Some kids get sicker than others, some of it is just general school germs as other PPs have said - but I do think some preschools are better about cleanliness than others.

Does the school have kids wash hands before they come into the classroom? Are they enforcing illness policies? I do think those things matter, and if you don't think the school is doing a great job in those areas then you may find things improve if you switch to a different school.

I think the first year of any group child care arrangement is going to be rough. Our daughter started infant daycare at 6 weeks, so we got that bad year over with early. The first year, I had to take all 12 of my sick days, and I think my ex took a couple of his.

The next year, I only had to take 6 sick days. After that it was maybe 3 or less per year. At 10, she almost never gets sick.

So I think you may just need to suck it up and let the immune system get stronger. That said, make sure that they are taking precautions like wiping things down frequently. Unfortunately you're always going to have parents bringing in sick kids, either because they don't realize the kid is sick until too late, or they don't care because they need the child care to work.

Ages 3-6 were tough for us, but after 6, they almost never got sick. Now mine are in college and so far (touch wood) are weathering all of the college dorm outbreaks well. Please ignore that comment about flu shots. Mine have always gotten flu shots and have never gotten flu (even during the rough years between 3 and 6). Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid always got sick in pre-school as well. I noticed DC got really ill following flu shots or even other routine vaccines. Once I stopped the flu shots, DS was way healtier-went from always going to the er, hospital admissions to virtually illness free. It worked for me-and my kis was fully vaccinated up until then-and the difference is night and day.

Vaccines don't cause illness, maybe your kid would feel cruddy for half a day, but stop spreading non-science. Your kid probably caught something at the office, not from the shot.

Well my pediatrician agreed that the flu shots had ZERO benefits and the risk outweighed the benefit--so I will trust them over some random person on this site. I also am skeptical about trusting a product where the manufactured has ZERO liability if something does go wrong. By the way, NO safety studies were done on any vaccines in over 30 years--why bother if you are liability free. I am not spreading non-science as the TRUE science in non existent. I sadly learned the hard way-not willing to injure my child for someone else's profit.

Dp. My pediatrician is also ok with us opting out of flu vax.

Okay with opting out is one thing. Spreading misinformation and lies is another.

What are you going to do instead? Just keep your kid home? Germs are at the grocery store, library, everywhere. That’s the way it is with kids. They get sick a lot when they are young to build up immunity.

Sorry OP. Fortunately my daughter was at a small home daycare, so I didn't have to take off because whatever she got, everyone else had too. In this respect I was lucky, I don't know what I would have done taking off all of the time. For what it's worth, she didn't miss a day of school k-6.

Agree that there's no reason not to look around for a place like the PP above and others described, with better cleanliness standards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid always got sick in pre-school as well. I noticed DC got really ill following flu shots or even other routine vaccines. Once I stopped the flu shots, DS was way healtier-went from always going to the er, hospital admissions to virtually illness free. It worked for me-and my kis was fully vaccinated up until then-and the difference is night and day.

Vaccines don't cause illness, maybe your kid would feel cruddy for half a day, but stop spreading non-science. Your kid probably caught something at the office, not from the shot.

Well my pediatrician agreed that the flu shots had ZERO benefits and the risk outweighed the benefit--so I will trust them over some random person on this site. I also am skeptical about trusting a product where the manufactured has ZERO liability if something does go wrong. By the way, NO safety studies were done on any vaccines in over 30 years--why bother if you are liability free. I am not spreading non-science as the TRUE science in non existent. I sadly learned the hard way-not willing to injure my child for someone else's profit.

Dp. My pediatrician is also ok with us opting out of flu vax.

We were at a preschool that was lax on hygiene and their sick policy and we were miserable. I've never been so sick in my whole life. One week we had a stomach virus, pneumonia and pink eye. That same month we also had the flu, another stomach virus, HFM, and strep. We left and have been so much healthier. My DD has since made it through kindergarten with only one sick day. My 3 yo didn't have a single sick day from her new preschool.

It's night and day. Don't be afraid to switch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid always got sick in pre-school as well. I noticed DC got really ill following flu shots or even other routine vaccines. Once I stopped the flu shots, DS was way healtier-went from always going to the er, hospital admissions to virtually illness free. It worked for me-and my kis was fully vaccinated up until then-and the difference is night and day.

Vaccines don't cause illness, maybe your kid would feel cruddy for half a day, but stop spreading non-science. Your kid probably caught something at the office, not from the shot.

Well my pediatrician agreed that the flu shots had ZERO benefits and the risk outweighed the benefit--so I will trust them over some random person on this site. I also am skeptical about trusting a product where the manufactured has ZERO liability if something does go wrong. By the way, NO safety studies were done on any vaccines in over 30 years--why bother if you are liability free. I am not spreading non-science as the TRUE science in non existent. I sadly learned the hard way-not willing to injure my child for someone else's profit.

Please tell us who your antivaxxer ped is so that the normal people can avoid their incompetence. Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:
My child was never that sick, OP. I would ask the preschool about their hygiene policy, frequency and type of cleaning, as well as what they do to clean kids' hands before snack and after bathroom time.

Perhaps you need a different preschool.

This is actually what I was thinking (and what I always think) when I read this. My kids were in 5 different preschools and were never continuously sick. Sniffles in the winter, sure? But using up all of my sick time? No.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid always got sick in pre-school as well. I noticed DC got really ill following flu shots or even other routine vaccines. Once I stopped the flu shots, DS was way healtier-went from always going to the er, hospital admissions to virtually illness free. It worked for me-and my kis was fully vaccinated up until then-and the difference is night and day.

Vaccines don't cause illness, maybe your kid would feel cruddy for half a day, but stop spreading non-science. Your kid probably caught something at the office, not from the shot.

Well my pediatrician agreed that the flu shots had ZERO benefits and the risk outweighed the benefit--so I will trust them over some random person on this site. I also am skeptical about trusting a product where the manufactured has ZERO liability if something does go wrong. By the way, NO safety studies were done on any vaccines in over 30 years--why bother if you are liability free. I am not spreading non-science as the TRUE science in non existent. I sadly learned the hard way-not willing to injure my child for someone else's profit.

No pediatrician ever said that. If they did, please give us the name, I can check up on them.

My husband is an internist, I am a research scientist, and we KNOW that vaccines are necessary for a healthy population. Please stop spreading lies, PP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s either now or in K. Just power through.

This isn’t true. At all. Your kid won’t get nearly as sick in K as they would in daycare. I’ve seen the differences in a pretty big sampling of people. It also doesn’t make sense. In daycare babies put everything in their mouths and it gets passed around. There are much more communal germs. By K they will still get sick some, but they wash hands and use hand sanitizer a lot.

Well, it is and it isn't true.

yes, babies and toddlers put everything in their mouths so pass illness germs around and around....

BUT - there are 4,492,678 cold viruses - we all only get each one once. So if we get 492 kinds as preschoolers, when we are exposed to those 492 in kindergarten and elementary school, we won't get those. Of course, if we are exposed to the other gazillion cold viruses that are out there that we haven't had, then we'll get those. So that's why many children who have been in group care (either full day or half day) get less sick in kindergarten, because they don't get what other kids will who haven't had any cold viruses.

Of course, kindergarten children do less coughing on each other, rough housing and breathing on each other, hugging, kissing, etc. of each other and they are better at washing hands, etc. - all of which helps cut down on the transmission of illness.

However, as a director I arrived to my current full day preschool and was shocked how often the children (ages 2-41/2 years old) were getting sick. I'd just been directing an infant through preschool program and our infants and toddlers didn't get that sick! I know kids will get sick and pass it to each other, but when 15 of 20 kids get sick, and every 3rd week 5 kids are out in just one room, multiplied by a few rooms, you have to wonder.

So we doubled down on:
1. washing hands when arriving at our school (kids and teachers - and teachers when they return from lunch break)
2. washing hands after every trip to the bathroom
3. washing hands before and after both snacks and lunch
4. washing and sanitizing the tables after art, lunch, snack, before we open in the morning, etc
5. washing and sanitizing the cots weekly
6. washing and sanitizing the manipulatives and toys monthly
7. making sure our cleaners were washing the door handles, paper towel & soap dispensers in addition to sinks, bathrooms, floors, rugs, windows (the kids kiss and lick the windows when waving goodbye to parents!), etc.
8. making sure water bottles, sheets and blankets go HOME weekly to be washed
9. getting our HVAC system on a quarterly maintenance schedule where they change the filters - this makes the air quality better

And now we of course have children who get sick but the mass outbreaks of illness just don't happen as much - and the feeling that "someone" is always sick in each classroom is gone, too.
And, yes, the kids needs to GO OUTSIDE rather than be stuck inside all day - so also make sure your school's attitude is "of course our kids will go outside" rather than "we only go out when the weather is absolutely perfect" - wet, snowy, cold, hot, warm, misting (not all-out raining), humid, dry, etc. - go outside!

My child was never that sick, OP. I would ask the preschool about their hygiene policy, frequency and type of cleaning, as well as what they do to clean kids' hands before snack and after bathroom time.

Perhaps you need a different preschool.

Anonymous wrote:My kid always got sick in pre-school as well. I noticed DC got really ill following flu shots or even other routine vaccines. Once I stopped the flu shots, DS was way healtier-went from always going to the er, hospital admissions to virtually illness free. It worked for me-and my kis was fully vaccinated up until then-and the difference is night and day.

Vaccines don't cause illness, maybe your kid would feel cruddy for half a day, but stop spreading non-science. Your kid probably caught something at the office, not from the shot.

Anonymous wrote:It’s either now or in K. Just power through.

This isn’t true. At all. Your kid won’t get nearly as sick in K as they would in daycare. I’ve seen the differences in a pretty big sampling of people. It also doesn’t make sense. In daycare babies put everything in their mouths and it gets passed around. There are much more communal germs. By K they will still get sick some, but they wash hands and use hand sanitizer a lot.