I still swear that the reason my kids didn't get sick as often when they were little is because I taught them to change out of their clothes as soon as they got home.

Yes, this increased my laundry a bit, but often they'd wear the same "relaxing" clothes for a few days in a row.

So, for example, when we got home in the evening, they'd take off the clothes they'd been in at daycare/school, and put on sweats or the previous nights PJs until they got their baths and clean PJs later that night.

We also did this on the weekends as well. If we were out to lunch and shopping, they'd change out of their clothes when we got home and put on something else.

Everyone around us seemed to have the constant sniffles except mine.

Anonymous wrote:Once they have been through everything their immune systems will be awesome and hence few sicknesses. This is why we need to let our kids eat dirt, be raised with pets and live in a unsanitized home.

Kind of 2nd. My kids are the first ones in the family without asthma. DH and his family for generations have had severe asthma. We have a female dog, which now is proven to decrease the risk of asthma in kids. I keep the house clean, no shoes in the house, but I don't use bleach or hand sanitizer. Hand washing with soap and water. My kids play in the dirt a lot, stay in the sun, get vit D in the winter and probiotics. I also breastfed them for a long time.

Teach your young children to wash their hands properly and not touch eyes, nose or mouth. We also bath every night and put on fresh clothes.

Go strong on the hygiene, washing hands as SOON as they get home from school, and also no shoes in the house. Smoothies for everyone every morning with vegetables (spinach and carrots hidden). That, elderberry, zinc, and other immune aids should help. It does get better.

Our toddler used to be sick almost constantly. (I tracked in in an Excel chart so I have a pretty solid idea of what was going on.) He'd end up in the ER for nebulizer treatment every few weeks. We finally insisted on an asthma assessment, and after that and going on daily Claritan, his sick days plummeted. Now he has a much more normal profile, and even remains healthy when viruses are circulating at preschool and other kids are sick.

Moral of the story? #1 Start tracking illness and symptoms in a calendar or online, whatever works for you. I was able to show our pediatrician a graph that was very convincing, even in the face of the "all kids get sick a lot" explanation you're likely to hear.

#2 Try allergy meds for a month. Allergies can look like colds. They can also make your kids more vulnerable to viruses that they'd otherwise be able to fight off.

Good luck!

Once they have been through everything their immune systems will be awesome and hence few sicknesses. This is why we need to let our kids eat dirt, be raised with pets and live in a unsanitized home.

Anonymous wrote:I would really love to read some actual research about this stuff.

It's good for kids to be exposed to some of these germs right? I mean, isn't that how their immune system learns?

The constant mutation of viruses and a young immune system were cited as the reasons. I’m sure you could look it up. Even our pediatrician spoke of it when I complained that my former daycare kids were sick as often as friend’s nannies kids once preK started.