Normal ? Daycare Illness Question

the first year is always the hardest. I used to teach preschool before I even had kids and if I changed schools, I would get horribly sick for about a year, and then after that I was fine and maybe got 1 cold per year. Their body takes time to get used to all the new germs.

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When my sister and I were growing up, we were home until kindergarten and once we started we seemed to come down with everything that was going around for about 2 year till 2nd grade.
I can't tell you how many times I barfed my way down the hall to see the school nurse, but it was a lot.
The janitor would see me coming and make sure he had a good supply of sawdust on hand to help him clean up.
When my son started day care (he was 3 months old), he seemed to come down with everything that was going around for about 2 years - it seemed to even out a lot when he turned 3.
My personal theory is - it takes roughly 2 years of public exposure before your immune system can fight germs off in a more or less reliable way.
It's normal.

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Actually, while the ear infection is not contagious itself, the underlying virus that caused it is.

This is normal. But it has to be unfortunately. Now or later he will go through this. You can help by pushing fluids, getting him some vitamin c gummies to chew on, make sure he's getting plenty of rest, teach him to wash his hands constantly and use the sanitizer too, and make sure the daycare is doing all they can to isolate and send home sick children whenever possible. We don't always know because so many people dose the kids with 6 hour motrin in the morning so that by the time they spike a fever their parents are "away from their desk" and will be here in a couple of hours.

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Yep, unfortunately it's normal for kids who have never been in a daycare setting or setting in which they have close contact with other children for an extended amount of time. My DD started going to daycare as a baby & didn't stop getting sick a lot until she was almost 2 y.o.

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Just like all the other moms have said, the 1st year my oldest was in daycare, I lost count of how many times he got sick. However, he started Kindergarten 2 years ago and has NOT missed 1 day of school since, due to illness.

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Yes.
Once they are in a group setting/environment/school... kids get sick a lot. Until they/their system, gets used to that particular environment.

It is not only kids. I have a friend that used to work at a school. For the entire 1st year of her employment, she got sick, every single month, for that entire year. She.. had NEVER ever been so sick so often, in her entire life.
Then, once her body got acclimated to that particular school/environment and its particular 'germ' uniqueness and her body built up immunity per that school, she was sick, less often.

My son, had never gotten sick or very rarely all his life. Then once he started preschool at 4.5 years old, he has gotten sick a lot.
So did our Pediatrician's daughter, who started Preschool too.
She previously did not get sick, at all.

Now, kids are not clean people. They do not wash hands well, even if they do it at school... they rub their noses, they rub their snot everywhere, they do not sneeze into their elbow but into their hands... they put their hands EVERYWHERE and touch other kids too, they touch anything and everything. Too.
So... germs and colds, spread.
Even if the Teacher/school wipes down things everyday with disinfectant... everyday, every morning, kids come to school, again, with dirty snotty hands/noses/sneezes... and it starts all over again.

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if it makes you feel better... my son is now 6 and has a rock star immune system, almost never gets sick. But that first year or two was tough,,,,

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If kids attend child care as young kids they miss less school when it counts due to building immunity to the illnesses going around then. It is normal.

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How high are his fevers? If they are under 99.9 it may just be his body temp fluctuating. Is he teething? His immune system will get accustomed to the germs and it will get better.

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First ear infections aren't contagious.

Next are you sure he isn't teething? Another thing how high is his temp.? If it's under 100.4 it's not a fever temps go up and down all day and they can have a warmer temp if they have been very active, in the heat, or a hot car. I know here it's been very very hot.

It can take some time if this is the first time he's been exposed to anything. My oldest used to catch everything when he first went to daycare. The first winter will probably be a rough one because he'll be exposed to so much but think of it this way he'll have a great immune system when he starts school.

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Yes. I think its quiet normal. My son (4.5) went through one fever after another. Last winter, he had fever that required antibiotics atleast once a month. Even last week he was down with a mild fever.

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my kids were constantly sick in daycare..i kept switching until i found a super older southern lady that washed her hands an the kids...good luck

My son was the same way when he first started daycare -- never sick at all before that! Now it seems like he'll come down with something every 3-6 weeks. Sometimes it's just a cold, runny nose, etc. And we have figured out that part of his are outdoor-allergy related. It's still frustrating though. We just give him a Flintstone vitamin every day and just hope for the best. I think some kids just need to build up their immunity sometimes.

As a day care provider, I see this a lot, especially with the first child. Unfortunately by the time they are sick and running a fever he has exposed everyone else in the day care so it can become a vicious cycle. Also if you have started a new job, maybe you are exposing him to the virus. It doens't always have to be coming from day care......
Good luck,

Me and my son stayed sick off and on for the better part of a year before finally tapering off. Not what you wanted to hear but between him giving it to me and me giving it to him and the kids sneezing and slobbering all over each other...yeah...fun times.

Sending good thoughts your way.

SK - usually takes a few months for his little body to adjust to all of the new germs he is being exposed to...

Ear infections are not contagious - they are usually from mucus and sinus issues...

Fevers are common as the body learns and adjusts to the new surroundings...if they are high fevers - anything over 101 - then i would stress...but 101 is MY cap....a child shouldn't be sent from day care for a 99 fever...

I had a girlfriend who ended up choosing to home school because her child was getting sick all of the time...she wouldn't listen when we told her NOT to wash EVERYTHING down ALL the time - grocery carts, pencils, pens, etc...she is a true germaphobe!! :) but she's getting there- it's only taken her 11 years...

Yes! Since I returned to work, my son has gotten a cold AT least once a month. Of course right now he just came off of some congestion, was good for a couple weeks, and now it is coming back. Google Daycare Syndrome and you will see. They've done research on this. The good news is that once school starts, he'll have a killer immune system and almost never get sick!