3 year old starting preschool

[lisa270988]

Hi all
My little boy is 4 year December and starts preschool in September just 2 mornings a week. Has anyone else's children started at similar age and if so did the get ill constantly at first? We have been going to regular baby and toddler since he was a baby so I'm hoping as he older now and has been to little baby toddler ect since a young age he will escape the dreadful times of being constantly ill when he first starts

When mine started when he turned 3 in the November he caught colds and coughs constantly for months. Thankfully nothing seriously ill so was still able to go to nursery etc but he was constantly loaded with the cold. Obviously it was winter so tht likely didn’t help !

Did he go to nursery very often? Was he going to any toddlers before starting

My DD started nursery in Sept and didn't have any days off sick until the Feb, when she had a virus. She probably had some colds, but nothing major.

We struggled with the winters of 22/23 and 23/24 with lots of illness. Last winter was ok. Not sure if it was the post-COVID germs that we have now gained more immunity to.

How old was she when she started

She was 3.5. She had been to various classes, play areas etc although not loads, probably twice a week. I think one benefit of them starting slightly older is they don't generally put lots in their mouth which cuts down germs a bit. (I appreciate they still share plenty!)

You either get this when they start childcare as babies or you get it when they start as toddlers. Nobody really escapes the bio warfare of the first winter. I agree the older they are the less likely they are to put grossness in their mouths but on the flip side they are also more likely to physically interact with other kids and they are the real Petri dishes! Either way, childcare is usually their first true exposure to an onslaught of pathogens they can’t escape.

I think it's a fallacy. My DC started at 2 and has the odd cold but nothing major, unlike his peers who started as babie are constantly sick with all sorts of nasty bugs. I'm sure starting at an older age gives you a stronger immunity. I also think it very much depends on the place and how clean it is as well as the hours the kids do. If it's a place where the kids do long hours and are dropped off no matter how sick then it will be worse, but if it's a place where the kids aren't there full time and are generally kept home if sick then it will be much better.

I think there's a strong element of luck. Both mine started at one, and neither had more than a few days home sick that first winter.

We did vaccinate for chickenpox, so that helped avoid that week off ill.

Mon-Fri 9-3
he would go to toddlers group weekly and be around cousins all Under 5s. I think all kids get the nursery coughs and colds I don’t think you can avoid it really. They are always so close together and touching things !

My dcs got coughs and colds at toddler groups and preschool, but rarely anything bad enough to keep them from going in. We only kept them home with a fever or vomiting and that only happened twice during 2 years of preschool. I stuck to NHS and nursery guidelines and if it said they could still attend with a certain condition, then they went in. They had the chickenpox vax before age 1 and they have never caught it

What age did they start preschool

Mine started at 1 - we were constantly sick for a year. It was horrid. Prepare yourself for all the germs now (good news is that when they started school there weren’t the illnesses).

Completely normal - most mums say the same.

They were 2.5. They did at least 6 class/groups a week before that.

Did she start September 2021?