Do you have a child who rarely gets a cold?

[2535and3]

Do you have a child who rarely gets a cold? You know, the one who can sit next to a sniffling classmate, survive winter, and somehow avoid bringing home every bug going around?

What are you doing differently?

Diet? Immunity boosting supplements? Superior genes? Force feed them garlic? What?

Have been enjoying fewer colds over the last couple of months and not wishing summer away but come the 2nd week in September and dc13 will guaranteed be down with a high temperature cough sniffles.

So whats your secret to autumn winter that aren't just cold after cold? My dc catches a viral fever cough every 5-6 weeks. Gets the flu nasal vaccine of course.

I genuinly believe fresh air makes a huge difference! We get ours out to play in all weathers and bedroom windows are left open during the day so rooms are nice and fresh for going to bed and all night too at the first sight of a cough or sniffle and it very rarely comes to any more.
Also breastfed until 18 months and 2.5. Eat lots of fruit (and some veg) and went to nursery from 9 months

Took my DD (age 12) to GP last week about a foot misalignment issue. I had to explain to her where the surgery was and she looked bemused about signing-in / where to wait etc… and then it hit me that neither of my kids (ages 12 & 15) have ever needed to go to the doctor’s 😯.
Then I realised that I can’t remember them ever having vomited and only maybe one cold each.
I couldn’t breastfeed (so they were formula fed) we don’t do supplements, nor organic food or anything really. 80s-esque childhood, bit of benign neglect, fair bit of fresh air I guess, and a bit of sport. Good Northern genes? 🤷‍♀️

I think it’s just pure luck. My DD never caught anything at nursery or school. Her whole class could be dropping like flies around her with chicken pox,
D&V or colds and she’d be fine.

She wasn’t breastfed as she made a tricky entrance into the world and I didn’t produce any milk. The only thing I can think of is that she was a great eater. Happily munched her way through plenty of fruit and veg.

This is really interesting

Children rarely get anything. Neither went to private nursery, tiny childminder and then nanny and then school. Between two children age 7 and 4 there has been one round of antibiotics ever. Fully vaccinated, including chickenpox privately. We let them eat off the floor if they drop things. But honestly I think we are just lucky and it’s genes too as we are both quite hardy.

Well mine were formula fed but they are just really robust. They’ve had a few serious things over the years but don’t get the colds and sniffles that other kids do. They’ve both went to daycare from nine months. And yes they love oranges and berries!

Pretty sure it is luck. Though I sometimes put our robust immune systems down to our lazy housekeeping.

There was a lot of snot in the nursery years, but since them everyone has been in robust good health.

If we got COVID we didnt know aboit it, no coughs, no colds, we do all get a bit of hayfever at the peak of spring but otherwise nothing.

This is exactly the same at my house. Eldest regularly gets 100% attendance, middle one occasionally ill but not often, youngest catches everything going and had multiple hospital admissions as a baby. We joke he could be in a room with 100 children and 1 germ and he would be ill. All brought up and eat the same. Luck of the draw?

My 10 year old has only ever had a handful of days off school sick. She hardly ever gets a cold. Has had D&V only twice in her life and is almost never ill.
I breastfed until 2 and a half, and have a pretty laid back attitude to hygiene (I’m clean, but I never sterilised anything) so she had plenty of exposure to germs and antibodies from a young age.
But to be honest, I’m not sure it’s to do with anything beyond luck.

We’re vegan and my DC rarely get sick. Although I don’t know if it’s directly linked, I think the lack of dairy in particular protects them from upper respiratory tract infections.

My kids are never ill. I had an ELCS for both and they were formula fed- got a lot of stick for it from my family, for putting my needs above my kids. My nieces and nephews who came vaginally and were breastfed always have snotty noses. I think a lot comes down to me and my husband being teachers so our kids have been exposed to all the germs via us.

Vitamin D
Loads of garlic
Saline nasal spray after contact with anyone having a cold or as soon as you feel one coming on.
Those three things make a good for me. Plus proper hand washing.

Genuinely can't remember last time youngest (14) had a cold. He's only had three days off school, ever - the first two because he had a broken leg (in primary), and he is most miffed he needed a day off in secondary as he was hoping for 100%!

Older two are 17 and have both recently had colds, but I can't remember the last time before that. They are both more prone to "man flu" type reactions though when they do have a cold.

DH and I....I know I haven't had a cold since I had Covid whenever that was. During lockdown anyway. DH I honestly couldn't tell you.

Don't do anything in particular.

Kids rarely ill. Can’t remember the last time they had a cold. All i can think that causes it is pretty healthy diet, loads of outdoor time every day. I don’t go big on sanitising stuff. In fact they only really wash their hands before meals and after the loo

Mine has never been ill at all. Pure and utter luck I think. Oh an ear infection one time but that’s it. I’ve never seen him vomiting.

His diet isn’t the best. We try but he just won’t eat veg other than carrots. Goes through fruit like nobody’s business though and takes a multivitamin daily.

My only guess is that he’s out playing all the time. Comes in absolutely manky so maybe just dirt and germs? I don’t know but I really appreciate the luck!

My son was like that, I think that he inherited it from his great-grandfather who was never ill and died of old age when he was 93.
Once when he was 8 mybson begged me to keep him off school for one day as he was never sick, unlike his sister.
So in short - genes, nothing else. He, however, suffered always from a very bad hay fever.

I did that and my little one still ended up with no less than five sickness bugs in the last 7 months!!

I have 3 kids - one was ill loads (hospital admissions etc) as a baby/toddler and had regular bouts of tonsillitis throughout school.

One ill a few times as a young child - a few courses of antibiotics. Other than covid, went through secondary school without a day's absence for illness.

Other was an incredibly healthy baby and child (was my oldest and I had zero experience of baby illness until the next ones). Health visitor told me she wasn't picking up enough bugs to build her immune system! Then when she got to sixth form college it was like when lots.of kids start school or nursery and she picked up everything going for a year.

My anecdotal conclusion is that it is the luck of the draw!

Mine are very rarely sick. Honestly dont do anything special other than a very hygienic home (but not obsessively so). Their diets aren't great at all. My 14 year old eats no vegetables at all 🙈 11 year old slightly better but also not great...

Honestly think its down to luck. DD friend and siblings always sick, same with my friend's kids. She has 3 aged 5 to 13 and Honestly every single conversation seems to involve one of kids current illness 🫣

FIVE?! There must be something else going on there.

This. It's totally random, no difference in diet, breastfeeding and anything else mentioned in this thread.

My 4 year old has honestly never had a cold. she lives in the mud and is feral. My other daughters 2 and I joke she came out of me with a runny nose.

DD and DP rarely get ill. She is sport mad and I always have believed regular exercise boosts the immune system.
I get the flu jab and tend to get 2 a year but lasting less than a week and always exactly the same symptoms at exactly the same point in the cold.

Yep and I too never get them. I just had my first tiny, 3 day sniffle since 2011 and my 11yr old has only ever had 2 in her life and they were also mild.

In answer to your question, I have absolutely no clue what we’re doing differently. As a child, my parents couldn’t understand it either and as I got older, they put it down to my vegetarian diet.
My only theory, is that we’re heavy milk drinkers…..? There is a belief that many people round the world have, that drinking lots of milk every day, prevents illness. I personally drink 4 pints of milk per day and my daughter much less but still more than most. Neither of us take multivitamins but probably should!
Edited to add: I also haven’t been poorly in any other way, since 2011 (besides my neurological disability) and didn’t get COVID. Same for DD, she’s only ever been poorly the twice mentioned above. Also didn’t get covid (thank god).

How on earth do you know that they eat more fresh stuff than most kids?! That’s simply impossible to know! I know of lots of kids who eat fresh produce at every meal! Veg, fruit & salad are not a new invention….