constantly sick at nursery....

[annaitaliana]

I need some feedback please!!!!

My DS has been going to nursery since he was 6 months. The first one was a lovely small set up with about 10 kids maximum. Around his first birthday we moved and he transferred to a much larger nursery. He settled in quickly and loves it.

However, in 8 months he's had strep throat, the flu, 2 varieties of ear infections, and the chickenpox. Not to mention loads of little colds and a constantly streaming nose and cough over the winter months.

He's generally a happy kid so it all seems to bother me more than him.

Besides being fed up with having a sick kid, I've had to miss loads of work and my employer's patience is running out. This is realistically the only child care we can afford right now.

So my question is, what's "normal?" Do other kids stay constantly ill like this too? I know kids pick up and pass along all sorts of illnesses but he seems to get every single one. Should I be questioning the nursery's protocol on dealing with sick kids? Their cleanliness? I'm playing by the rules and keeping him out when he's sick but are other parents doing that too?

The doctors keep telling me this is good for his immune system but at this rate he's going to be bloody Wolverine by the time he gets to school.... and I may be out of a job!

My daughter is exact the same. She started when she was 9 months and is now 13 months. She seems to have a constant cold or some sort of infection. It's a pain in the arse but I'd rather she pick it all up now than at school.

The first winter is usually the worst. However you need to distinguish between what is contagious ie. Strep throat and chickenpox from the run of the mill ear infections. Colds are inevitable in any setting . Would a cm not be a financially viable option and may not be as rigid over absences.

thanks for the replies. I'm just feeling a bit disheartened, as having a perpetually sick kid sucks but you're totally right, better to get it now than at school! and at least the chicken pox are over [big grin]

haha whoops didn't mean to write "big grin"

Can you share some of the burden with your DH/DP? Unfortunately this is pretty much par for the course in nursery, the first year or so can be a bit of a killer. My DS had 8 lots of antibiotics in his first 6 months in nursery and I lost count of the annual leave we used on it, but suffice it to say I didn't get much 'holiday' that year. On the plus side, since he started school in September he has only had one day off sick, so it does come out in the long run.

Our GP described nursery as a "virus-soup" and said that the first year is the worst. But he also said on the flip side - he'll have a great immune system by the time he goes to school, so you either get the pain over early or later.

He was right, DS now 3 hardly every gets things now.

Not much fun while you're going through it but there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Exactly the same here, with DD's first year at nursery. For bonus points, DH and I always catch it, too. Hoping we'll all be Wolverines by primary school.

Been there, done that. In my first 6 months or so back from Maternity Leave I didn't manage a whole month at work. I rarely managed a whole week, DD was ill so often.

She is 8 now, in Y3 and I think she's had at most 1-2 days a year off school since she started. It does seem to follow that they get everything going at nursery then it stops.