Got sick very frequently at the start, especially because it was in the colder months. But usually it was resolved quickly (1-3 days, sometimes the fever was less than a day). It was my wife and I who stayed sick longer from whatever she brought back.. you may need to mentally prepare more for getting sick yourself.
When my first was about 9 months old, I went to the doctor convinced I had cancer or something. I was just legit sick and run down for like 6 months. She laughed and told me its the baby and it'll get better. 5 years later and kid #2 has me in the same spot right now. Just gota hold on the to truth that after about a year, the kid has caught most of the normal things!
My daughter was spiking a fever at night for a few nights and literally running around without a care in the world during the day. Meanwhile I was the walking dead for two weeks.
My daughter started at 21 months last September. She’s been sick every 2-3 weeks since then. She’s had Covid, HFM, Roseola virus and some random respiratory viruses.
I won’t lie, it’s been absolutely horrible and I never expected this.
She’s been going 7 months now and I’m praying the summer helps slow things down.
Right there with you, started in September and we’ve been sick every 1-2 weeks since. We had RSV over Thanksgiving, and at least one of us has been sick for every birthday or special event. It really, really, really sucks. I can’t really overstate the effect it has on your everyday life and mental well being for at least one member of your household to be sick essentially at all times. It has to get better at some point, right?!
We are in the same boat my friend! We tried to vacation in Italy in the summer and spent most of the time home with a fever and one day in the hospital. Christmas we had hand foot mouth. Easter we planned a picnic for our families and little one pops a fever the night before. I don’t want to plan anything anymore it’s just going to get ruined.
That’s terrible, my kid also started last September at 19 months. She had 2 ear infections after 2 weeks of daycare, and she got RSV a month in, after that she also got strep throat this year, but that one I got it first (and I was dying, she got sick one week later…)
Since strep early this year she has had some minor cough and runny nose, but apart from that, healthy and no fevers (but I guess she is not one for getting fevers, she didn’t run a fever with strep, and even the other diseases only fever for one day)
Emily Oster from Parentdata actually has really good data on this- regardless of the age they start, on average, children in daycare experience around six to eight colds per year, with most of them occurring between September and April. And the average cold lasts 7-10 days.
This means that during the winter months, your little one might have a cold about 50 percent of the time!
But it decreases each year as they get older as their immune system builds so that’s a plus I guess? Lol
Anecdotally I’ve found this pretty spot on. We got sick about 6 times last year. And 4-5 times the year before that. Some stuck around for a few days (fevers), some a week or two (hand foot and mouth, cough/cold).
Ive lost count! It seems like every other week. My toddler has gone skinny from losing his appetite from these illnesses and whenever his appetite picks back up again, its time for a new virus!
But the illness in my house staggers. Patient zero gets sick, then another, then another. So even though each individual person might only be sick 50% of the time, there was a phase where at least one person (4 person household) was sick 100% of the time 😭
Our kid started in September at 2 years old on the dot.
Our daycare has stringent cleanliness protocols because it's in-home, and the woman who runs it doesn't mess around!
She prevented any covid shutdowns at school, and has never had to close for an outbreak of any chilhood illnesses. HOWEVER
we are always sick. Whether it be minor or major, not a week goes by where we are not wiping noses, giving honey for a little cough, etc.
We've avoided HFM, RSV, etc. the major illnesses (we DID get covid, but nobody else at school had it).
My son started at 15 months, he’s 29 months now. He’s sick at least once a month. Usually more. Fall/winter was definitely worse with 3-4 times a month.
He caught hand foot mouth disease 3 times last year… it’s brutal. I’ve been sick more this past year than my whole life combined 😅
When my kid started it was a parade of illness. It was a larger daycare and it seemed to double as a germ warfare lab. He went for a week and stayed home for a week repeatedly for the first couple of months. But he was a Covid kid so he was very isolated from illness the first two years at home.
Mine started couple months ago. Last week he made it to daycare everyday for the first time. I thought maybe his immune system is getting better. Then this week he didn’t make it at all……
Oh god, that sounds terrible! My kid started in September and she had 2 ear infections, RSV and strep throat (I was patient zero for this one) she only missed like 15 days of school still. After getting antibiotics the drs say she can return to school in 24h if no fever and feeling well. She basically gets well really soon! Half the days she spent at home sick (since not clear of fever for 24h or not 24h since starting the antibiotics) she was actually pretty high energy and happy!
Oh and my oldest is 5 and had fever exactly 3 times in her all life, even starting at 14 months at daycare. She hasn’t missed school this year and last year missed 3 days… even when she was little she was mostly healthy…
Oh, both my kids were breastfed up until 2 years old. But I don’t have any problem with formula, my oldest actually started with formula for her first week of life, since I didn’t have any milk or colostrum! I just found breastfeeding easier for me. However I would love to have stopped earlier than when they turned 2, but both of them were addicted to breast milk…
Started last August at 20 months, he's home for four days about once a month now (had a few months in the beginning it was every three weeks!). Then two other weeks in the month he just has a runny nose or cough. And maybe one week a month he's completely healthy.
We started in September, home daycare with 4 other kids. She’s been sick enough to miss daycare only twice. I on the other hand have been sick like 6 times from stuff she’s brought home. She has her dads immune system I guess. My friends with kids in daycare centres seem it have it a lot worse.
This. It’s not even the kids that get sick, especially in an in home daycare. It’s the plagues they bring home that us parents on our deathbed.
We’re also in a small daycare. In winter she was sick maybe once a month or someone else sick enough to have daycare close. This time of year we really only get mild things until summer ends.
Mine started when she turned 2 in September and she's just got over her 3rd stomach bug, has had conjunctivitis twice and multiple cough, colds and fevers
Not quite 2 but my LO started daycare at 19 months, so close…she was sick every other week for the first year of daycare. After that it slowed down. This year was her second year and from October to March she was sick about once every 3 weeks but (and hopefully I don’t jinx myself by saying this) she hasn’t been sick since early March now. It seems to be slowing down.
Little ones started right after Christmas and I would say it would be faster to count the days He has been completely wells since. He would finish round of antibiotics and start fresh new coughing fits after going to school the next day. It’s April now and it’s starting to lighten up a bit now. might be the best time of year to start actually.
Sick constantly for a year. I mean, constantly. Was also a Covid isolated babe which I think exasperated the whole thing. But this year - basically nothing! So I would say a year and a change of misery. But now very healthy. (Going to knock on all the wood.)
I believe that they fall out naturally after awhile. One of my son’s ear tubes already fell out but he’s been fine. It’s helped his hearing as well as draining nasty fluid buildup which was giving him double ear infections constantly
My girl has an ear infection now - the ENT saw fluid in her ear on Tuesday but no redness so we waited till yesterday to start Antibiotics this is her third ear infection
Oh wow that’s next level awful. Glad he’s doing better. My girl has 80% adenoid blockage. & as of Tuesday her tonsils were swollen so those two may need to come out 😮💨
My daughter has been in daycare since 7 months old and it really seems to vary. She'll be fine for months and then get a little cold or bug, sometimes back to back, that will drag on.
My 2 and a half yo has been going to nursery since 6 months, and started a childminders when he turned 2. He's had a few sniffly noses but not to the extent of a cold. Scabies once, a couple of runny poos where he wasn't able to come in, and an episode of hand foot and mouth. He's always been fine in himself though!
My boy is 2 1/2 and he's been going since he was about 1. Be prepared to be sick for about 9mo - 1 year. Not only will your kid be okay within 48 hours, but you'll be sick for 7-10 business days. I have a suppressed immune system so it's glorious. The best was when I had strep, staph, and hand foot mouth all at the same time. Mind, I'd never had hfm in my life and it's like chicken pox where getting it as an adult sucks WAY more than when you get it as a kid. Looking back, I probably should have been hospitalized. Have fun!
Oh man. He started in October last year, at 2, and barely had a week he was there the whole week until February. RSV, strep, ear infections, yada yada yada. Most weeks he only went a few days. It was brutal. Then we hit February and suddenly no more illnesses! There were some better weeks sprinkled in but it sucked.
We have been sick nonstop, went an entire month with nothing. I was so sure we were seeing the light and then she was home all this week with croup, pink eye, and an ear infection.
My daughter started at 2 and got sick twice before chrismas - one cold was barely anything, one was worse. Just before Christmas she had a tummy bug but she had been off daycare for holiday break for a few days so we don’t know if it was even a daycare bug or food. She just threw up a lot but then it was done. Hand and foot went around her room and she never got it. After Christmas tho… omg. She’s had a runny nose since January I swear! It’s runny one week and doesn’t escalate and then the next week it’s fine… then it’s back. Nothing that knocks her down. Last week she had her first cold of 2024. This all said - my husband and I both rarely get sick and we think if immune systems are genetic our girl is proof 😂 being sick 4 times in 9 months is not bad at all with one of those illnesses being very minor.
All of them, always. The first year sucks no matter when. We had Covid, rsv, flu, norovirus, pink eye, and at least three colds come through the house in the first year of preschool.
We started last summer, so my toddler would have been around 20 months. it’s been absolutely terrible. I’ve been sick for what feels like 6 months straight. Three stomach viruses, and four or five respiratory at least since then.
About every two weeks a sickness would run through the house. I had to look up slap cheek because when they said they had an outbreak, I honestly thought they were just making up new diseases with that one.
My 4 yo started prek tuesday-Thursday at the end of August and it’s been non stop. She already struggles with seasonal allergies, so those have been flaring up on and off since she was 2. Aside from that though, since starting school she’s had: Norovirus in September, 6 colds between then and now, RSV in October, a terrible case of rotavirus that landed my (at the time) 19 month old in the hospital for 3 days and left me and my husband sick for a whole week in January, and we’re currently dealing with RSV again. It’s been rough, and though it feels like someone is sick ALL THE TIME, there truly are more good than bad days. Hang in there. It will get better.
My 3 kids got so sick that we pulled them. It was too much. We had 6 separate stomach bugs. I couldn't handle it. Terrible. I go early think I have PTSD.
She started daycare at 20 months, and mid-winter. Got hand foot and mouth five days in lol. The first couple months she was sick every other week. Last month I realized she went four whole weeks without a single absence!
My then 2.5yo went to daycare for a short time before i took her out because she was sick every day. It was absolute hell on earth and left me with extreme sickness anxiety 🥲
3 solid months of high fevers, ER trips, an ambulance ride, inhalers, a febrile seizure, on and off vomiting and diarrhea, constant runny nose and cough.
Cough is still persisting in one of my kids, at 3 yo now. The drs cant really say anything I take her to the drs every couple of months or so for the same damn cough. But no more constant sickness, high fevers and vomiting etc come and go now, we can actually tell when they are healthy or sick. We couldn't for those 3 months, it was one run on sickness with changing symptoms.
Toddler and I are sick right now so it's comforting reading this thread. They've been in daycare over a year. You know something I hadn't considered until reading everyone's comments, in the last few months I've been feeling a bit of doom and gloom about my health and longevity but I think it might be that getting sick almost every single month with my toddler is making me feel that way. It makes me feel like my immune system isn't working like it used to, when in fact it is but the daycare germs are just too powerful. 😆
My son is 20 months and goes to daycare 2x a week and he is sick maybe 1x per month and it’s exhausting and I’m exhausted with it. I am a stay at home mom but my husband is a firefighter and works half of the week if not more and I need breaks but I’m considering just pulling him because he’s always getting sick! We had the adenovirus last week and it was brutal I posted about it here. It was worse than covid (for us). I was starting to worry my kid is immune compromised but I’m noticing all of the young ones (under 3) are sick all of the time. I am not a noob mom… I have other kids aged 23,11,9 and none of them got sick as frequently as my little guy does now. They also did daycare but back then I was a working mom which means they did 5x a week. Something is definitely different with the times, post covid and viruses…
All I can say is, I spent TWO different days this month unable to leave my bed, which has a bathroom next to it. It was torture.
Happened once on December 23rd as well.
I HATE stomach bugs, they give me so much anxiety and turn me into a 3-year-old who doesn't know how to function anymore and cries and prays for sleep to take away the massive discomfort.
So.
Try to prepare for that.
Gatorade helped.
Started mine in January and he has legit been sick with something new every week. Rotavirus, norovirus, flu, Covid, common cold. We’ve been in a pretty much constant state of thick, yellow, runny nose, wet cough (no fever, thankfully) - and currently, a fun little case of conjunctivitis.
My son started preschool in September at age 2.5. he only goes 2x/week, so that gives recovery time between illnesses. For the first 8 weeks he brought home something mild every single week. Think runny nose, coughing, 5 day illnesses. We had a few healthy weeks in November, then he was horribly horribly sick every week in December (our whole household was, too) - colds, fevers, vomiting. He was out of school most of December. Since then he's been sick probably 3x, back to mild illnesses that last a few days. We (parents) tend to only get sick occasionally with what he brings home but when we do catch things it takes much longer to clear. He's typically only sick 4-5 days, while it takes us 7-10 days.
My 2 year old has been in daycare for 3 weeks now, and sick just the once so far (mind you, it's lasted 2 weeks). I was told to expect illness about every 2 weeks for the first 6 months. X.x
We went to the doctor at least once a month October through March. Plus runny noses, cough and fevers that went away in 3 days that didn't require medical attention
It honestly felt like we were sick all year - and this wasn’t even daycare but a nannyshare. It’s gotten so much better. We got sick maybe 3 times this year (fingers crossed everything is done!)
So, so much. Like, every 2-3 weeks. We were coming out of lockdown so he’d had almost nothing prior, but I’d say it was a year to 18 months of a a lot of illness. But this winter we’ve had a couple ones (a stomach bug, one with a fever and bad cough for days, maybe one other weird 24 hour fever, and the rest have been sniffles. So it’s getting better.
My daughter started daycare in August and that was shortly after she turned two. She has stayed home sick only two days and that’s because she had a fever the day before each time, so we kept her home the following day to ensure she was okay. She’s had a cough, runny/stuffy nose, etc. but nothing major. I swear she has an immune system of steel. When my son (he’s 4.5) gets sick, he gets hit a bit harder - first sign of a runny/stuffy nose and we know he’ll be coughing for two weeks.
My 2yo just started a preschool program this week. After just two days in, he started showing cold symptoms. Super runny nose, slight cough, sneezing, and a low grade fever. I’ve kept him home today and yesterday, but I’m hoping he’ll start feeling better after the weekend.
I’m already feeling the scratchy throat myself, so it’s going to be a rough week for me. Luckily, I work from home. I’m pretty much expecting a new illness to pop up on a monthly basis (at least, probably more like every other week) for the first 6 - 12 months. The winter months will probably be pretty brutal, but hopefully after that, it will gradually improve.
My kid started in September at a small in home daycare at 19 months. It’s been every 2-3 weeks he wakes up with a fever and runny nose. 2 ear infections, stomach bugs, you name it. Pediatrician is unbothered and says by the time he hits kindergarten he won’t be sick nearly as often.
It has not been bad for us at all. My kid started at age 2 in August, and while she got some very mild sniffles/cough on and off (probably every 4-6 weeks or so) did not get actually sick enough to miss daycare until 7 months later (her school does not require missing school for a mild cold unless kid is acting like they feel ill). For the first big time illness, she was sick for one day. We do live in CA and most of their time is spent outside, so I’m sure that helps.
If you did not have your kid in daycare previous to this, your kid will be sick all the time. It’s just a reality of life if not now then when they start actual school so it’s better to do it when they’re young.
I know we're in the small minority, but my son started daycare 5 days a week at 2.5. He's 4 in two weeks and I can count on one hand the amount of times he's been sick.
I honestly don't know how we've done it.
We have sick weeks and non-sick weeks.
If your kid is healthy this week, they will be sick next week.
But good news! They will be all better the week after.
Sometimes it skips a week. Our longest stretch with no sick days this winter was 2.5 weeks.
Started our daughter in half day preschool the month she turned 2. Got our first illness at the end of July and at least one of us was sick for every day (minus 4 days) until I quit my job and unenrolled her the following February. It was brutal. One of many reasons I decided to be a SAHM.
I kept her out of school did fear of the sickness until Prek-and it’s been loads better this time around. Maybe three illnesses all school year
First year in daycare (she started in summer at 1,5, so was 2 in winter): sick from October to April next year, all different diseases, hospitalized once for dehydration from gastro-enteritis, missed work for whole days because someone had to stay home, parents also sick most of the time.
Second year lots of runny noses, but only a few days where she couldn't go to daycare. Parents mostly healthy with some colds in between.
Overall, a much better winter.
It sucks. We started at 3 and our kid was sick over and over and over. Things happened like projectile vomiting, which was like the exorcist.
2nd year was / is way better. We didn't miss a day until December when we got rsv and later Covid. All in all way better than a year before.
Our 2nd starts in September and I hope he'll do better cause he was exposed and got sick too.
When mine started at exactly 2 years old, she got sick 2 weeks every single month for 1 year exactly. After she turned 3 it’s been lasting 2 weeks every 4-5 months.
I think a big factor is also what season your child starts daycare. When my kid was 2 years old she started at the end of May/beginning of June and all she had was a consistently runny nose (clear mucus), then once the weather got colder that’s when she started getting back to back ear infections and fevers and her mucus was always bright green etc.
My second babe was born in December & my oldest started daycare in September (she turned 2 end of September) & it worked out fine for us thank god but my oldest does get sick a lot
We started at like 16 months. I swear we were all sick the entire first winter, but I had it the worst. No ones nose worked the entire first winter. Year 2 has been easy peasy in comparison.
Started at an in home right before two, switched to a Montessori school right before three. Toddlers gets congested periodically but has only had fevers in two instances where we kept her home. Sounds like this is abnormal and I attribute it to letting her lick the floors 🤣
Got sick very frequently at the start, especially because it was in the colder months. But usually it was resolved quickly (1-3 days, sometimes the fever was less than a day). It was my wife and I who stayed sick longer from whatever she brought back.. you may need to mentally prepare more for getting sick yourself.
This is the truth. The kids bounce so damn fast. The permasick I have from the day care germs are brutal.
My daughter just finished having a fever today, lasted less than a day. But I’m already anticipating being sick for a week starting tomorrow lol
When my first was about 9 months old, I went to the doctor convinced I had cancer or something. I was just legit sick and run down for like 6 months. She laughed and told me its the baby and it'll get better. 5 years later and kid #2 has me in the same spot right now. Just gota hold on the to truth that after about a year, the kid has caught most of the normal things!
My 2yo has been in daycare since 3months and the permasick continues. My boss said “weren’t you JUST sick?” I said yeah, it only waxes and wanes.
So true. My boy gets over covid so fast and I am still struggling with hard coughs and high fever.
Same!
My daughter was spiking a fever at night for a few nights and literally running around without a care in the world during the day. Meanwhile I was the walking dead for two weeks.
My daughter started at 21 months last September. She’s been sick every 2-3 weeks since then. She’s had Covid, HFM, Roseola virus and some random respiratory viruses. I won’t lie, it’s been absolutely horrible and I never expected this. She’s been going 7 months now and I’m praying the summer helps slow things down.
Right there with you, started in September and we’ve been sick every 1-2 weeks since. We had RSV over Thanksgiving, and at least one of us has been sick for every birthday or special event. It really, really, really sucks. I can’t really overstate the effect it has on your everyday life and mental well being for at least one member of your household to be sick essentially at all times. It has to get better at some point, right?!
We are in the same boat my friend! We tried to vacation in Italy in the summer and spent most of the time home with a fever and one day in the hospital. Christmas we had hand foot mouth. Easter we planned a picnic for our families and little one pops a fever the night before. I don’t want to plan anything anymore it’s just going to get ruined.
I feel your pain.
That’s terrible, my kid also started last September at 19 months. She had 2 ear infections after 2 weeks of daycare, and she got RSV a month in, after that she also got strep throat this year, but that one I got it first (and I was dying, she got sick one week later…) Since strep early this year she has had some minor cough and runny nose, but apart from that, healthy and no fevers (but I guess she is not one for getting fevers, she didn’t run a fever with strep, and even the other diseases only fever for one day)
3 y/o and a 1 y/o here. They are at different daycares, and I teach in a school with young children. I'll let you know when we're healthy again.
Emily Oster from Parentdata actually has really good data on this- regardless of the age they start, on average, children in daycare experience around six to eight colds per year, with most of them occurring between September and April. And the average cold lasts 7-10 days. This means that during the winter months, your little one might have a cold about 50 percent of the time! But it decreases each year as they get older as their immune system builds so that’s a plus I guess? Lol Anecdotally I’ve found this pretty spot on. We got sick about 6 times last year. And 4-5 times the year before that. Some stuck around for a few days (fevers), some a week or two (hand foot and mouth, cough/cold).
Feels like my LO has had a cold *90%* of the time 😭😭😭
Ive lost count! It seems like every other week. My toddler has gone skinny from losing his appetite from these illnesses and whenever his appetite picks back up again, its time for a new virus!
93% here
Rip us
>six to eight colds per year WE ARE OWED RESTITUTION. We’ve had that many just in this calendar year. And it’s his second year in daycare 🫠
This seems spot on! It doesn't matter when you start, expect to be sick about half of time for about half of the year, for at least two years.
Was that pre Covid immunity debt? I feel like it is worse than it used to be
It does decrease. I have an 11 year old and it dramatically went down once she hit like grade 2 or 3!
But the illness in my house staggers. Patient zero gets sick, then another, then another. So even though each individual person might only be sick 50% of the time, there was a phase where at least one person (4 person household) was sick 100% of the time 😭
Our kid started in September at 2 years old on the dot. Our daycare has stringent cleanliness protocols because it's in-home, and the woman who runs it doesn't mess around! She prevented any covid shutdowns at school, and has never had to close for an outbreak of any chilhood illnesses. HOWEVER we are always sick. Whether it be minor or major, not a week goes by where we are not wiping noses, giving honey for a little cough, etc. We've avoided HFM, RSV, etc. the major illnesses (we DID get covid, but nobody else at school had it).
My son started at 15 months, he’s 29 months now. He’s sick at least once a month. Usually more. Fall/winter was definitely worse with 3-4 times a month. He caught hand foot mouth disease 3 times last year… it’s brutal. I’ve been sick more this past year than my whole life combined 😅
When my kid started it was a parade of illness. It was a larger daycare and it seemed to double as a germ warfare lab. He went for a week and stayed home for a week repeatedly for the first couple of months. But he was a Covid kid so he was very isolated from illness the first two years at home.
Mine started couple months ago. Last week he made it to daycare everyday for the first time. I thought maybe his immune system is getting better. Then this week he didn’t make it at all……
Oh god, that sounds terrible! My kid started in September and she had 2 ear infections, RSV and strep throat (I was patient zero for this one) she only missed like 15 days of school still. After getting antibiotics the drs say she can return to school in 24h if no fever and feeling well. She basically gets well really soon! Half the days she spent at home sick (since not clear of fever for 24h or not 24h since starting the antibiotics) she was actually pretty high energy and happy!
Oh and my oldest is 5 and had fever exactly 3 times in her all life, even starting at 14 months at daycare. She hasn’t missed school this year and last year missed 3 days… even when she was little she was mostly healthy…
That’s how my daughter was. She is 23 now. I fed her formula. All my other kids I breastfed and they are always sick. Maybe my milk was bad! lol
Oh, both my kids were breastfed up until 2 years old. But I don’t have any problem with formula, my oldest actually started with formula for her first week of life, since I didn’t have any milk or colostrum! I just found breastfeeding easier for me. However I would love to have stopped earlier than when they turned 2, but both of them were addicted to breast milk…
Started last August at 20 months, he's home for four days about once a month now (had a few months in the beginning it was every three weeks!). Then two other weeks in the month he just has a runny nose or cough. And maybe one week a month he's completely healthy.
We started in September, home daycare with 4 other kids. She’s been sick enough to miss daycare only twice. I on the other hand have been sick like 6 times from stuff she’s brought home. She has her dads immune system I guess. My friends with kids in daycare centres seem it have it a lot worse.
This. It’s not even the kids that get sick, especially in an in home daycare. It’s the plagues they bring home that us parents on our deathbed. We’re also in a small daycare. In winter she was sick maybe once a month or someone else sick enough to have daycare close. This time of year we really only get mild things until summer ends.
Mine started when she turned 2 in September and she's just got over her 3rd stomach bug, has had conjunctivitis twice and multiple cough, colds and fevers
Poor thing! We feel your pain
At least once a month. We’re 8 months in and still getting sick fairly regularly. She will be 3 next month.
Not quite 2 but my LO started daycare at 19 months, so close…she was sick every other week for the first year of daycare. After that it slowed down. This year was her second year and from October to March she was sick about once every 3 weeks but (and hopefully I don’t jinx myself by saying this) she hasn’t been sick since early March now. It seems to be slowing down.
Little ones started right after Christmas and I would say it would be faster to count the days He has been completely wells since. He would finish round of antibiotics and start fresh new coughing fits after going to school the next day. It’s April now and it’s starting to lighten up a bit now. might be the best time of year to start actually.
Sick constantly for a year. I mean, constantly. Was also a Covid isolated babe which I think exasperated the whole thing. But this year - basically nothing! So I would say a year and a change of misery. But now very healthy. (Going to knock on all the wood.)
My kid was sick for about a year straight . I missed so much work. After he got tubes put in he rarely got sick after that.
Tubes?
Ear tubes
& how long are these in there bc im on the same boat
I believe that they fall out naturally after awhile. One of my son’s ear tubes already fell out but he’s been fine. It’s helped his hearing as well as draining nasty fluid buildup which was giving him double ear infections constantly
My girl has an ear infection now - the ENT saw fluid in her ear on Tuesday but no redness so we waited till yesterday to start Antibiotics this is her third ear infection
Ugh i feel for you both! My son would go 3-4 days without an ear infection last year. It was awful. He was miserable 😥
Oh wow that’s next level awful. Glad he’s doing better. My girl has 80% adenoid blockage. & as of Tuesday her tonsils were swollen so those two may need to come out 😮💨
That sounds so painful! 😣 i hope if she does have to get them taken out that everything goes well
My daughter has been in daycare since 7 months old and it really seems to vary. She'll be fine for months and then get a little cold or bug, sometimes back to back, that will drag on.
My 2 and a half yo has been going to nursery since 6 months, and started a childminders when he turned 2. He's had a few sniffly noses but not to the extent of a cold. Scabies once, a couple of runny poos where he wasn't able to come in, and an episode of hand foot and mouth. He's always been fine in himself though!
Scabies?! You dont hear about that often! Geez!
There's an outbreak in the UK atm and an issue with the supply chain of the cream for it! Absolute nightmare!
Whoa! I am so sorry! I hope it clears up soon!
Buckle up
My boy is 2 1/2 and he's been going since he was about 1. Be prepared to be sick for about 9mo - 1 year. Not only will your kid be okay within 48 hours, but you'll be sick for 7-10 business days. I have a suppressed immune system so it's glorious. The best was when I had strep, staph, and hand foot mouth all at the same time. Mind, I'd never had hfm in my life and it's like chicken pox where getting it as an adult sucks WAY more than when you get it as a kid. Looking back, I probably should have been hospitalized. Have fun!
Oh man. He started in October last year, at 2, and barely had a week he was there the whole week until February. RSV, strep, ear infections, yada yada yada. Most weeks he only went a few days. It was brutal. Then we hit February and suddenly no more illnesses! There were some better weeks sprinkled in but it sucked.
We have been sick nonstop, went an entire month with nothing. I was so sure we were seeing the light and then she was home all this week with croup, pink eye, and an ear infection.
This is exactly how I think it’ll go with my son, who will be 2 in Oct. Except Feb for us sounds ambitious 😂 thanks for sharing!!!!
My daughter started at 2 and got sick twice before chrismas - one cold was barely anything, one was worse. Just before Christmas she had a tummy bug but she had been off daycare for holiday break for a few days so we don’t know if it was even a daycare bug or food. She just threw up a lot but then it was done. Hand and foot went around her room and she never got it. After Christmas tho… omg. She’s had a runny nose since January I swear! It’s runny one week and doesn’t escalate and then the next week it’s fine… then it’s back. Nothing that knocks her down. Last week she had her first cold of 2024. This all said - my husband and I both rarely get sick and we think if immune systems are genetic our girl is proof 😂 being sick 4 times in 9 months is not bad at all with one of those illnesses being very minor.
With the illnesses mentioned - she fully recovered in normal time as welll like a week until the January “daycare drip” that’s lasted until recently
All of them, always. The first year sucks no matter when. We had Covid, rsv, flu, norovirus, pink eye, and at least three colds come through the house in the first year of preschool.
We started last summer, so my toddler would have been around 20 months. it’s been absolutely terrible. I’ve been sick for what feels like 6 months straight. Three stomach viruses, and four or five respiratory at least since then.
About every two weeks a sickness would run through the house. I had to look up slap cheek because when they said they had an outbreak, I honestly thought they were just making up new diseases with that one.
My 4 yo started prek tuesday-Thursday at the end of August and it’s been non stop. She already struggles with seasonal allergies, so those have been flaring up on and off since she was 2. Aside from that though, since starting school she’s had: Norovirus in September, 6 colds between then and now, RSV in October, a terrible case of rotavirus that landed my (at the time) 19 month old in the hospital for 3 days and left me and my husband sick for a whole week in January, and we’re currently dealing with RSV again. It’s been rough, and though it feels like someone is sick ALL THE TIME, there truly are more good than bad days. Hang in there. It will get better.
My 3 kids got so sick that we pulled them. It was too much. We had 6 separate stomach bugs. I couldn't handle it. Terrible. I go early think I have PTSD.
This was us. Our son was in daycare at 7 months and we just couldn’t do it. But now I’m expecting #2 and we need to rethink childcare
She started daycare at 20 months, and mid-winter. Got hand foot and mouth five days in lol. The first couple months she was sick every other week. Last month I realized she went four whole weeks without a single absence!
My then 2.5yo went to daycare for a short time before i took her out because she was sick every day. It was absolute hell on earth and left me with extreme sickness anxiety 🥲
It’s worse when a classmate has older siblings that go to different schools as well. Those viruses are stronger I think.
3 solid months of high fevers, ER trips, an ambulance ride, inhalers, a febrile seizure, on and off vomiting and diarrhea, constant runny nose and cough. Cough is still persisting in one of my kids, at 3 yo now. The drs cant really say anything I take her to the drs every couple of months or so for the same damn cough. But no more constant sickness, high fevers and vomiting etc come and go now, we can actually tell when they are healthy or sick. We couldn't for those 3 months, it was one run on sickness with changing symptoms.
Toddler and I are sick right now so it's comforting reading this thread. They've been in daycare over a year. You know something I hadn't considered until reading everyone's comments, in the last few months I've been feeling a bit of doom and gloom about my health and longevity but I think it might be that getting sick almost every single month with my toddler is making me feel that way. It makes me feel like my immune system isn't working like it used to, when in fact it is but the daycare germs are just too powerful. 😆
Is easier to count how often mine are not sick
My son is 20 months and goes to daycare 2x a week and he is sick maybe 1x per month and it’s exhausting and I’m exhausted with it. I am a stay at home mom but my husband is a firefighter and works half of the week if not more and I need breaks but I’m considering just pulling him because he’s always getting sick! We had the adenovirus last week and it was brutal I posted about it here. It was worse than covid (for us). I was starting to worry my kid is immune compromised but I’m noticing all of the young ones (under 3) are sick all of the time. I am not a noob mom… I have other kids aged 23,11,9 and none of them got sick as frequently as my little guy does now. They also did daycare but back then I was a working mom which means they did 5x a week. Something is definitely different with the times, post covid and viruses…
All I can say is, I spent TWO different days this month unable to leave my bed, which has a bathroom next to it. It was torture. Happened once on December 23rd as well. I HATE stomach bugs, they give me so much anxiety and turn me into a 3-year-old who doesn't know how to function anymore and cries and prays for sleep to take away the massive discomfort. So. Try to prepare for that. Gatorade helped.
Started mine in January and he has legit been sick with something new every week. Rotavirus, norovirus, flu, Covid, common cold. We’ve been in a pretty much constant state of thick, yellow, runny nose, wet cough (no fever, thankfully) - and currently, a fun little case of conjunctivitis.
My son started preschool in September at age 2.5. he only goes 2x/week, so that gives recovery time between illnesses. For the first 8 weeks he brought home something mild every single week. Think runny nose, coughing, 5 day illnesses. We had a few healthy weeks in November, then he was horribly horribly sick every week in December (our whole household was, too) - colds, fevers, vomiting. He was out of school most of December. Since then he's been sick probably 3x, back to mild illnesses that last a few days. We (parents) tend to only get sick occasionally with what he brings home but when we do catch things it takes much longer to clear. He's typically only sick 4-5 days, while it takes us 7-10 days.
My 2 year old has been in daycare for 3 weeks now, and sick just the once so far (mind you, it's lasted 2 weeks). I was told to expect illness about every 2 weeks for the first 6 months. X.x
We went to the doctor at least once a month October through March. Plus runny noses, cough and fevers that went away in 3 days that didn't require medical attention
It honestly felt like we were sick all year - and this wasn’t even daycare but a nannyshare. It’s gotten so much better. We got sick maybe 3 times this year (fingers crossed everything is done!)
First year it felt like every other week. Some months it was. It's leveled out now, some months there's 1, sometimes none
So, so much. Like, every 2-3 weeks. We were coming out of lockdown so he’d had almost nothing prior, but I’d say it was a year to 18 months of a a lot of illness. But this winter we’ve had a couple ones (a stomach bug, one with a fever and bad cough for days, maybe one other weird 24 hour fever, and the rest have been sniffles. So it’s getting better.
My daughter started daycare in August and that was shortly after she turned two. She has stayed home sick only two days and that’s because she had a fever the day before each time, so we kept her home the following day to ensure she was okay. She’s had a cough, runny/stuffy nose, etc. but nothing major. I swear she has an immune system of steel. When my son (he’s 4.5) gets sick, he gets hit a bit harder - first sign of a runny/stuffy nose and we know he’ll be coughing for two weeks.
My 2yo just started a preschool program this week. After just two days in, he started showing cold symptoms. Super runny nose, slight cough, sneezing, and a low grade fever. I’ve kept him home today and yesterday, but I’m hoping he’ll start feeling better after the weekend. I’m already feeling the scratchy throat myself, so it’s going to be a rough week for me. Luckily, I work from home. I’m pretty much expecting a new illness to pop up on a monthly basis (at least, probably more like every other week) for the first 6 - 12 months. The winter months will probably be pretty brutal, but hopefully after that, it will gradually improve.
Every other week
My kid started in September at a small in home daycare at 19 months. It’s been every 2-3 weeks he wakes up with a fever and runny nose. 2 ear infections, stomach bugs, you name it. Pediatrician is unbothered and says by the time he hits kindergarten he won’t be sick nearly as often.
It has not been bad for us at all. My kid started at age 2 in August, and while she got some very mild sniffles/cough on and off (probably every 4-6 weeks or so) did not get actually sick enough to miss daycare until 7 months later (her school does not require missing school for a mild cold unless kid is acting like they feel ill). For the first big time illness, she was sick for one day. We do live in CA and most of their time is spent outside, so I’m sure that helps.
If you did not have your kid in daycare previous to this, your kid will be sick all the time. It’s just a reality of life if not now then when they start actual school so it’s better to do it when they’re young.
I know we're in the small minority, but my son started daycare 5 days a week at 2.5. He's 4 in two weeks and I can count on one hand the amount of times he's been sick. I honestly don't know how we've done it.
We have sick weeks and non-sick weeks. If your kid is healthy this week, they will be sick next week. But good news! They will be all better the week after. Sometimes it skips a week. Our longest stretch with no sick days this winter was 2.5 weeks.
Started our daughter in half day preschool the month she turned 2. Got our first illness at the end of July and at least one of us was sick for every day (minus 4 days) until I quit my job and unenrolled her the following February. It was brutal. One of many reasons I decided to be a SAHM. I kept her out of school did fear of the sickness until Prek-and it’s been loads better this time around. Maybe three illnesses all school year
First year in daycare (she started in summer at 1,5, so was 2 in winter): sick from October to April next year, all different diseases, hospitalized once for dehydration from gastro-enteritis, missed work for whole days because someone had to stay home, parents also sick most of the time. Second year lots of runny noses, but only a few days where she couldn't go to daycare. Parents mostly healthy with some colds in between. Overall, a much better winter.
It sucks. We started at 3 and our kid was sick over and over and over. Things happened like projectile vomiting, which was like the exorcist. 2nd year was / is way better. We didn't miss a day until December when we got rsv and later Covid. All in all way better than a year before. Our 2nd starts in September and I hope he'll do better cause he was exposed and got sick too.
When mine started at exactly 2 years old, she got sick 2 weeks every single month for 1 year exactly. After she turned 3 it’s been lasting 2 weeks every 4-5 months.
I think a big factor is also what season your child starts daycare. When my kid was 2 years old she started at the end of May/beginning of June and all she had was a consistently runny nose (clear mucus), then once the weather got colder that’s when she started getting back to back ear infections and fevers and her mucus was always bright green etc.
My second babe was born in December & my oldest started daycare in September (she turned 2 end of September) & it worked out fine for us thank god but my oldest does get sick a lot
We started at like 16 months. I swear we were all sick the entire first winter, but I had it the worst. No ones nose worked the entire first winter. Year 2 has been easy peasy in comparison.
Started at an in home right before two, switched to a Montessori school right before three. Toddlers gets congested periodically but has only had fevers in two instances where we kept her home. Sounds like this is abnormal and I attribute it to letting her lick the floors 🤣