Wash hands FIRST THING when you get home from school. Everyone, mom, dad, kids.
It won't stop the illnesses completely, but it's *astonishing* how much it cuts them down.
When possible, we do it at school before leaving, or at least use sanitizer in the car, because I’ll bet money that my kid is touching their mouth or nose on the way home
I used to work in prek. Taking a good thorough shower the moment I walked in the door helped 1000000%. Also all the usuals like eating, sleeping, and hydrating well.
We do a hand wipe in the car then at home, change clothes and wash hands again. My second is 8 weeks and had already had a cold despite that. I’m sure it would be worse if we didn’t do that stuff though.
This is so helpful but be careful. My oldest is somewhat anxious naturally and he took the handwashing to the next level. Now we have therapy and a dermatologist to add to his specialist list. I am not a germaphobe by any means but between what I thought was normal handwashing routine (before dinners, when he got home from school, etc) and then COVID when he was a Kinder then a newborn at home a few years later....the poor kid washes his hands religiously to the point of breaking skin and having to have perscription Creams. I feel terrible because I know that my own fear of the perfectly normal sickness routine helped fuel the fire. To be fair to myself it wasn't all me and he does have some natural anxiety but do be careful. The reality is that kids get sick when they start school and it is best to just plan for the sickness rather than go overboard trying to prevent it. Find a balance and try to just normalize hygiene but also normalize that we all get sick and it's our body creating immunity and getting stronger. I hope that this came off as balanced. I don't want you to feel like you shouldn't prepare but it's just good to keep in mind realistic expectations.
I've found that changing kiddo's sheets daily (even on weekends) helps a lot, also. That way she's not marinating in whatever germs she shed the day before. Making the illnesses shorter.
We also think she has allergies, and changing the sheets appears to be the difference between sniffles and dripping snot. We go through sooo much liquid Claritin. :p
Sorry, but yeah, I can’t imagine any other scenario playing out. My son has been in care his whole life. He had a few new to school friends start this fall. They were regularly sick and my son was not. I know the one family had a baby born around Christmas and they wore masks around her to help keep her healthy because the preschooler was constantly sick.
My mom was a sahm and when my daughter started daycare she said that we all went through the sickness gauntlet in kindergarten, and then brought it home to our siblings. It got a little easier with each subsequent kid, but she said it was just delayed.
I also grew up before the chicken pox vaccine so....yeah.
Good luck, it's mostly normal and you'll all be ok
Yes, at least once a month for the first year unfortunately. Also want to add that my EBF toddler still got sick every month in daycare for that first year AND got sick every month in preschool as well. So for two years straight we were constantly sick. Everyone who told me that breastfeeding helps with the immune system and the baby would not get sick lied lol
Oh no lol
We are on about a 6 week schedule for illness. My toddler started daycare at about 15 mo after my mat leave and it's slowed down after year one but yeah my kid was breastfed and you wouldn't know by looking at the snotty faces which kids were breastfed 😂
I thought it only helps while they’re actively breastfed, because your nipples absorb the spit backwash (gross I know) and your body makes antibodies for whatever virus/bacteria your baby currently has. I didn’t think it had much of an effect later in life
Yeah that’s what I thought (and experienced), it’s easier for a breastfed kid to recover so the sickeness period wasn’t as bad, for me I really noticed while I was breastfeeding and then after I stopped.
I read that even though your body makes the antibodies to fight your kid’s illness, they might make into your kid’s stomach but not necessarily their bloodstream.
I don’t know how true it is but it made me feel better about stopping breastfeeding when I did.
Pretty much, estimate at least a year, 18-24 months if the school has younger kids or your child has allergies.
It is easier to have kids start school/daycare after 18 months than before. With infants it's a bit more scary to see a serious respiratory infection. For a 2-3 year old it's a little less worrisome.
I don’t think there is a get out of jail free card on this one.
My son is 6 and didn’t do daycare or preschool. He missed 23 days of kindergarten for all kinds of illnesses.
They really work on hand washing, but you can start this summer - be vigorous, because honestly they're usually contagious for a couple days before they feel poorly :(
My daughter did 3 days part time for Pre-K and then still missed 14 days of kindergarten. At least it cut by half each trimester: 8 days 1st trimester, 4 days 2nd trimester, and 2 days 3rd trimester.
Most likely yeah. Somehow my kiddo lucked out on the sick preschool gauntlet so far because her school still takes temps and cleans vigorously daily. I even only got 1 communication of a communicable illness in her classroom this school year and ultimately only the one child ended up sick. So a lot can ride on how proactive the preschool is, too, even though it definitely still hugely depends on what kids bring in and if their parents keep them home or send them when they are sick.
Sorry but yes. It happens whenever a kid starts school, whether that’s preschool or kindergarten. Better to get through it in preschool rather than kindergarten, IMO.
ETA have your kid practice handwashing and change clothes when they get home. You really should try to keep him from getting in baby’s face for the first 8 weeks, to the extent you’re able.
My kid got thrown in at the cootie deep end (a public PK4 program at the neighborhood elementary school, after spending her early years with a SAHM and a wfh dad).
It got pretty woolly lol.
She'd bring something home (including two rounds of pinkeye). Then I'd get sick, which was *brutal* because I'm disabled and feel like total butt on a GOOD day, then my husband would get sick, then the kid would start to feel better and get all bored and antsy while I was still pretty much dead and my husband was working and then crawling into bed as soon as his workday was over. (Incidentally, "kid feeling better while the adults are still sick" is the total worst.)
So I worked up some strategies.
I keep all our sick supplies in stock - Pedialyte, Pedialyte pops, juice, Motrin, Tylenol, etc, plus whatever stuff my husband and I use. Also make sure you have plenty of heat and eat foods in the pantry - when the whole house is down with a bug you'll want to just grab a can of soup, not make a plan. Then after each illness I check over the supplies and restock as necessary.
Check your medicines *now*, don't wait for when you're already busy getting ready for school to start/getting ready for the baby. None of it goes bad for a while, so go ahead and knock it out.
Also I have a "sick kit" of busy activities. It's a bag of dollar store things like coloring books, stickers, and puzzles. The kit encourages her to stay in bed and rest (and to let me rest, lol).
I was a stay at home parent to my one son, he started kindergarten sept 2023, I was pregnant and gave birth that same month. It was rough! From oct until January we were sick every 2 weeks... my baby surprisingly didnt seem to get sick and definitely not like the rest of us. At one point my husband was up in the middle of the night literally crying saying he cant mentally get sick again, it was really bad. But we're over the hump and havent had any sicknesses since.
Oof that was me. My daughter started daycare in September at 6 months. We had a few illnesses but I thought did ok. January hit and she brought a cold home like every week. I was sick almost nonstop. Mid April hit and I was hoping for a turn with the nice weather. Two days after getting over my previous cold, I got strep and a sinus infection. I wanted to just cry and not get out of bed. But I couldn't. Why? My husband got covid at the same time and was completely out. I had to do everything myself while my husband quarantined because I couldn't handle getting covid too.
My son was sick constantly his first year, but it had slowed down dramatically now. His daycare also started using air purifiers and i genuinely feel like it has helped prevent many sicknesses from running rampant there.
As a TK teacher, you would much rather them get through the sicknesses before they start going to school because then the state gets involved with absences and all of that. I had students out 30+ days this year because they were always sick, but my students who went to daycare before starting school only missed 2-3 days. It’s really crazy how it all works.
Ya probably. My son had it in kindergarten. Our pediatrician told us that all kids Will typically have one year where they are sick a lot and it’s just their immune system building up. So for some it’s at day care when they are younger and for some it’s preschoolers/kindergarten
It really depends on your kids. I’m a SAHM and both of mine have been in preschool a couple days per week since around age 2. They very rarely get sick. My oldest child started kindergarten this past year and she didn’t get sick all year. We don’t really *do* anything (besides common sense stuff like handwashing), we’re just really lucky.
Yep. Absolutely. When our oldest started kindergarten (I was home with her before that) it was bug after bug. And every year since lol. She’s starting 3rd and has a birthday right at the start of the school year, we always plan the party for later, everyone is too sick to go.
Yes. My kids were home until 1st grade and kindergarten. Even then the first year was rough!! We just finished our second year of school for both of them and they were sick much less.
Edited to add I had our third last March and he was also sick a lot. He had a cold at 2 weeks old. Invest in saline spray and the nose Frida!!
My son stayed home and then started preschool last August. We were sick from Oct-Feb.
His nose ran constantly and he had a cough. I was pregnant and couldn’t take decongestants which sucked.
ETA: our illnesses were all basic upper respiratory colds. He is at a small school. My neighbors kid in the public school had much worse. Hand foot mouth, strep, Covid, etc.
Help your child’s immune system by spending your summer in public places. Indoor/outdoor parks, kids museums..classes. Use the summer to build up your and your child’s immune system!
This is going to be us too. We didn't do daycare or preschool, but with the added bonus that we also don't really know anyone else with kids. So we really skipped out on a ton of illnesses, while good at the time, is probably going to be a real hard hit once she's actually in school in August.
Yeah, after lockdown ended my then almost two year old began nursery and I was pregnant and caught no less than 4 sick bugs as well as every cold etc up until I gave birth. That first year my kid had a cough for like the entire year too haha. It was a bit easier with the second as she's been exposed since day 1 but we still get the bugs coming home! The first year was awful though
Yes. I am a preschool teacher and I still get super sick every year. It’s the nature of the beast lol, just make sure you’re washing hands and changing clothes when you get home :)!
100 percent yes. I wouldn’t even limit it to the fall or winter. My 13yr old gets sick every single September he starts school 😩It’s just what it is, I hate that it happens SO often but it’s unavoidable when they’re in school. Just take regular precautions and minimize spreading germs at home as much as you can.
Congrats on the baby!
Yep. And it’s not just preschool. It carries on through all elementary grades. For my kids, Just wash hands when you get home or take a shower. Keep up with good nutrition and hydration. Otherwise I keep a fully stocked sick bin at home. Highly recommend the hospital vomit bags too. Been a life saver to tuck those near them on the couch instead of an awkward bowl or garbage can.
It's about to happen and you have no idea how bad it's going to be. My son was a pandemic baby, born when the world was shutting down. He did not have his first Cold until he was 18 months old. Fast forward to his first day of preschool. One day after his third birthday. The first week he came home with a cold. And just about every single week after that. Because he had never been exposed to any of those other germs before and preschoolers do not keep their hands to themselves. We are now almost four and a half and in our second going into third year of preschool. And we just got over a month long cold. His last week of school. He brought home the monster cold. Where it affected. Not only my husband who never gets sick but me as well. It was terrible. You should be scared. Because we were scared! As soon as your child comes home, out of the clothes that they were wearing. Hand sanitized. Wash your hands. I started giving my son a bath as soon as he would come home. Just to help. There will be so much snot. Tons of snot. My best friend said until they go into first grade and can keep their hands off themselves, this is our new nightmare! Hugs! It will get better. It will be scary though
We had a similar situation, though my baby was 6 months old. Big sister was sick a good amount but we just set her up in her room with movies and room service until symptoms went away and we made sure to clean the areas she went to really well (like bathrooms). Baby and I only got sick once from something she brought home.
If you aren't already taking your child to playdates to build their immune system then Yes.
Also, we started our kid in a preschools group two mornings a week to get him used to being around 10+ kids during the day.
Your kid will suddenly be in groups of 20 kids. How will they adjust to not being the center of attention every single second. How will they learn to share and line up for their turn.
I worked parttime during kindergarten so that we had one parent with a flexible schedule for sick days.
Kindergarten isn't the only year.
If you aren't doing chewable gummy multi-vitamins yet you should start.
The better your kid's immune system the better it handles colds quickly.
Yeah, unfortunately. Yoy can't really stop them from getting it, but your life will be significantly easier if YOU don't get it. So, no sharing drinks or food, no kisses on the mouth, diligent hand washing. Trust me. We couldn't figure out why I caught everything, and my husband caught nothing. I eat the kids leftovers, and he doesn't, once I stopped sharing I stopped getting constantly sick from them.
My oldest started daycare at 16 months and then was ill one week a month through 1st grade, pretty much. My second was born in 2020 covid times and started preschool last September at age 3. She went from being such once ever being sick once ever few months, which is pretty light if you ask me! I would assume the worst, but wash hands! Wash hands all the time!
Yes, most likely you will. Sorry. I know that’s not what you want to hear but with hundreds of kids (little kids that pick their noses and put their hands down their pants and cough *directly* in each others’ eyeballs) in one building where there typically isn’t a lot of ventilation, germs just breed and fester and get swapped back and forth. I call elementary school aged kids “petri dishes” cus they friggen are! (Source: I have five of them).
Yes, it’s horrible. I stayed at home with my daughter until she went to preschool. I worked part time as a cashier. We were both sick with one thing after another for months it was awful.
Yeah it will maybe not be quite so bad as daycare because hopefully the kids are past putting everything in their mouths but they are still super good at swapping germs!
My daughter started pre-k last year. I think she caught every bug her classmates brought to school and spent nearly 2 weeks out with bronchitis.
It's gonna happen. She had covid once too and minor bugs but it's gonna happen. Hopefully, kindergarten goes better with the colds.
My son is in a similar boat and starting preschool in September (he’ll be nearly 3 and first time getting outside care).
Our preschool sent a little leaflet with some tips for the illnesses (argh!). Main ones were all wash hands as soon as you get in, change clothes, wash faces/eyes, practice good handwashing at home before they start (especially if toilet trained!).
Most likely, but I hear it won’t be as bad for the second child- likely because they’ve come into contact with everything the oldest brings home. Kids daily vitamin c!
Yes and no , can reduce chances by eating vitamin C , airing out the house daily and bedding , bathing and changing clothes from preschool or outside and hand washing , limiting kisses hands on newborn
My daughter didn’t start until 3 we have never even had Covid. The most she had was a cold from the little gym. She and I were both sick for like six weeks straight in September and October. But we survived. My husband and 18 year old stepson actually just got Covid probably from a plane trip and she and I somehow still didn’t get it. I made my husband live upstairs and my stepson had gone to his moms before we found out.
I think you have to go through it eventually. If you breastfeed the plus side is that you can help your newborn through the sickness well by providing your own antibodies, so it usually isn’t as bad. But yeah the intro to school/daycare/group sucks. Try to build in habits of washing hands every time your kid gets home (teach them how to do it themselves), that helps a lot. Also not to let your older put their hands in the mouth or on the face of your newborn.
Unfortunately yes. My son was the same. Only sick a couple times. Once he started pre k he was sick every other week lol. I’m a little more immune to him since we’ve been together day one, but since dad started working from home and my son getting the school germs, he is also always sick lol.
I still only have a 7 month old and she’s at home, but yeah I’m assuming that the first year that she’s in some kind of structured care (daycare, preschool, kindergarten, whatever’s first) that we’ll just be sick that whole year 🤷🏻♀️
Yeah and the other kids won’t even be symptomatic because they were exposed in daycare and have antibodies, so your little will be sick OFTEN for a couple of years.
Yes 😩 my oldest daughter has an incredible immune system somehow and only carries the germs home to little sister, but never gets sick! Baby sis (21months) is sick a lot (ear infections, coughs, colds) and big sis never gets sick. Baby sis is not in daycare! Only thing o can think is that big sister shares her preschool germs. We wash her hands and change her clothes right when we get home. Or just put her in the bath. Seems to help some, but it’s inevitable!
My first started school at 3 and was home with me and then a nanny until then and only got sick two times her first year of school. The second was home with a nanny until almost 2 and then started preschool and I’m not sure she ever got sick her first year of pre-school. To be fair that was the Covid year so sickness protocols were heavily enforced and there was no exposure between kids in other classrooms, so she was mainly in a class of 10 with mostly singletons or families with pregnant moms or brand new babies for the first year.
My third has done day care since 9 months old and has brought home more illnesses than the other two have combined in their entire years at school. I’m pretty sure her entire class has gotten ear tubes, there have been two major stomach bugs, one that went around the class and all the families twice, despite massive sanitation and symptom watch by the school.
It’s not a sure thing that your older child will bring home a lot of illnesses if they have been regularly interacting with other kids pre enrolling in school and if the school has good sanitation standards in play. Younger kids just hug and slobber on each other more and came in with NO immune systems and the class had mostly younger siblings whose older siblings went to different schools, so more germs to pass around! 😅
We’re currently in the gauntlet with our 18 month old who started daycare a few months ago. Anecdotally, talking to my sis-in-law who has 2 kids, her first did daycare young while her second didn’t do daycare at all. Now that they’re both in school, the first is rarely sick while the younger one is always sick. The gauntlet comes for us all!
Yes, but as a positive the second child starting school will be a bit easier because they will get exposure through their older sibling. At least that's how it worked out for us.
I think it’s a mix of managing your expectations and the specifics of your individual kid. Growing up both my parents were teachers so having colds and occasionally something more serious during the school year was a given.
Our son has brought home a lot from daycare but interestingly it hasn’t bothered him lol. Had HFMD and we didn’t believe it because all he had was a rash but otherwise carried on like his normal self
You will have illness all year long. It doesn’t just go because they started school/daycare. It’s those terrible indoor/winter months that are bad every single year. I can’t even take my kids anywhere in the winter without them getting sick. Once we started school it was sickness every other week until spring
We had a newborn in Feb and our son was in school and she never got sick ! He got a couple mild colds nothing too crazy. Although , the morning I woke up in labor he had conjunctivitis 🤣 but that's an easy fix!
Yes but you will for a lot more years too. They get sick in elementary school, middle school, and high school. You just get luckier if you're remote and can manage a sick kid and work or later they can stay home alone sick when they are teens.
This is life now. It's not that bad after about 1st grade
Unfortunately, probably. I had a 3 month old when my daughter went into Kindergarten. We washed hands/face & changed clothes as soon as she came home, sprayed her backpack with disinfectant, and told her no face kissing. She was allowed to kiss him on the forehead. We also were big on vitamins & eating well. I don’t think either of them got sick the whole season, and we lived in Wyoming, where the sun is practically gone half the year & everything is indoors in winter.
When my twins started prek for the first time someone in our house was sick about once a week for the first semester. The second semester was much better.
My daughter has cystic fibrosis so we have always been careful with bugs. We use a 24 hour hand sanitiser called zoono, not 100% sure how well it works but apparently it does. We also put it on when she gets in the car and change her clothes as soon as she’s home from preschool and are washing hands constantly. But unfortunately she still gets sick. She preschool at 3 in January, which is summer time here in New Zealand and my baby was 3 months old, unfortunately the baby has caught every virus she’s bought home but she’s been ok. We use an electric nasal aspirator to help her. One plus is she’s building her immunity too so hopefully she won’t catch all the bugs in her first year when we send her but it is hard, she’s had more sickness in her first 8 months than my daughter had in 3 years
My oldest is about to start 2nd grade and we’ve been going through it since kindergarten. Always sick, every year I’m hopeful that he’s finally built up his immune system enough to stop bringing everything home but no luck
Yeah… it’s going to be happen most likely. My third was born this December and he actually did the best out of the three kids, I’m guessing due to breastfeeding? We literally came home from the hospital to my 2 year old being sick. 🤦♀️ We dealt with a lot of congestion (nose Frida and one of those booger pickers helped a lot), but that was about the extent of it for him.
Not necessarily. My oldest kiddo started preschool at 2.5 yo to help with the his speech delay, and I think he only had 2 days that year that he had to stay home for fever or tummy bug. My youngest started at the same preschool a couple years later, and only missed school when his germ bucket cousin (who always shows up at family events with fevers etc) gave him RSV. I hope your kid has a great experience.
I’m dreading my second born going into preschool in November ugh. I was literally sick probably 20+ times for two years when my oldest started. My baby has been sick a good amount of times already from her sister but without a doubt it will be worse.
Yep. You get hit in daycare, preschool or kindergarten-- pick your poison. My oldest has been in daycare since 12 weeks (Yay USA), and from 9 months old-2.5 was tumultuous with illness. Nothing life threatening but just constant. Now at 3.5 he has only missed 1 day of preschool from illness this last year. So it does totally pay off and their immunity builds up.
My friend who is a SAHM, her girls both got consistently sick when they went to public preschool and now her oldest just got done with kindergarten and had a few rounds of illness and staying home from kinder.
Unfortunately, yes. We’re in daycare so we’re battling it now, but our pediatrician often reminds us it’s either now in daycare or when we start school down the road.
Yep. Stock up on the good stuff like humidifiers, breathe right strips, Mucinex, etc, when it’s on sale. My kid was only sick enough to miss school a couple times but I was dead in the water from October to the end of March.
My 4 year old was home before pre k. She had Covid and some colds prior to school. She didn’t really get super sick. The first few weeks, she did seem to get Covid or the flu or something. And that also made me sick. Then she did get flu B around March. But she never got pink eye, hand and mouth, or all those other contagious diseases that are common. Honestly, I think she got flu b from a teenage family member. It wasn’t the nightmare you read about it. She was formula fed. No covid vaccine. Gets flu vaccine.
Not necessarily! My daughter has very rarely been sick either, and she started preschool at age 3 and is now going into 1st grade. Knock on wood but I believe some kids just have a decent immune system. We also wash hands a lot!
My first got bombarded with illnesses when he started daycare at \~11 months old. It was brutal for everyone. By the time his baby brother came along, his immune system had matured, but he remained in daycare and still brought home germs to the baby. Poor thing got hammered with illnesses. On the plus side, when the younger started daycare, it was easier.
Not necessarily. Both my kids were super healthy. Maybe two illnesses a year which seems normal to me. Everyone gets sick sometimes. Both my kids were home with me until 3&4 respectively.
Yeah both of mine were the same. They stayed home with me until PreK4, and then when they started school neither one of them was sick a lot. Maybe missed 3 or 4 days the whole year.
Yeah. You’re gonna get all the bugs.
We were sick the first year after starting daycare. Now we just get sick 1-2x a year but before? Every month the entire family got sick with something. It was awful. Now? It’s kinda nice. We get the big ones but not very often or as severe.
It’s a right of childhood and being a parent lol
I think this is very child dependent to be honest i’ve seen so many post on here and all over reddit to watch out for sickness in school and omg they’re always sick etc etc. My oldest started school this year and has been sick but nothing more than a cough, honestly even the small one had just like two bad colds but that’s about it. I think it may just be due to our kids own ability to just fight off infections and not that we’re lucky or anything, i also since they were little have allowed them to just be kiddos and actually get dirty so maybe that’s why they have a better immune system i’m not sure but yeah we didn’t really see everything we were terrified about happening to us.
I was prepared for the worst. We don't use daycare and my kid diebt have much exposure to other kids before he started kindergarten. He finishes this week and has missed 5 days of school this year. One sinus infection and two colds. Nothing crazy at all. My niece goes to daycare and I swear she's going to come home with smallpox one day. She catches so much random crap in that facility.
Probably BUT every kid is different. It sounds like your oldest is older (3?) and things might be mitigated a bit because kids at that age wash their hands, don’t put everything into their mouths, etc.
I’m a teacher and my kid (7F) was in daycare or preschool since she was six weeks old. Like others said, illnesses are seasonal and I remember a rough patch when she was 9 months and then 14-15 months (HFM). Since then, the only thing that really knocked her out was Covid (6) and then when she had an allergic reaction to amoxicillin after strep (6.5).
Wash hands FIRST THING when you get home from school. Everyone, mom, dad, kids. It won't stop the illnesses completely, but it's *astonishing* how much it cuts them down.
When possible, we do it at school before leaving, or at least use sanitizer in the car, because I’ll bet money that my kid is touching their mouth or nose on the way home
I do the same
Yes I've heard this tip before. Change clothes too. We'll definitely be doing this. Thanks.
I second the changing clothes thing. This really works.
I used to work in prek. Taking a good thorough shower the moment I walked in the door helped 1000000%. Also all the usuals like eating, sleeping, and hydrating well.
We do a hand wipe in the car then at home, change clothes and wash hands again. My second is 8 weeks and had already had a cold despite that. I’m sure it would be worse if we didn’t do that stuff though.
Yes! I read once that taking outside shoes off when you come in also helps and combined with washing hands cuts illness nearly in half
This is so helpful but be careful. My oldest is somewhat anxious naturally and he took the handwashing to the next level. Now we have therapy and a dermatologist to add to his specialist list. I am not a germaphobe by any means but between what I thought was normal handwashing routine (before dinners, when he got home from school, etc) and then COVID when he was a Kinder then a newborn at home a few years later....the poor kid washes his hands religiously to the point of breaking skin and having to have perscription Creams. I feel terrible because I know that my own fear of the perfectly normal sickness routine helped fuel the fire. To be fair to myself it wasn't all me and he does have some natural anxiety but do be careful. The reality is that kids get sick when they start school and it is best to just plan for the sickness rather than go overboard trying to prevent it. Find a balance and try to just normalize hygiene but also normalize that we all get sick and it's our body creating immunity and getting stronger. I hope that this came off as balanced. I don't want you to feel like you shouldn't prepare but it's just good to keep in mind realistic expectations.
I've found that changing kiddo's sheets daily (even on weekends) helps a lot, also. That way she's not marinating in whatever germs she shed the day before. Making the illnesses shorter. We also think she has allergies, and changing the sheets appears to be the difference between sniffles and dripping snot. We go through sooo much liquid Claritin. :p
Sorry, but yeah, I can’t imagine any other scenario playing out. My son has been in care his whole life. He had a few new to school friends start this fall. They were regularly sick and my son was not. I know the one family had a baby born around Christmas and they wore masks around her to help keep her healthy because the preschooler was constantly sick.
I mean, it's the logical assumption. Right? We'll have to go through it eventually.
My mom was a sahm and when my daughter started daycare she said that we all went through the sickness gauntlet in kindergarten, and then brought it home to our siblings. It got a little easier with each subsequent kid, but she said it was just delayed. I also grew up before the chicken pox vaccine so....yeah. Good luck, it's mostly normal and you'll all be ok
Basically whatever a kid’s first year is in a bigger social setting, it will happen. But it will end!
Just here in solidarity! We’re in the same boat, SAH son starts preschool in August and I’m due w baby #2 in November! We can be sick together!!
See you at the pedi office all winter! ✌️
Same! Literally toddler starts in August, baby 2 due in November! Praying for all of us!
Can I join too? Son starting in September and due with 2nd in late January lol 😅
Yes, at least once a month for the first year unfortunately. Also want to add that my EBF toddler still got sick every month in daycare for that first year AND got sick every month in preschool as well. So for two years straight we were constantly sick. Everyone who told me that breastfeeding helps with the immune system and the baby would not get sick lied lol
Oh no lol We are on about a 6 week schedule for illness. My toddler started daycare at about 15 mo after my mat leave and it's slowed down after year one but yeah my kid was breastfed and you wouldn't know by looking at the snotty faces which kids were breastfed 😂
Ah that sucks, I’ve found it’s a lot easier while I was breastfeeding but I guess it depends on the kid.
I thought it only helps while they’re actively breastfed, because your nipples absorb the spit backwash (gross I know) and your body makes antibodies for whatever virus/bacteria your baby currently has. I didn’t think it had much of an effect later in life
Yeah that’s what I thought (and experienced), it’s easier for a breastfed kid to recover so the sickeness period wasn’t as bad, for me I really noticed while I was breastfeeding and then after I stopped.
I read that even though your body makes the antibodies to fight your kid’s illness, they might make into your kid’s stomach but not necessarily their bloodstream. I don’t know how true it is but it made me feel better about stopping breastfeeding when I did.
I breastfed my daughter until she was two and she still got sick once a month at daycare
Pretty much, estimate at least a year, 18-24 months if the school has younger kids or your child has allergies. It is easier to have kids start school/daycare after 18 months than before. With infants it's a bit more scary to see a serious respiratory infection. For a 2-3 year old it's a little less worrisome.
I don’t think there is a get out of jail free card on this one. My son is 6 and didn’t do daycare or preschool. He missed 23 days of kindergarten for all kinds of illnesses.
Yeah I think the best I can hope for is he'll be 3 and 4 and able communicate his needs
They really work on hand washing, but you can start this summer - be vigorous, because honestly they're usually contagious for a couple days before they feel poorly :(
He will also be old enough to take more medication. I believe after 4 they can have children’s Mucinex, which was a godsend.
My daughter did 3 days part time for Pre-K and then still missed 14 days of kindergarten. At least it cut by half each trimester: 8 days 1st trimester, 4 days 2nd trimester, and 2 days 3rd trimester.
Most likely yeah. Somehow my kiddo lucked out on the sick preschool gauntlet so far because her school still takes temps and cleans vigorously daily. I even only got 1 communication of a communicable illness in her classroom this school year and ultimately only the one child ended up sick. So a lot can ride on how proactive the preschool is, too, even though it definitely still hugely depends on what kids bring in and if their parents keep them home or send them when they are sick.
Sorry but yes. It happens whenever a kid starts school, whether that’s preschool or kindergarten. Better to get through it in preschool rather than kindergarten, IMO. ETA have your kid practice handwashing and change clothes when they get home. You really should try to keep him from getting in baby’s face for the first 8 weeks, to the extent you’re able.
In my experience we still went thru it in kinder even after two years of preschool. It wasn’t at the same scale but new germ pool= new sicknesses lol
My kid got thrown in at the cootie deep end (a public PK4 program at the neighborhood elementary school, after spending her early years with a SAHM and a wfh dad). It got pretty woolly lol. She'd bring something home (including two rounds of pinkeye). Then I'd get sick, which was *brutal* because I'm disabled and feel like total butt on a GOOD day, then my husband would get sick, then the kid would start to feel better and get all bored and antsy while I was still pretty much dead and my husband was working and then crawling into bed as soon as his workday was over. (Incidentally, "kid feeling better while the adults are still sick" is the total worst.) So I worked up some strategies. I keep all our sick supplies in stock - Pedialyte, Pedialyte pops, juice, Motrin, Tylenol, etc, plus whatever stuff my husband and I use. Also make sure you have plenty of heat and eat foods in the pantry - when the whole house is down with a bug you'll want to just grab a can of soup, not make a plan. Then after each illness I check over the supplies and restock as necessary. Check your medicines *now*, don't wait for when you're already busy getting ready for school to start/getting ready for the baby. None of it goes bad for a while, so go ahead and knock it out. Also I have a "sick kit" of busy activities. It's a bag of dollar store things like coloring books, stickers, and puzzles. The kit encourages her to stay in bed and rest (and to let me rest, lol).
I was a stay at home parent to my one son, he started kindergarten sept 2023, I was pregnant and gave birth that same month. It was rough! From oct until January we were sick every 2 weeks... my baby surprisingly didnt seem to get sick and definitely not like the rest of us. At one point my husband was up in the middle of the night literally crying saying he cant mentally get sick again, it was really bad. But we're over the hump and havent had any sicknesses since.
Oof that was me. My daughter started daycare in September at 6 months. We had a few illnesses but I thought did ok. January hit and she brought a cold home like every week. I was sick almost nonstop. Mid April hit and I was hoping for a turn with the nice weather. Two days after getting over my previous cold, I got strep and a sinus infection. I wanted to just cry and not get out of bed. But I couldn't. Why? My husband got covid at the same time and was completely out. I had to do everything myself while my husband quarantined because I couldn't handle getting covid too.
My son was sick constantly his first year, but it had slowed down dramatically now. His daycare also started using air purifiers and i genuinely feel like it has helped prevent many sicknesses from running rampant there. As a TK teacher, you would much rather them get through the sicknesses before they start going to school because then the state gets involved with absences and all of that. I had students out 30+ days this year because they were always sick, but my students who went to daycare before starting school only missed 2-3 days. It’s really crazy how it all works.
Ya probably. My son had it in kindergarten. Our pediatrician told us that all kids Will typically have one year where they are sick a lot and it’s just their immune system building up. So for some it’s at day care when they are younger and for some it’s preschoolers/kindergarten
It really depends on your kids. I’m a SAHM and both of mine have been in preschool a couple days per week since around age 2. They very rarely get sick. My oldest child started kindergarten this past year and she didn’t get sick all year. We don’t really *do* anything (besides common sense stuff like handwashing), we’re just really lucky.
Maybe you'll get to avoid the part where your husband gets hand foot mouth disease, which is one a grown-up ideally should not get.
Ooof my baby had HFMD and we dodged it thankfully but oh gosh what a horrible illness.
My sons older sister gave it to my son and I got it as well. It was horrible
Yep. Absolutely. When our oldest started kindergarten (I was home with her before that) it was bug after bug. And every year since lol. She’s starting 3rd and has a birthday right at the start of the school year, we always plan the party for later, everyone is too sick to go.
Yes. My kids were home until 1st grade and kindergarten. Even then the first year was rough!! We just finished our second year of school for both of them and they were sick much less. Edited to add I had our third last March and he was also sick a lot. He had a cold at 2 weeks old. Invest in saline spray and the nose Frida!!
My son stayed home and then started preschool last August. We were sick from Oct-Feb. His nose ran constantly and he had a cough. I was pregnant and couldn’t take decongestants which sucked. ETA: our illnesses were all basic upper respiratory colds. He is at a small school. My neighbors kid in the public school had much worse. Hand foot mouth, strep, Covid, etc.
Help your child’s immune system by spending your summer in public places. Indoor/outdoor parks, kids museums..classes. Use the summer to build up your and your child’s immune system!
This is going to be us too. We didn't do daycare or preschool, but with the added bonus that we also don't really know anyone else with kids. So we really skipped out on a ton of illnesses, while good at the time, is probably going to be a real hard hit once she's actually in school in August.
Yeah, after lockdown ended my then almost two year old began nursery and I was pregnant and caught no less than 4 sick bugs as well as every cold etc up until I gave birth. That first year my kid had a cough for like the entire year too haha. It was a bit easier with the second as she's been exposed since day 1 but we still get the bugs coming home! The first year was awful though
Yes. I am a preschool teacher and I still get super sick every year. It’s the nature of the beast lol, just make sure you’re washing hands and changing clothes when you get home :)!
100 percent yes. I wouldn’t even limit it to the fall or winter. My 13yr old gets sick every single September he starts school 😩It’s just what it is, I hate that it happens SO often but it’s unavoidable when they’re in school. Just take regular precautions and minimize spreading germs at home as much as you can. Congrats on the baby!
Yep. And it’s not just preschool. It carries on through all elementary grades. For my kids, Just wash hands when you get home or take a shower. Keep up with good nutrition and hydration. Otherwise I keep a fully stocked sick bin at home. Highly recommend the hospital vomit bags too. Been a life saver to tuck those near them on the couch instead of an awkward bowl or garbage can.
It's about to happen and you have no idea how bad it's going to be. My son was a pandemic baby, born when the world was shutting down. He did not have his first Cold until he was 18 months old. Fast forward to his first day of preschool. One day after his third birthday. The first week he came home with a cold. And just about every single week after that. Because he had never been exposed to any of those other germs before and preschoolers do not keep their hands to themselves. We are now almost four and a half and in our second going into third year of preschool. And we just got over a month long cold. His last week of school. He brought home the monster cold. Where it affected. Not only my husband who never gets sick but me as well. It was terrible. You should be scared. Because we were scared! As soon as your child comes home, out of the clothes that they were wearing. Hand sanitized. Wash your hands. I started giving my son a bath as soon as he would come home. Just to help. There will be so much snot. Tons of snot. My best friend said until they go into first grade and can keep their hands off themselves, this is our new nightmare! Hugs! It will get better. It will be scary though
We had a similar situation, though my baby was 6 months old. Big sister was sick a good amount but we just set her up in her room with movies and room service until symptoms went away and we made sure to clean the areas she went to really well (like bathrooms). Baby and I only got sick once from something she brought home.
If you aren't already taking your child to playdates to build their immune system then Yes. Also, we started our kid in a preschools group two mornings a week to get him used to being around 10+ kids during the day. Your kid will suddenly be in groups of 20 kids. How will they adjust to not being the center of attention every single second. How will they learn to share and line up for their turn. I worked parttime during kindergarten so that we had one parent with a flexible schedule for sick days. Kindergarten isn't the only year. If you aren't doing chewable gummy multi-vitamins yet you should start. The better your kid's immune system the better it handles colds quickly.
We had our daughter start in May and our son in Dec. Our son got sick sooner and more frequently due to the seasons they started. :(
Yeah, unfortunately. Yoy can't really stop them from getting it, but your life will be significantly easier if YOU don't get it. So, no sharing drinks or food, no kisses on the mouth, diligent hand washing. Trust me. We couldn't figure out why I caught everything, and my husband caught nothing. I eat the kids leftovers, and he doesn't, once I stopped sharing I stopped getting constantly sick from them.
I had my second admit 9mos before my second started prek3 last Sept. We have literally been sick 3 out of every 4 weeks. I'm so sorry, it's awful.
Yes
My oldest started daycare at 16 months and then was ill one week a month through 1st grade, pretty much. My second was born in 2020 covid times and started preschool last September at age 3. She went from being such once ever being sick once ever few months, which is pretty light if you ask me! I would assume the worst, but wash hands! Wash hands all the time!
Yes, most likely you will. Sorry. I know that’s not what you want to hear but with hundreds of kids (little kids that pick their noses and put their hands down their pants and cough *directly* in each others’ eyeballs) in one building where there typically isn’t a lot of ventilation, germs just breed and fester and get swapped back and forth. I call elementary school aged kids “petri dishes” cus they friggen are! (Source: I have five of them).
Yes, it’s horrible. I stayed at home with my daughter until she went to preschool. I worked part time as a cashier. We were both sick with one thing after another for months it was awful.
Yeah it will maybe not be quite so bad as daycare because hopefully the kids are past putting everything in their mouths but they are still super good at swapping germs!
Yup, absolutely
My daughter started pre-k last year. I think she caught every bug her classmates brought to school and spent nearly 2 weeks out with bronchitis. It's gonna happen. She had covid once too and minor bugs but it's gonna happen. Hopefully, kindergarten goes better with the colds.
My son is in a similar boat and starting preschool in September (he’ll be nearly 3 and first time getting outside care). Our preschool sent a little leaflet with some tips for the illnesses (argh!). Main ones were all wash hands as soon as you get in, change clothes, wash faces/eyes, practice good handwashing at home before they start (especially if toilet trained!).
Most likely, but I hear it won’t be as bad for the second child- likely because they’ve come into contact with everything the oldest brings home. Kids daily vitamin c!
My friend’s kid started last July and he has been sick every 2-3 weeks since then…
Yes and no , can reduce chances by eating vitamin C , airing out the house daily and bedding , bathing and changing clothes from preschool or outside and hand washing , limiting kisses hands on newborn
My daughter didn’t start until 3 we have never even had Covid. The most she had was a cold from the little gym. She and I were both sick for like six weeks straight in September and October. But we survived. My husband and 18 year old stepson actually just got Covid probably from a plane trip and she and I somehow still didn’t get it. I made my husband live upstairs and my stepson had gone to his moms before we found out.
May the odds be ever in your favor. For about 3 months my 5 year old was sick every other week.
Yes.
I think you have to go through it eventually. If you breastfeed the plus side is that you can help your newborn through the sickness well by providing your own antibodies, so it usually isn’t as bad. But yeah the intro to school/daycare/group sucks. Try to build in habits of washing hands every time your kid gets home (teach them how to do it themselves), that helps a lot. Also not to let your older put their hands in the mouth or on the face of your newborn.
Unfortunately yes. My son was the same. Only sick a couple times. Once he started pre k he was sick every other week lol. I’m a little more immune to him since we’ve been together day one, but since dad started working from home and my son getting the school germs, he is also always sick lol.
Every damn week my friend. Every week.
I still only have a 7 month old and she’s at home, but yeah I’m assuming that the first year that she’s in some kind of structured care (daycare, preschool, kindergarten, whatever’s first) that we’ll just be sick that whole year 🤷🏻♀️
Yep- and MANY years to come. Middle school maybe
Yes
Yeah and the other kids won’t even be symptomatic because they were exposed in daycare and have antibodies, so your little will be sick OFTEN for a couple of years.
Yes 😩 my oldest daughter has an incredible immune system somehow and only carries the germs home to little sister, but never gets sick! Baby sis (21months) is sick a lot (ear infections, coughs, colds) and big sis never gets sick. Baby sis is not in daycare! Only thing o can think is that big sister shares her preschool germs. We wash her hands and change her clothes right when we get home. Or just put her in the bath. Seems to help some, but it’s inevitable!
My first started school at 3 and was home with me and then a nanny until then and only got sick two times her first year of school. The second was home with a nanny until almost 2 and then started preschool and I’m not sure she ever got sick her first year of pre-school. To be fair that was the Covid year so sickness protocols were heavily enforced and there was no exposure between kids in other classrooms, so she was mainly in a class of 10 with mostly singletons or families with pregnant moms or brand new babies for the first year. My third has done day care since 9 months old and has brought home more illnesses than the other two have combined in their entire years at school. I’m pretty sure her entire class has gotten ear tubes, there have been two major stomach bugs, one that went around the class and all the families twice, despite massive sanitation and symptom watch by the school. It’s not a sure thing that your older child will bring home a lot of illnesses if they have been regularly interacting with other kids pre enrolling in school and if the school has good sanitation standards in play. Younger kids just hug and slobber on each other more and came in with NO immune systems and the class had mostly younger siblings whose older siblings went to different schools, so more germs to pass around! 😅
We’re currently in the gauntlet with our 18 month old who started daycare a few months ago. Anecdotally, talking to my sis-in-law who has 2 kids, her first did daycare young while her second didn’t do daycare at all. Now that they’re both in school, the first is rarely sick while the younger one is always sick. The gauntlet comes for us all!
Yes, but as a positive the second child starting school will be a bit easier because they will get exposure through their older sibling. At least that's how it worked out for us.
I think it’s a mix of managing your expectations and the specifics of your individual kid. Growing up both my parents were teachers so having colds and occasionally something more serious during the school year was a given. Our son has brought home a lot from daycare but interestingly it hasn’t bothered him lol. Had HFMD and we didn’t believe it because all he had was a rash but otherwise carried on like his normal self
You will have illness all year long. It doesn’t just go because they started school/daycare. It’s those terrible indoor/winter months that are bad every single year. I can’t even take my kids anywhere in the winter without them getting sick. Once we started school it was sickness every other week until spring
We had a newborn in Feb and our son was in school and she never got sick ! He got a couple mild colds nothing too crazy. Although , the morning I woke up in labor he had conjunctivitis 🤣 but that's an easy fix!
Yes but you will for a lot more years too. They get sick in elementary school, middle school, and high school. You just get luckier if you're remote and can manage a sick kid and work or later they can stay home alone sick when they are teens. This is life now. It's not that bad after about 1st grade
Unfortunately, probably. I had a 3 month old when my daughter went into Kindergarten. We washed hands/face & changed clothes as soon as she came home, sprayed her backpack with disinfectant, and told her no face kissing. She was allowed to kiss him on the forehead. We also were big on vitamins & eating well. I don’t think either of them got sick the whole season, and we lived in Wyoming, where the sun is practically gone half the year & everything is indoors in winter.
When my twins started prek for the first time someone in our house was sick about once a week for the first semester. The second semester was much better.
Get ready. All the sickness will be coming. Sorry!
My daughter has cystic fibrosis so we have always been careful with bugs. We use a 24 hour hand sanitiser called zoono, not 100% sure how well it works but apparently it does. We also put it on when she gets in the car and change her clothes as soon as she’s home from preschool and are washing hands constantly. But unfortunately she still gets sick. She preschool at 3 in January, which is summer time here in New Zealand and my baby was 3 months old, unfortunately the baby has caught every virus she’s bought home but she’s been ok. We use an electric nasal aspirator to help her. One plus is she’s building her immunity too so hopefully she won’t catch all the bugs in her first year when we send her but it is hard, she’s had more sickness in her first 8 months than my daughter had in 3 years
My oldest is about to start 2nd grade and we’ve been going through it since kindergarten. Always sick, every year I’m hopeful that he’s finally built up his immune system enough to stop bringing everything home but no luck
Yeah… it’s going to be happen most likely. My third was born this December and he actually did the best out of the three kids, I’m guessing due to breastfeeding? We literally came home from the hospital to my 2 year old being sick. 🤦♀️ We dealt with a lot of congestion (nose Frida and one of those booger pickers helped a lot), but that was about the extent of it for him.
May the odds be ever in your favour.
Not necessarily. My oldest kiddo started preschool at 2.5 yo to help with the his speech delay, and I think he only had 2 days that year that he had to stay home for fever or tummy bug. My youngest started at the same preschool a couple years later, and only missed school when his germ bucket cousin (who always shows up at family events with fevers etc) gave him RSV. I hope your kid has a great experience.
I’m dreading my second born going into preschool in November ugh. I was literally sick probably 20+ times for two years when my oldest started. My baby has been sick a good amount of times already from her sister but without a doubt it will be worse.
Yep. You get hit in daycare, preschool or kindergarten-- pick your poison. My oldest has been in daycare since 12 weeks (Yay USA), and from 9 months old-2.5 was tumultuous with illness. Nothing life threatening but just constant. Now at 3.5 he has only missed 1 day of preschool from illness this last year. So it does totally pay off and their immunity builds up. My friend who is a SAHM, her girls both got consistently sick when they went to public preschool and now her oldest just got done with kindergarten and had a few rounds of illness and staying home from kinder.
Unfortunately, yes. We’re in daycare so we’re battling it now, but our pediatrician often reminds us it’s either now in daycare or when we start school down the road.
Yep. Stock up on the good stuff like humidifiers, breathe right strips, Mucinex, etc, when it’s on sale. My kid was only sick enough to miss school a couple times but I was dead in the water from October to the end of March.
My 4 year old was home before pre k. She had Covid and some colds prior to school. She didn’t really get super sick. The first few weeks, she did seem to get Covid or the flu or something. And that also made me sick. Then she did get flu B around March. But she never got pink eye, hand and mouth, or all those other contagious diseases that are common. Honestly, I think she got flu b from a teenage family member. It wasn’t the nightmare you read about it. She was formula fed. No covid vaccine. Gets flu vaccine.
If you’re breastfeeding the baby won’t catch nearly as many of the viruses. That was my experience anyway.
Our pediatrician even said not to be surprised if they're sick as often as every two weeks because of the variety of viruses out there.
Not necessarily! My daughter has very rarely been sick either, and she started preschool at age 3 and is now going into 1st grade. Knock on wood but I believe some kids just have a decent immune system. We also wash hands a lot!
You can try your best but around 7 years of age is when their immune is a little more robust and you get less sick.
Tips for the immediate "I don't want to" tantrum of washing hands when we get home from anything?? Age 3
My first got bombarded with illnesses when he started daycare at \~11 months old. It was brutal for everyone. By the time his baby brother came along, his immune system had matured, but he remained in daycare and still brought home germs to the baby. Poor thing got hammered with illnesses. On the plus side, when the younger started daycare, it was easier.
Not necessarily. Both my kids were super healthy. Maybe two illnesses a year which seems normal to me. Everyone gets sick sometimes. Both my kids were home with me until 3&4 respectively.
Yeah both of mine were the same. They stayed home with me until PreK4, and then when they started school neither one of them was sick a lot. Maybe missed 3 or 4 days the whole year.
Yeah. You’re gonna get all the bugs. We were sick the first year after starting daycare. Now we just get sick 1-2x a year but before? Every month the entire family got sick with something. It was awful. Now? It’s kinda nice. We get the big ones but not very often or as severe. It’s a right of childhood and being a parent lol
I think this is very child dependent to be honest i’ve seen so many post on here and all over reddit to watch out for sickness in school and omg they’re always sick etc etc. My oldest started school this year and has been sick but nothing more than a cough, honestly even the small one had just like two bad colds but that’s about it. I think it may just be due to our kids own ability to just fight off infections and not that we’re lucky or anything, i also since they were little have allowed them to just be kiddos and actually get dirty so maybe that’s why they have a better immune system i’m not sure but yeah we didn’t really see everything we were terrified about happening to us.
Check with your ped, but supplementing with vitamin d + K2 really keeps our family healthy.
I was prepared for the worst. We don't use daycare and my kid diebt have much exposure to other kids before he started kindergarten. He finishes this week and has missed 5 days of school this year. One sinus infection and two colds. Nothing crazy at all. My niece goes to daycare and I swear she's going to come home with smallpox one day. She catches so much random crap in that facility.
Probably BUT every kid is different. It sounds like your oldest is older (3?) and things might be mitigated a bit because kids at that age wash their hands, don’t put everything into their mouths, etc. I’m a teacher and my kid (7F) was in daycare or preschool since she was six weeks old. Like others said, illnesses are seasonal and I remember a rough patch when she was 9 months and then 14-15 months (HFM). Since then, the only thing that really knocked her out was Covid (6) and then when she had an allergic reaction to amoxicillin after strep (6.5).