Any chance kindergarten will be a bit easier in terms of illness?

[Anonymous]

😂🤣😂🤣🤣

When you are surrounded by big groups of people you will get sick

[Anonymous]

In our experience, it improved dramatically. Older DD was in full-time daycare/preschool from 12wo until she started K, including through covid (when daycare wasnt fully shut down, at least). She's in 2nd grade now. We noticed a dramatic decrease in colds starting when she was around 4, and she has missed school maybe a total of 8 days due to illness in the last 2.5 years, and 5 of those were due to asymptomatic covid. She rarely ever gets so much as a sniffle, although she's had 2 stomach bugs - one in K and the other in 1st. There's been a lot of flu and covid in her classroom this year, though. And I still seem to catch every little thing going around.
Younger DD is nearly 4 now and in daycare full time, and we've started to notice the same pattern of decreasing illness with her, as well.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like it’s different by kid. My K kid has I think only missed 1 day of school this year for illness. His 2 year old brother has been been sick much more, but my K-er when he catches the colds now they are incredibly minor. So for us, yes there has been a big reduction but that doesn’t sound like it’s across the board.

[Anonymous]

Its only better because your kid can communicate better and you may not worry about every symptom quite as much. But in my experience they still get sick just as often. You will be more comfortable sending them to school with mild symptoms though.

I see from other families that it looks better in middle school (we are not there yet).

My elementary schoolers have missed 7 days of school this month.

[Anonymous]

I think it gets better. We are in DC so kids have been in regular school since PreK 3. 3year old has been sick often this year but the older kids 2nd and 3rd rarely get sick and it’s not as bed when they do.

[Anonymous]

I think this year had been terrible for viruses. I don't think the grade is school has anything to do with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are really bad because kids are catching up on the 2 years of missed colds from covid. I think it will mellow out (gulp)

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/is-the-hygiene-hypothesis-true

Published October 25, 2022

I knew this was published during covid in defense of shutdowns.

[Anonymous]

My kindergartener has had more fevers since school started than in her whole life prior to that. 😬

I think at our part time preschool, parents were more likely to keep sick kids home. But up to now I had thought her immune system was great.