virus that caused a rash which every kid in his class ended up getting. He was really healthy for most of the summer, then he moved up to the toddler room and has come down with a couple of viruses, but he doesn't have the constant runny nose. On the upside, he missed a couple of nasty stomach bugs, one which my husband caught and ended up in the ER. I make sure to give him lots of fruits and veggies and yogurt.

[meemee]

dd didnt start dc till she was 2. before that she had gotten sick a few times but from 2 onwards every winter she had runny nose. nothing else but definitely a cold that just stayed from nov/dec to february/march.

that was till she was 4. after that she has rarely been sick. cold maybe once. from 5 to now which is 7 she has had her first ever but really bad however healed really quickly ear infection, a cold, and that's it. right now she is also getting over her dairy allergy and tolerates milk better.

[JL83]

I think some kids get sick easier than others.

My DD started daycare at 20 months and is now 3, she's been out sick maybe 3 or 4 times during that time period. But there are other kids in her class who seem to be out once a month.

I, however, have been the sickest that I've ever been since I finished university. I'm not getting it from work, and I wasn't this sick when it was just DH working so I don't think he's the cause. So I think I'm getting the 1 sickness/month that comes home on DD. She's fine though.

[slsurface]

OMG, was my guy sick!

When DS was about 5 months old, I started him in part-time daycare center. He caught every little bug that went through the place and they always turned into raging ear infections! It didn't seem to matter that he was solely breastfeed or that I ate a diet of while foods. It got a little better in the summer months, but was terrible in winter.

The following winter, I was a SAHM, and surprise, surprise, he rarely got sick. Eventually, at 18 months I went back to work full time. DS went to another center...again, he was sick often. He even brought home meningitis in the middle of the summer and we both suffered through that one together! The following fall when we shifted him to an in-home care setting with fewer kids, he was rarely ill. It worked out so much better for us.

Now he goes to a private preschool (he's 3 now) and he will get an occasional cold, but is not continually sick like before. I've also noticed that he doesn't get as sick as some of the other kids in his class. But thankfully, the school he is at now has a pretty strict policy against bring ill kids, so there are just fewer germs going around.

I know it's really tough when they keep catching every little bug. I think illness has to do with a lot of different factors, including how many kiddos they are exposed too, and their overall ability to fight off bugs (which varies by age and for each child). Good luck!

[~pi]

My DS got sick quite a bit his first 8-12 months in daycare. Then it leveled off quite a bit.

I've seen data that suggests that most kids will have a flurry of illnesses (mild or severe, depending on the child) at some point. If it isn't when they start daycare, it's when they start school, start playing on sports teams, or whenever they are finally introduced to a high-density, high-contact environment.

[LilMomma83]

DS1 (2.5yo) used to get sick all the time, he ended up having asthma, we got him on preventive meds and he gets sick less, and when he does get sick he is less sick. DS2 got the flu (he's 4mos and has been in daycare since 7wks) and got over it pretty quick...no other illnesses so far.

I think daycare probably exposes them more, but, in my experience there were other issues. FYI - it took over a year for me to convince the doctors something was "wrong" and it wasn't just "daycare" DS1 ended up having multiple ER trips (including one while we were our of town) and 2 cases back to back of pneumonia before I was taken seriously...if you think it is daycare than great, if you think it is something else than fight for your baby!

[sacredjourney]

I'm not sure how busy your daycare personal are, but could you send some hand sanitizer and ask them to use it right before any hand to mouth contact. I know some contact is impossible to prevent, but it may help. Also encouraging your LO not to put hands in the mouth. I bought a natural hand sanitizer which kills germs using essential oils. It has seemed to help since I asked dd's care giver to use it before meals.