To ask how often your primary age dc get stomach bugs?

[bobstersmum]

As the title really, just wondering if it's possible for them to survive a winter without one?
Mine go to a large school (600+) and last year even the parents and teachers caught it.
It's already doing the rounds, I've a feeling it's going to be a long stretch till spring!

My kids are never ill ! Great diet (loads of fresh fruit and veg), plenty of sleep, lots of water and daily vitamins. Watch them both get struck down with Noro now over half term for saying that out loud!!!

I do see some of my kids friends getting everything going. Some of them their diets are crap, they don’t get enough sleep, and their parents then wonder why their kids are ill. I’m not saying that’s you OP but maybe think about whether you could improve on any of these.

It’s not Good genes either. I was constantly Ill as a child and off school sick a lot in primary. My diet was atrocious, no fruit or veg at all and my sleep was disturbed for years because I was a bedwetter. Just saying.....

Since starting school, from what I can remember:

12 yr old 3 times
10 yr old possibly never
7 yr old twice

On one of the occasions for the 7 yr old, they were missing 27 children out of 60 one day due to a bug going round, obviously others had it before and after that day so affected almost every child, plus siblings....... Headteacher had to report that one to environmental health, though nothing was ever found.

@ActualHornist it’s funny you say that, we’re a family that gets the shits too rather than throwing up, I’ve never been a sicky person and my children are seeming to be the same way. There’s a family legend of the time we had family visiting and every single person got a d&v bug, about 12 people in total caught it except me
My two catch colds etc but since the first horrific 18months of nursery where they caught every bloody thing going they seem pretty resilient now (🤞🤞)

Both bottle fed. Ds 7 once when he was 3 but lasted less than 12 hours. Dd 4 never. Very lucky. Odd cough and cold here and there.

I can't see the part in the OP where it asked for how you fed your kids as babies.

My DD has just started school nursery and the reception and nursery class are together.
Both classes had novovirus. Every single child. I would bet my house on the fact that there was a mixture of formula and breast fed children in the mix. It has nothing at all to do with it.

Mine have a great diet, sleep 12 hours a night and have a daily multivitamin and get ill about the same amount as any other kid.

I don’t think it’s anything to do with hand washing, breastfeeding, healthy diet, etc.

Some people are just prone to certain things. My DD used to get stomach bugs at least once a year or more until she was about 8 or so. But, on the other hand, she has never had a chest infection or an ear infection, or anything like that.

Never and the absence rates at my dcs primary schools were very low so I'd say for most the answer would be the same, I can remember only one instance of a large scale thing and it was a nasty cold one winter that affected a large number of the childen

My breastfed till age 4 child has gone through scores of stomach bugs. The preschool year, I think there were 10 of them. Fucking awful. Then through infants a good 3-4 or so every winter.

And unfortunately when everyone else's child would throw up a couple of times and then get better, mine would be sick usually at least 10-20 times with each bug, the record breaker was a vomit every 10 minutes for 12 hours straight through the night, at which point they slowly spread out to every 20-30 mins, before finally stopping about 48 hours later.

I am praying DC2 is less susceptible.

We have good diets, great hand hygiene etc but I think some kids are just really pukey

They are also both travel sick and I had severe pregnancy sickness with #1 and HG with #2.

Almost never. DS1 (10) has had a tummy bug once. DS2 (5) has never had one. Maybe it's luck, but we are quite fastidious about handwashing and when friends come over for playdates I notice that I always have to prompt them to do it, and often send them back again to use soap!

5 year old DS has probably had what i'd describe as a bug twice in his life, neither lasted more than 24 hours. He will however catch a terrible cough/cold once or even twice every winter without fail, I'm the same.

My ds had one in his entire time at primary school.

I’d say probably one or two per year. Usually bookending winter for some reason. DS (9) has one today and I’m hoping we’ve contained the germs!!

Both of mine got lots of bugs at nursery when 0-3 years old but few sickness bugs since starting primary school.

It’s all to do with breast feeding/diet/exercise/spraying them with antivirals/keeping them in totally recyclable bags/giving them exactly the right amount of sunlight so they have enough vitamin d without giving the skin cancer and, of course, being practically perfect in every way.

My eldest got lots of bugs as a baby including tonsillitus and later ear infections but has never been ill beyond age 4/5. My youngest has never been seriously ill (never had antibiotics) but probably gets a couple of stomach bugs or viral chest infections per year.

There is hope for me here then thank you! For reference, one of mine was never bf and the other two were, I think it helps when they are babies but nothing to do with it afterwards.

My DD4 had Norvovirus over Christmas last year, and it's the only time she's ever had sickness and/or diarrhoea. Our then (bottle fed) four week old DD somehow managed to avoid catching it (unlike DH and I) so she's either incredibly lucky or has the best immune system in the world.
Both get the odd cold here and there over winter, but neither seem to suffer with them too much.
I'm almost obsessive about hand foaming as soon as we get in the car from anywhere, and washing as soon as we get in. I'm sure many will say that it does more harm than good but it seems to work for us.

Dd6 had a vomiting bug 3x in her life 6m, 2.5y and 5y plus one that was probably food poisoning. Shes not often I'll but when she is oh boy she is!

Dd6 had a vomiting bug 3x in her life 6m, 2.5y and 5y plus one that was probably food poisoning. Shes not often I'll but when she is oh boy she is!

Once every couple years on average maybe? I (almost totally bottle fed as a baby) am considerably less prone than my DH or DC all of whom were EBF so don't think there's anything in that.

Honestly, next to never. My friends kids ALL the time (I have a theory it's her obsession with handwashing/antibacterial spray for hands and house) but that's probably bollocks.

As is BF/FF theory 🙄

DD had one night years ago where she couldn't keep water down but to my knowledge she hasn't had a stomach bug since starting school. She's about to turn 6. She gets sniffles and coldy things sometimes, had a UTI and once had horrible tonsillitis. But that's it.

I think we must be really lucky- some of my colleagues' kids are sick constantly.

I think it’s the luck of genetics! Nothing to do with being breastfed or even washing hands. Of course washing hands might help slightly. But for example, I was bottle fed from birth and growing up I literally never washed my hands. Maybe after using the toilet at school I would occasionally rinse them in water for 2 seconds (no soap). And from the from the age of 6 and all the way through school (including Uni) I only ever caught a bug once. I had the shits though and felt like I would vomit, but didn’t. It was the worst I ever felt. Anyway, my parents were so lucky w me! Never sick. Never a fever. Never a cold. And never washed my hands! I breastfed my dc until 13 months and they both have gotten bugs and fevers. I’m hoping as they get older they will outgrow it and maybe get a better immune system. I was making them wash hands a lot, wiping, using hang gel, foam etc. Until I realised it didn’t help in protecting them against bugs from school. And the children who didn’t do this seem to not catch the bugs! So I decided to stop. I stoped almost a year ago, when they last had a bug and praying this year we can remain healthy! So far so good. But won’t count my eggs as the year has just begun. I seriously can’t believe how lucky my mom was w me not getting sick. And my diet growing up was crap too. Rarely ate veggies or fruit. Was allowed to eat whatever I wanted - pizza, crisps etc. But was also hit by genetic lottery for a fast metabolism at least. Now I’m a lot more health conscious w eating and my kids have a much better diet then I had growing up. This is why I think it’s really the luck of genetics. My dh is more prone to colds, fevers etc when growing up. And his family seem to have to take medication for fevers etc, while again I never do. Only once since I was over the age of 5 have I had a fever (at age 29 and it last two days and was awful!). Now I’m 36. And knock wood!!!! As I pray to stay healthy (as I’m 8 months pregnant!).

Guaranteed anytime we venturedto soft play!!! Not that we went often but it was an inevitability. All breastfed & all now at school & very rarely bring anything home from school, but soft play ...

Mine have never caught anything from soft play!