Nursery - how many sick bugs is too many?

[Blessedbethefruitz]

Ds is almost 5, started nursery at 5 months, stayed there until school started September just gone. Dd is almost 2, started at same nursery at 7 months. We've overall been pleased with their care, the kids both love the baby room women especially.

The last 6 months, we've had 4 d&v bugs though, all originating from nursery, I'm pretty sure. Dd has gotten the last 2 bugs a couple of days before the rest of us, and before that, it was one child or the other (before ds started school). We've only had 2 other d&vs in the whole of the 5 previous years, one from a softplay party! I haven't had a d&v as an adult before having my kids, and I'm 36 now. Nursery has confirmed each time that they have others off with tummy bugs...

The kids are in school/nursery full time, and weekends are park, beach and home. We don't mix much as life is hectic for them, ds is sensitive and needs his alone/down time.

Should we be saying/doing something about nursery? Moving nurseries? If anywhere else even has capacity now with the new promised funding for 2yos... I'm not sure what's normal. This is just d&v related - obviously i expect colds, chicken pox, hand foot and mouth etc in childcare/schools.

Sadly I think it’s just really doing the rounds and so easily caught. In the last year alone my family has had d&v 3 times when we’d never had it before.

Its really hard to avoid sadly, even if the nursery have a very strict cleaning routine, all it takes is one family to drop their child off unwell and it will just spread like wildfire.

It’s also the time of year when kids get sick easily as there’s so much going around. I’m a primary teacher and just before Christmas I had half a class because of all the different bugs. Gives me the fear of what I’ll take home to my own kids.

Thanks @Hiddenvoice - never sure if I'm over reacting! Dd is so sturdy and does fine with these bugs, but ds is already so skinny and struggles with his health in obscure ways and clumsiness, I feel extra bad for him.

It sounds an awful lot of D&V, I feel for you as I absolutely hate them. We've had 3 D&V bugs in 6 years, all picked up by DS first, never DD.

So I think it's down to the child rather than the nursery, I think you'll make your life hard by changing nursery and possibly end up with the same result.

Hopefully though they've now built good immunity and it won't happen as often.

We found baby probiotic powder in his milk really helped with our son with not catching sickness bugs - he hasn't caught the last couple going around his nursery room.

For us the adults, probiotics plus apple cider vinegar at the first whiff of one has stopped us catching them, even when our son has had them and thrown up all over us etc. The apple cider vinegar is just one tablespoon in water 3x a day.

It's horrible. I don't mind the colds or virus's so much, but the sickness bugs are awful and it seems they make their way around our nursery every 3 or so months. The staff have said it's mostly originating from older siblings of the children in nursery, so it's going around the local primary schools. So in our case it's just in the area and lot much we can do

You can't really compare the two experiences as your eldest was through COVID.
Unfortunately if parents send in sick children saying things like it's just teething d&v spreads babies mouth toys and unless kept isolated from others you're never going to stop it even if all toys are sterilised twice a day.

It might help you to know that you have to "eat" the virus to catch it - so if you practice good hand hygiene and keep your hands away from your face, don't share utensils and cups etc it will minimise the spread. Obviously if a child vomits on you then you'll breathe it in and have no chance sorry 😂

@MadamVastra Yes, I'm afraid ds sleep vomited in my face so yes, I am now sick 😅