Mums of babies who have childminders

[chho]

Hi, just wondering if anyone can relate to this.

My daughters been going to a childminder since she was 9 months old, now 1 year. And she is constantly getting sick. I know babies get sick and catch things but since she's been going to the childminder she has had a constant cold and on top of that she's caught 2/3 pretty nasty viruses and been on antibiotics a few times. I practically live in our doctors surgery.

Just wondering if this is all normal or maybe she has some sort of weakened immune system?

Sadly, even as a nanny (where children aren't mixing as much), this is true. It's even worse in nurseries 😫

I have a friend who nannies a child who goes to nursery part time and she's had a runny nose for 2 years solid

Yes that does sound quite normal tbh. Both mine started at with a childminder from 6 months and then graduated to a nursery when they were about a year.

with childminder there’s perhaps a closer proximity to the kids because they might be kept in one living room, so a Petri dish. Then again, a nursery has more kids so more opportunities for germ bringers.

if it helps, I found that mine had less sick days when they got bigger than their non-childcare peers because they’d built up a good immune system.

We had the same experience. My son started at a childminder’s aged 11 months just before Christmas. He attended Monday-Wednesday and every single week without fail he was unwell by Thursday. Often he was unwell before that and couldn’t attend childcare. He’s been back and forth to the doctors as I have worried that it’s not normal. Several GPs have told me that this is what they’re seeing at the moment but they aren’t really sure why..
We took him out of childcare a month ago for different reasons and he hasn’t been unwell since! But of course the weather is improving etc so it’s most likely a coincidence. He is going to start nursery next week so I’m already preparing myself for the weekly ailments again!

Normal. My DS was poorly on and off for the first year of nursery. Some real nasty illnesses too (HFM, conjunctivitis, tonsilitis, covid) etc
Was at the drs pretty much every week and hospital once.
He's 3 now and hasn't been unwell for a long long time 🤞 it does get better.

The childminders round here regularly walk the kids back and forth to collect others from school and to drop them off. Its often pouring and really cold and its no wonder the kids they look after get unwell. Only the babies are in prams, the toddlers get dragged along, i feel sorry for them.

Thank you for the replies, that makes me feel better kind of.

Normal, especially over winter

We've had a crap couple of months with DS since he started nursery too. He's 12 months now. He's had HFM and chicken pox since starting. He went two days in March (supposed to be 3 days pw) and was sick again after each attendance 🤦🏼‍♀️ My 5 year old started nursery around the same age. Was rarely sick.

It is normal when starting childcare. After a few months it should start to be less often and by the time they start reception they will have an imune system of steel!

@THATissoooFETCH God I hope so.

Weather doesn't cause colds ....do you feel sorry for the siblings walking to and from school? I'm imagining children being dragged now....or do you mean walking which most children enjoy?

Eh? You think it's bad for babies and toddlers to be outside on walks??

We know that since lockdown everyone's had more illness that means young babies are also coming into contact with more illnesses. It's typical anyway once you start mixing with others and generally settles down in 6 months or so

Normal.

The comment about children being dragged out on the school run 🤣

My mindees think it’s a treat to come on the school run. Thankfully, we don’t have to do many as I work with my husband so tend to pick my daughter up and give her some one on one time on the way home. The funny thing is that they all have older siblings, so if they were at home they’d be being dragged to school there too. Poor kids 😂

Sounds pretty standard unfortunately OP. The first term is the worst, then the first winter is pretty bad too. After that things settle down and you’ll have a couple of proper illnesses a year at most. Don’t worry. X

The childminders round here regularly walk the kids back and forth to collect others from school and to drop them off
How is that any different from younger siblings going to school pick ups? Its a normal part of life and children don't pick up viruses by walking in the rain.

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