My Daughter Has Been Sick Since Joining Daycare

Hi O. I stayed home with my daughter for a year and then I went back to work and she went to daycare. My daughter was sick every month for year while in daycare. We had tubes put in her ears and her addenoids taken out the day after christmas and she has been so much better. It really makes a difference the tubes that is. I thought she would never get better. But Im keeping my fingers crossed she stays okay while the weather keeps changing.

O.

I am a Head Start Director, and it is normal for a first time child in a Daycare, Pre-k or Head Start setting to get sick over everything, especially when they have not been in this type of setting. It will get better as her body adjust to all the germs.
Good Luck
T.

It is normal. She wasn't exposed to very much since she was at home. Now she's exposed to illnesses and she is building up her immune system. I would suggested a good vitamin, especally this time of year. Try Akins Food store on Memorial or Sherry's drug in Edmond. They are both very helpful and will be able to suggest something for her age. They will even have a liquid that you can put in her drink so it will be easier to get her to take it. Something else that helps, if she has a stuffy nose, is Baby Simple Saline. It thins the mucas so she can breath easier.
Take care!

O., that is completely normal. When your kids are at home with you all the time, they're only exposed to whatever you and your husband bring home to them. Daycare exposes them to the world, and whatever is going around at the time. It is really frustrating, and after awhile, it will back off and slow down. She will still get sick, but it won't be a constant getting-sick-evey-week thing. I've got two boys, 7 and 2, and when the oldest started school, he was sick all the time. He's hardly ever sick now. The two year old was sick all the time when he first started daycare, and several months later, it's leveled out and he's hardly sick at all. Hang in there, it will get better.

My first question would be... How long has she been in Daycare? It is absolutely normal for them to be sick at first. Usually a couple of months. Going to daycare exposes her to so many different little people with all new "germs" that her body is not used to. It will take a little time for her immune system to build up to fight these "germs". However, if she is running fever greater than 100.4 degrees, pulling her ears, has diarrhea or vomiting then definitley seek your Dr. for help. I hope this helps & that she feels better soon!

I think it will pass--my daughter hadn't been around other children much until she started kindergarten and it seemed like she was sick the whole year. Also, I constantly had a cold or other virus the first year I taught in a pre-k class.

Completely normal. I think most doctors tell you that your child's immune system is still in development until about 18 months old, then they start being able to fend stuff off a little better. My poor son came home with something every Friday for 5 months straight. Then there was other stuff in b/w that too. I kept mine out for as long as I could, then finally put him in at about 8 months. He's now 13 months and has finally been able to hold his own the past couple of weeks. It does get better. You just might have to wait a while.

It will pass. My first son was in daycare from the time he was 7 weeks old. He was sick alot the first two years. Then it just stopped. I can't say he is never sick but he is now almost 5 five and I do think it has made his immune system stronger.

Here's a quote from mercola.com in an article called:
The Reason for Childhood Diseases By Philip F. Incao, M.D.

"A growing body of medical research supports the commonsense idea that children who experience frequent infections and inflammations in early childhood will strengthen their immune systems and will be less prone to allergies and asthma than children who rarely experience such infections.

This idea is called "the hygiene hypothesis".

If the hygiene hypothesis proves to be correct, it will have a revolutionary impact on medical practice. We will realize that when children experience their cold and fevers, they are challenging their immune systems and developing an inner strength which will be theirs throughout life.

As with all challenges in childhood, our job as parents and healthcare workers will be to strengthen the child to meet its challenges but not to remove the challenges altogether.
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Children must experience illness to build their immune systems or they will be sick adults. They usually have illnesses frequently until the age of 7 then it drops off. Unless they are "protected" from these germs, then what happens is as soon as they are exposed to the germs later in life they get sick anyway but it's worse because adults are different. They don't rest when sick, take off work, etc...they suffer more.

Sorry to hear that your daughter has been sick. Yes, this is common. My son was sick every other week for the first 6 months. It's frustrating, but her system will eventually fight off most of the stuff. Good luck!

Hi O.,

I remember what you are going through. Long ago when returning to work my 1 and 1/2 yr old had diareah for 3 weeks straight. She was in a daycare at that time. She finally got better, then there was an opening in a day care home, which suited her and me a whole lot better.

Sometimes just being in an environment with other kids/people in general children will naturally 'catch' things. You sound like a great mom, you will make right decisions. The Bible says, 'in the multitude of counselors there is safety', so you are doing good to ask questions!

O.,
First I wnat to say YES this is perfectly normal. I know it has to be hard for you and very hard on your daughter. I am a former child care director and for many years saw this very same thing. It seems it doesn't matter if your child is 6 months or 4 yrs. old when the start a day care or preschool program for the first time they get sick. Their immunne systems just haven't built up and it is no fault of anyone it just happens. I can assure you that after a few weeks maybe upto a few months she will continue to have some illness but it will stop. She is in a new environment that has demand changes on her physically and mentally this will effect how her body responds to the illness as well. i encourage you to give he a multi vitamin and don't give up.
Sinceley,
M.

I use to work daycare for a few years...i can tell you that she should get better it will take about a month or two...her little immune system has to build up first to fight off everything that is comes in contact with... Hope everything works out for you with the daycare and hope this helps a little for you...

H. c.

I agree with the others...completely normal. Her immune system will build up. (Our son actually always got most of his colds from the church nursery on Sundays) I am a kindergarten teacher, and I will say that it is true. I can almost always tell who was not in daycare because they miss a LOT of school during kindergarten because they catch every virus that goes through.

R.

She has to build immunity to everything out there. Staying at home she is only affected by what comes to her. But, out at a daycare she is open to everything! Honestly while at daycare there is nothing you can do. Just wash her hands when she gets home and give it some time.

I work at a doctors office and the first 3-4 months there. I got what seemed to be everything that came in the door. So it happens to adults as well as children

I'm sorry to hear!

Keep her sugar intake to a minimum. Sugar kills the immune system. This includes the natural sugars in fruits and juices.

Give her probiotics.

Start feeding her - and the family - miso soup regularly.

Make sure she's washing her hands after all the usual stuff.

Teach her to keep her hands away from her face. If she has to rub her eyes, teach her to do it with her knuckle or her wrist.

L.

Hi O.,
Your daughter being sick weekly is normal. Her little immune system is getting used to "new germs". It should pass. Not saying it will, but it should. My daughter stayed in a private home for 1 1/2 years and when she started day-care she was always sick. But after about a few months and getting tubes put in her ears; she is now 4 1/2 and is hardly ever sick. With that being said, I also have a 1 year old son. When he was 8 weeks old I went back to work full-tim and nursed him fully until he was 7 months. He stayed sick, even though I nursed. He was diagnosed with bronchitis twice, and RSV once. Every time my son got sick, it went straight to his lungs and he had to be on breathing treatments for weeks at a time. He finally had to be taken out of day-care due to his low immune system. He did not have a low immune system disorder, but just a weaker immune than most children; that is what our doctor told us. He has been in private care for 4 months, he still gets an occasional cold and has to have his treatments (pulmicort and albuterol), but he does not stay sick for 4 weeks at a time. I guess the bottom line is every child is different, every child's immune system reacts differently to differnt colds and bugs. I would just try and stick it out unless she is just never getting better.

This is perfectly normal and as backwards as it seems, is actually a good thing. She is exposed to a lot of germs she wasn't getting exposure to while she was at home so her body is fighting them off. It will pass but it lasts for quite a while initially. Something you will notice when she starts school isthe children in her class who stayed at home until starting school are missing a lot of school due to illness versus the children who have been in daycares. Those kids are simply going through the same process. I've found children exposed and fight germs younger actually have a better immune system as they grow up.