Do you have adult children? Can I ask a quick question?

[Naptrappedmummy]

Were childhood illnesses always this bad? It seems the norm now among parents I know for children to be unwell every other week (and I’m not exaggerating) until they reach school age at least. I don’t just mean snotty noses but also things that regularly require antibiotics, hospital admissions for oxygen and so on. A lot of newborns seem to be hospitalised with RSV at the moment.

My DD was unwell for about 2 years after starting nursery to the point I spent many nights sobbing, broken by the lack of sleep and inability to keep up with my job. I very nearly had to hand in my notice.

My mother in law is of the view there must be something wrong because while her children got sick, it was never as bad or frequent as this. The doctors just tell me it’s normal for children now.

YABU = yes my children were always this unwell this frequently, it’s normal
YANBU = they were unwell at times but not to this extent, it’s worse than it used to be

I have three grown up kids. The eldest and the youngest were always sick. Colds, vomiting bugs, flu, ear infections etc. My eldest had pneumonia, the youngest bronchiolitis and croup. Both spent time in hospital. They had chicken pox and mumps.

My middle son never had a day off school. He’s not had Covid, the other two have.

I didn't go to hospital til I was ten, but had scarlet fever mumps measles chickenpox etc. Missed lots of school. My 18 yo had loads of stomach bugs but also never hospital- nothing respiratory. Asthma seems much higher now but social media probably means we know about what's happening more?

My 17 year old was born small at 32 weeks. After she left hospital we were back in for all sorts. Then for about a year, she ok, but then she started nursery and basically I was paying to keep her at home. Every jab she had, there was illness.

It settled down after she started Reception. I assume her immune system built after having all these things. She now might have a bad cold one or twice every winter but she's otherwise ok. The only time I really worried about her more recently was when she spent ten days in bed aged 15 with COVID, but she bounced back. She has a little eczema but no asthma or anything long-term.

My eldest was quite sickly, but maybe that was because I was a new mum and anxious about every little cold. Middle one had chicken pox, couple of vomiting bugs and all the usual colds. My youngest was super healthy and only ever saw a GP twice up until the age of 18. Ironically at 18 she got very poorly with Covid (she was unvaccinated) and ended up in hospital with heart inflammation. She’s had long Covid for the past two years.

Mine were home educated ,never caught anything,chicken pox was the only thing one of them had .
We definitely were not isolated as a family ,but couldn't do mother and toddler groups because one of them was aggressive to the other children.
So lots of days out and parks , plenty of fresh air ,but not a lot of mixing..
They are all adults,never got COVID ,never catch anything really

No nit nurse at your school? We were checked constantly, my mum would have been horrified if we got nits

Our DD now 40+ had chickenpox, but had ear and nose problems. .
Amoxil, banana flavoured stuff was the remedy. Grommets in her ears. Many others locally seemed to have similar probs. Never strong.
C section planned for and was fine, I think she was a week or two earlier than necessary. They made sure so as not to risk labour starting. Perhaps they are better at predictions these days.

DS 2 yrs younger was more robust. After puberty both good general health.