How often do your children get ill?

[PirateWeasel]

I appreciate that this is probably all relative, but as a new parent I'm interested to hear your experiences. One of my friends has a 2yo and a 7yo and they seem to have constant bugs all the time with hardly a break in between. But another friend with similar aged kids never seems to get anything. I'm pretty sure Friend 2 just doesn't broadcast it, and they get their share of bugs like every other family. But these seem to be two opposite extremes. What's normal? What am I in for as my LO gets older?

it might be the seven year old bringing lots home from school my little boy is in reception and has had loads of coughs and colds since September. I was really worried once when my little boy was younger as he kept getting ill but the doctor told me that young children get about 10 -12 bugs a year so much more frequently than adults. I don't know how true this is but at times it has been true for us but then he might go months and months being perfectly fine.

DH’s cousin is like your first example. Her kids are constantly ill. I think some families are a bit weaker, but I also think that she is just broadcasting it everywhere. Maybe she has to because she is constantly taking time off work? Her DH is a twat and so it does all fall to her. I am like my mother and in your second camp, kids can often just get on with things, even if they are a bit under the weather, I think if you act like they are really ill, they feel really ill.

Touch wood-dd very rarely. She’s 10 and has only had 1 day off school since year 1.
Ds is 7 and is a bit more prone to colds and had trouble with his ears and chest.

Of the 2 Ds has a much healthier diet, gets more exercise and sleeps better so it doesn’t seem fair that he gets ill more!

I have an 18mth old who is at nursery. In his first 4 weeks he had 3 different illnesses (2 of which needed antibiotics). Now it's winter we are lucky to get a week between coughs/colds.

We seem to have a few months of rude health where everyone is fighting fit and glowing with health.
Then, someone will catch something where it spreads throughout the family and knocks us all bandy for a few weeks followed by a month or two of general unwellness bouncing back and forth between us.

My DC are a bit older (11 & 7) and my eldest has just had her first cold of the season, and even that was short lived.

I’d say they have 2 illnesses a year? Only the youngest has been to the GP this year and that was for his skin. I don’t think my eldest has been to the GP for 2 years or so?

I rarely get coughs and colds though and my DH is never ill. I’m sure it’s just luck.

Depends on the child. DD1 only has to look at someone with a cold and she’s got it. They always go to her chest too.
DD2 is 3.5 and bar having had chicken pox (caught from DD1), she’s never ill. Never been to the GP. She’s like an ox!

Mine is ill very, very rarely. He's 12 and hadn't been to the GP since he was 5 until this year when he was off school for two consecutive days for the first time ever

Very, very rarely. I put it down to my own excellent immune system and the fact that I've never been too OTT on anti baccing everything they've come into contact with! Dirt and germs (up to a point, obviously! ) are good.

Oh and obviously I’ve patented them both the same so I don’t think I can put it down to anything I have/haven’t done.

*parented

Ds8 very rarely, has been physically sick once this year through a cough. Other than that I can't actually remember.
Ds7 all the time until he had a tonsillectomy in jan this year and has been ill once which was last week.

My girls are 6 and are very rarely ill. Their last illness was over 2 years ago. However, they were premature and from ages 18 months to age 3 they ended up in hospital on oxygen each winter because of various illnesses.

Loads during nursery/early primary years, coughs and colds mainly. Mid primary onwards hardly ever, though did get the vomiting bug last year for the first time aged 10, but there was a massive outbreak round here and schools had to shut to be deep cleaned.

Child one - has been to the GP twice, once was for an injury, once for an ear infection. Hasn’t needed medical attention in seven years now. Days off school very rare, has never needed to go to the hospital or A&E.

Child two - has been to the GP approx ten times. Has needed hospitalisation once and been in A&E once for an accident. Hasn’t needed medical attention in two years now. Days off school are rare but somehow never seem to get 100% attendance because of some dentist or optician or something somewhere in the year.

So we are lucky. I don’t know how much of it is luck, general constitution, maybe attitude and maybe hygiene play at part in transmission (obviously very young children are crap at hygiene and pass it on to everyone etc)

I'm pretty sure Friend 2 just doesn't broadcast it, and they get their share of bugs like every other family

Why would you assume this? Some people get less ill than others. For a whole variety of reasons:

Natural immunity
Better hygiene standards
Better diet
Better basic health
Luck

My two D.C. are in their 7th year of school and they’ve had less than 5 sick days between them.

My friend’s D.C. has had more sick days than that (for colds and bugs) just this year poor kid.

Not everyone gets equally ill.

my two had snotty noses going on to colds and chest infections from October to March. I got told about the effects of sugar has on immune system( basically disabled it), and how mucucous fairy produces. Cut back on both, and the difference is amazing. 80% improvement ongoingly for 10 years.

My 2 are very rarely ill. 6 year old has never had a day off school and has never been to the doctor except for a rash which was viral when she was 1.

Dd2 is 3 and is more sniffly on occasion and had a bad cold when she was 1 that went to her chest as well as a few unexplained temperatures.

On the whole, neither of them get sick. I very rarely get sick and neither does dh so they may have good genetics? Also I think in general it’s down to luck, diet, sleep and not being obsessed with cleanliness. Although some people just seem to be unlucky. I do agree op that some people also broadcast their illnesses more. My friend does this so it seems as if her and her dc are never well.

I'm sure it does vary massively. My DS has had about 2 days off school ill in his whole time at primary school. I average about one day a year off work ill. So far we've been very lucky. now watch us all come down with a vomiting bug for Christmas

Same as Gizzy. DD started nursery at the start of Nov, aged 18mo, 2 days a week.

She had a cold after the first week, V&D after the second, another cold the third, and a random bug with high temps after that, (which was a suspected UTI so not nursery related, but then it turned out not to be a UTI). She’s currently got the worst cold of her life which she’s had for a while week, with an accompanying ear infection, and so hasn’t been in this week. She’s still breastfed, I’m very careful with hand washing and she has a healthy diet.

DS was also at nursery 2 days a week and caught lots of bugs but he’s managed to come through the first term of Reception with only one brief stomach bug. I think his immune system has toughened up.

She’s currently got the worst cold of her life which she’s had for a while week, with an accompanying ear infection, and so hasn’t been in this week.

Poor wee soul! Hope she feels better soon Strawberry

My two are teens now.
They were getting a lot of colds when they were toddlers.
But from age 3yo or so, they have never been ill.
Ds2 had some antibiotics ONCE for a tooth infection.
Ds1 had some a couple of times (tonsillitis and an ear infection come to mind)
But that’s it.

So yes some children just aren’t ill.
I’d love to say I know the answer on How to achieve that, but I don’t bar trying to live a life as healthily as possible.

All the bloody time. And I mean all the time.

My two are 3 and 1, but they're both asthmatics from a family of asthmatics and prone to a variety of atopic conditions. This means that in between breathing-related hospital trips there's always some new and exciting food allergy popping up or an eczema eruption.

Wish I'd put genetics higher up my list when picking a man, in retrospect.

Rarely. My 6yr old missed one day of nursery in 4 years with a cold and has had no days of school in the last two years. Never had a sickness bug or an infection. Not had anything more than a minor cold. She’s been in class with kids with tonsillitis, d&v, scarlet fever and hand, foot and mouth and managed to avoid it all. We have been very lucky.

Will probably be ill next week

Thank you happy! Hopefully she’ll be less snotty in time for Christmas...