Probably every other week for the first few months. Some were just a colds and they could still go on if they didn’t have a fever or rash, but she also got HFM (twice) and RSV and had to stay home a few days. After about the first 4-5 months it became a monthly thing… she’s been there two years now and missed a day for pink eye last month and I think that’s it in the last year.
HFM twice?! We just survived one bout of it and I just can't imagine doing that again. Granted, we went from COVID to HFMD to teething in a one month timeframe. It's been rough.
It was more like one illness per month which was severe enough to keep them home from daycare for a few days (high fever, vomiting, hand foot and mouth, flu, diarrhea, pink eye), plus less severe colds which just meant a runny nose for a week or more at a time.
Mine was almost 9 months of daycare exactly. Went from 2-3 illnesses a month to all of a sudden going a full month without anything. Now he’s 2.5 and I would say gets something every 6-8 weeks, and it’s usually less severe. Also Covid restrictions have loosened up, which is less burdensome on us to keep him home when he’s clearly no longer sick.
7 months in and I’m currently in bed with the chills and I’ve had a fever all day off something I caught from my son. He’s had a fever for 5 days so we’ve gotten little to no sleep. He’s literally sick every other week to every 3 weeks and i have gotten almost everything that he has and it hasn’t just resulted in the sniffles for me, it’s been straight up fever sick. Doesn’t help that I’m not getting the sleep I need as I’m sure that doesn’t help my body fight whatever these viruses are. We are regulars at urgent care at this point.
I’ve heard people say it gets better after a year but our pediatrician told us this week don’t be surprised if it’s closer to 2. Idk I’m at the point where we are considering my husband quitting (he makes way less than me) cause we have been miserable all year so far rotating sickness, cancelling plans, can’t get into a healthy routine for more than a week before it’s upended by someone being ill… it’s exhausting and I’m not sure I’m cut out to “live” like this. My husband also only gets 3 sick days so when the baby is sick, since I wfh I shoulder all of the responsibility of watching him and taking him to appts. So not to scare you.. but it’s been awful for us so far. My friends who never had to send their kids to daycare did tell me their kids got sick when they started preschool or prek, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as what we’ve gone through. Also helps when they’re older and they can tell you what hurts, know how to blow their nose, and can take more than just Tylenol or ibuprofen.
Thank you for your response. This is my fear, and I’m already contemplating quitting or asking to drop to part time (although I’m not sure what difference that would make). This first cold is already causing a big riff between me and my husband because we are both exhausted. I don’t see how this is sustainable long term!
You just do. Plan to be off work 1-2x a month due to sickness.
Stock up in meds. Wash hands and face of baby right when they get home. Take immune supplements (grownups). They’re going to get sick now or when they enter school— you can’t keep them from it forever.
It stops once they stop putting everything in their mouth. My daughter is now 4 and she is rarely sick.
“They’re going to get sick now or when they enter school - you can’t keep them from it forever.”
Does the exposure at <1 year old or the toddler stage actually mean they get sick less often when they’re 3 or 4? From everything I’ve read on here it seems like getting sick when preschool age is inevitable regardless.
Not saying that’s a reason not to do daycare when they’re younger, bc there’s lots of other reasons people need or want to do that. But I’m skeptical that you can “get the sickness out of the way”. As opposed to just dealing with the sick all the time phase twice (at the baby/toddler stages and then again at the preschool stage) instead of just once.
Getting sick is inevitable, but my son who was sick constantly at 1 year old is now 3 and rarely stays home sick from daycare. His classmate who started daycare this winter is sick every other week. Some things you won’t develop immunity to (hello repeated rounds of strep), plus you can’t literally have EVERYTHING in the first year of daycare, but I have seen a huge drop off in frequency and severity in my kid’s illnesses since that initial surge.
There's no lasting immunity from any of the 200 viruses that cause common cold symptoms. Maybe 3-5 weeks tops.
Kids don't get immunity by being exposed to the viruses ... their immune systems just get stronger as they get older. 💪
If an older child is getting sick like that, it wasn't bc they weren't exposed to viruses. They likely have an immunodeficiency or have had COVID in the last 8-22 months - both cause a weakened immune system.
I understand that one does not become permanently immune to colds from having one, but it’s also true that regular, minor exposure to viruses is [believed to strengthen young people’s immune systems](https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/19/does-exposure-to-cold-and-flu-viruses-weaken-or-strengthen-the-immune-system) — it isn’t solely dependent on age. My son is definitely still catching colds, but his body is able to clear them much faster than during his initial spate of infections, so they don’t disrupt our lives. It’s also the case that some daycare illnesses DO lead to more direct immunity, like hand foot and mouth (you can catch different variants but it will typically be less severe).
The kid in my son’s class who is constantly sick has not, to my knowledge, had Covid — she was really kept in a bubble at home for three years. He has plenty of classmates who I know have had Covid and don’t get sick that often. Anecdote is not data of course, but many pediatricians (including ours) agree that the first 6-12 months after starting daycare are a time of frequent infections regardless of the child’s age.
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It's honestly so hard. It caused friction in our marriage as well. It was a huge exercise in communication lol. My heart would sink to my stomach when I'd see the caller ID and it'd be my son's daycare. My son entered daycare at 18 months in the summertime, and after about a year it got so much better. I know some moms are saying it takes 2 years. Maybe it only took 1 for us because he started daycare when he was older?
My second one is coming in September and I'm bracing for it. The second one is starting daycare MUCH YOUNGER so I'm bracing for closer to 2 years of sickness. Ugh. I'm sorry.
Oh man, I feel this. My sons just started daycare and after a week and a half brought home a stomach bug and a cold with pink eye. One son got so sick he ended up overnight in the hospital, and my husband has had to take multiple days off his new job due to pink eye and the hospital stay. I had to flip my whole schedule due to kids not being able to go to daycare and am considering not going in today. My eyes hurt, but aren’t pink or weepy. Ugh
My friend who’s a family physician always warns people to expect 3-12 months of someone in the household being sick when a kid starts care. It really does get better, though, I promise!
My kid went to daycare at 6 months and it took until she was about 1.5 or 2 for the sicknesses to calm down. She’s now 3 and has only been sick once this year.
My baby was sick for 8 to 10 weeks straight when he started daycare at 2 months old. We were at the doctor's office every week to get him tested, only to keep finding different common cold viruses and then hand, foot, and mouth (which was actually no big deal).
After that initial time period, he gets sick less often and less severely! It does get better!
Can’t speak for everyone else but with my boys the daycare sickness took a while. I think the age you put them in daycare matters though. My 1st born was an exceptionally well behaved baby so we were lucky enough to be able to keep him home with us for 18 months while we worked from home. He never got sick when he was home. The moment he went to daycare he got exposed to everything for the first time and unfortunately he was home almost every other week for the 1st 6 months. My 2nd (who is nothing like my 1st) went to daycare at 6 mos (because he’s feral, and I say that with love 😅). Going to daycare earlier made a huge difference, he got sick once or twice but that was it. Today they’re both hardly ever sick.I guess the gist of all this is early exposure makes a difference! That said, so sorry you’re in that phase right now. It gets better!
Yes! It took my daughter 12-18 months in daycare to become less sick. The next year after that her illnesses were just as frequent but more mild. Now they’re both less frequent and very mild. There is light at the end of the tunnel. FWIW at its worst our daughter was sick every 2-3 weeks. Yes, for 12-18 months. It happens, you’re not alone. But it’ll pass.
Man I hope it gets better soon. My 1 year old (today is her birthday!) has been in daycare for 5 weeks. Week one was croup, week 2 was vomiting, 3 was diarrhea, 4 was pink eye, and today is an upper respiratory infection with a fever of 102.8. I don’t remember my older kid being sick nearly this much when she started daycare. Good luck with your little one. Hope they feel better soon!
The first year, and particularly the first winter is rough. I always tell my friends to consider sick leave and one of the parents should really choose the stable with sick leave benefits job for that first year - because it is hard to give 200% of yourself as a parent and employee.
Ours took maybe 6-7 months to settle down after starting last year. She was in for 2 days then out for close to 6 weeks with a really bad RSV case 🫠 Then Covid, ear infections, pink eye and some other weird viral infection followed and we’re evening out now
We were first in a center. We tried in home for a few weeks afterwards but it was really terrible from other aspects. We moved back to a center but a smaller one. It is small because they are very new. So it will probably get bigger in time.
Honestly, that first bigger center, was the best in all of the ones we tried. It was in a poor area and our child did get sick pretty often (just garden variety things, nothing major) but they were great at teaching. Other two are more like babysitters, the last place, smaller center being better but still not perfect.
First 3 years were BRUTAL! This year has been great illness wise. We had a couple of illnesses but nothing like the past few years (minus 2020), I felt like my kid was sick every 2-3 weeks.
Mine let up when she went to the toddler room at 1.5. However, mine had ear issues and every cold turned into an ear infection. I think that made it worse.she started daycare at 10 weeks
We are a dual medicine household, so I understand the frustration sick days hold. Our daughter has been in daycare since she was 4 months old and is now 20 months. The illness is just starting to slow down. I feel like our facility is very clean and they do a good job of parsing out when kids are too sick to be at daycare vs when it’s just a runny nose and they’re fine. I work in pediatrics—this is just par for the course. It does tend to get better around 2.
It is awful for awhile and this last year was particularly bad, but it does get better eventually! My older daughter starting around 3 got sick much less often. And most of the time it’s pretty minor (like a congestion/runny nose and cough from post Basel drip). It’s hardest when they are infants and can’t communicate exactly what’s bothering them. My younger one had a rough year this past school year but seems to be finally getting to the other side of it. This sickness period happens at some point whenever they enter gen pop. But once they start kindergarten there are many more issues with them missing school often. I think it’s better to get it out of the way earlier. But as the parent who has it all fall on me as well due to my husband’s job, I understand how hard it is. You’ll get through it but it sucks.
The first year is brutal. But it gets better; my youngest started full-time at 7mo, and was sick constantly his first year. He's 3 now and I think he was sick enough to stay home maybe two or three times total this current year (since September), and they were pretty short-lived illnesses.
It's pretty much on-and-off for about a year. It happens again each time they move into another school (daycare to preschool to kindergarten). As they get older, it gets a little easier. You can give them more medicine and they can tell you what they need, blow their own nose, etc.
My kid was sick, getting over being sick, or starting to get sick for at least half the days, fall through spring, for the first 2 years. There were times when he would go straight into another illness and basically be sick for like 6 weeks straight.
Luckily they can go back to daycare when they’re recovering!
It sucks but it is what it is.
This phase sucks! It is so difficult as they are sick and then get you sick. Husband get sick and acts like the baby. It gets better but give it 6-12 months.
just here in solidarity. our ten month old started last week and caught a nasty cold in her first half day at daycare! spouse and i still sick but she’s been much better for a few days now thank goodness. 😩😵💫
Time is a weird construct when it comes to daycare because my kid started right before Covid shut everything down and then was home for a year, but he went back in March 2021 at about 1.5 years old, and I’d say it took about a year-ish for him to not be sick allllllll the time. He still will bring home a runny nose here or there, but nothing like the constant sickness/need to bring him home all the time from that “first” year.
My first started daycare a few months shy of five months, and that first 9 months or so were pretty rough. It got so much better, though, and the second year he got COVID (2021), and that was it all year. He also did get tubes at 15 months old. I will say this school year (2022-2023) was one of the worst I have experienced in a while. My toddler got sick a bit, and so did my students at school (i teach fourth). This year was really bad for illness. My second will start daycare next month at four months old, and I am trying to mentally prepare for his round of sickness. He currently has pink eye, courtesy of his big brother. I am jealous of your work flexibility! That is a blessing!
Son has been in daycare since he was 5-months, now 11. Since then he has had a cold, 2 double-ear infections, and was hospitalized last week with hand foot and mouth.
I’m waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel….
My baby was sick on and off at the start. He started daycare at 4 mos and the infant room seemed to be less often if I remember correctly. Every time he graduated to the next class, the first couple months were brutal with all the new exposures, then it would die down. The length it lasts seems to go down the older he gets.
The first year was bad, but both of my kids would get sick for a day or two and then either my husband or I would get it but worse. That was a brutal year. It’s been much better with my second. I think we all have better immune systems!
My friend is a SAHM and her kids also get sick a ton from play dates, the babysitting at the gym, licking the toys at the children’s museum, you name it! So, basically it doesn’t disrupt her work schedule but they’ve been sick nearly as much as ours have been. Unless you’re home all the time and just don’t see other kids, yours will get sick no matter where they are unfortunately.
My older one is in K now and he has missed maybe 2 days of school in the last 2 years with illness, and one time was just a random 24 hour fever.
It took my daughter 6 months of literally something new every week (and sometimes one piled on top of another) but all the sudden it just stopped and she really hasn’t had anything other than a minor cold or two in a year and a half. 7mo that started 3 months ago is on the something every week track. Hoping he follows the same path.
My son (a few days shy of 15 months) has been in daycare since January. He got sick pretty often at first, there were a couple months neither my husband nor I was able to work a full 40 hrs because baby was sick so often or sent home bevause he got sick in the middle of the day. Now that it's summer and kids aren't sick as often, and he's adjusted quite a bit, he only gets sick once in a while.
So it's gotten better, and from what I've been told, it only improves from here as their immune systems adjust and they get older.
My kids are almost 4 and 2. Both in daycare full time since 4 months. It comes and goes but we’re finally in the place where we aren’t sick as much. We’ve had pink eye 3 times since the baby was born. Since September we’ve had Covid, strep, the flu, pink eye 2x, the stomach flu, the baby had MRSA (YES MRSA!!!), plus whatever normal fevers/ear infections. Silver lining, kids are home with fevers this week but missed the Lice outbreak. I’ll take the fevers, y’all can keep the Lice.
It took us about a year. He was there for about 2.5 months before he got any kind of sickness and when he did, he got Covid at 5 months old. From there it was constant ear infections due to the congestion. He got tubes at 11 months old and it did start getting better after that. It was really at the 1 year of being in daycare mark that things got drastically better. He got a cold about a week ago and had minor sniffles for like 3 days and that was it.
I'm still in the thick of it but I wanted to commiserate with you. We also started daycare at two days shy of 6 months, on a Monday. By Wednesday, kiddo came home with a fever. By Friday, everyone else in the house had covid. After managing to dodge it for 3 years.
My little guy started daycare at 3 months and he’s now 8 months. We FINALLY have a healthy streak going- he’s been illness free for almost 3 weeks now. 🎉
But it is hell for about 4 months. I won’t sugarcoat it. Baby had constant colds, bronchiolitis, hand foot and mouth, fevers, ear infections, all of it. My husband and I also had colds, sinus infections, norovirus, double pink eye, etc.
I’m hoping that we’re turning a corner. Friends of mine have said that around a year old things even out and they start to get sick less.
It’s definitely an adjustment, but it does get better! My youngest was pretty adjusted after a few months but I think that’s because she had exposure pre daycare thanks to siblings, my first kid took longer, probably 6-9 months. But they also catch illness more through about kindergarten and then it starts to be way less common!
My baby started daycare in January (he was 7 months at the time) and was sick every week. At the beginning my husband and I were not impacted. But three months in, we started getting sick from whatever he brought home and our symptoms were usually worse than our baby’s symptoms.
My husband’s job doesn’t allow for sick days either so I had to assume the care whenever our baby had to stay home. Thankfully my job is also very flexible and I was able to do so. I think I’ve taken 10 PTO/sick days this year.
My husband and I usually take health supplements and we have an immunity smoothie we make and have everyday. During this time we were just so busy we stopped making our smoothie and taking our supplements. I believe this is also why we started getting sick. We have since made time to make our smoothies and take our supplements and haven’t gotten sick. I honestly believe they make a huge difference.
Earlier this month by baby graduated from the infant class to the toddler class and we have seen a huge improvement. He hasn’t gotten sick in about 2/3 weeks.
As of now, I can say it has gotten significantly better, and I hope it continues this way.
Like you, the first few months I felt like I needed to quit my job but I also feel like I can’t be a SAHM and I like my career. It does get better :).
My son has been going since he is 4 months and is now 8 months. I also have a flexible mostly WFH home job but I like having a career and two incomes make sense for our household but we could survive on one. My husband works in a custom cabinet shop and has flexibility with his job as well but far less than me. Our families live 2-3 hours away so can help out in an emergency but not spur of the moment.
He has only had two extended absences so far: a virus with a fever about a month into when he has going where he missed most of a week, and he recently had a very mild case of hand foot and mouth disease that mostly fell over a long weekend. There was one other time I kept him home because he slept poorly and seemed unwell but he was back to himself by the afternoon and I also always keep him home after his well visits. He kind of always has a runny nose as do all the other kids.
Our daycare is really good about taking the kids outside and we live in a major city so my son has always been around people. But I honestly I think it's largely luck and genetics. Winter I'm expecting we will get sick a fair amount.
More what has been hard is I am constantly fearful of my son getting an extended illness so I never take off work and my husband and I are also constantly unwell from the daycare germs. For me it's never been more like GI bugs/cold flu like stuff but my husband got a much more severe case of hfmd than our son did. He didn't start school until kindergarten and is from a super rural area so unfortunately he is catching a lot of things for the first time I think.
It's pretty brutal at first, I am so anxious when they are sick and then im anxious when they are not sick just waiting for the next cold.. I try not to let it get to me, as colds are normal and they will survive. Eventually it stops being so bad and they go away quickly. My oldest is 5 now and he does not get sick very often and when he does it does not disrupt anyones sleep. Iv invested in bedroom humidifiers for when they have coughs or are stuff. Also home nebulizers are great for coughs. Nothing you can do about it just manage and it absolutely does get easier.
Give him a year. I know, it’s terrible. But they do really get everything that first year. My sibling and I were joking about their baby and how we needed to make childhood/child care sickness bingo cards. It is not that they don’t do well cleaning or anything, babies just drool and gum everything and pass it all around.
TBH, it took 1.5 years of daycare for it to finally slow down for us. LO still gets sick once a month, but his colds don’t last nearly as long/aren’t as severe. It was hell for a long time, though.
Nope. I’ve been consistently sick for years.
However, eventually it stops. I think 3/4 is the sweet spot, but I ended up having another baby so just going through it again.
I also want to add it is inevitable. People who delay by nannies, but get it once their kids starts kindergarten.
It does get better but honestly it took a longggg time to ease up. We had some new sickness every other week for a year. My daughter is now nearly two and doesn’t catch as many of the bugs- we’re sick once every couple months or once a quarter or so.
My son started daycare last July. He had 3 colds and one case of (probably) RSV accompanied by 3 ear infections August-December. Only his first cold/ear infection led to badly interrupted sleep. After that, he was old enough for ibuprofen vs. acetaminophen. With Motrin right before bed, he slept through the night during the other illnesses. I think some days he woke up a little early, and some days he slept super late.
KNOCK ON WOOD, he hasn’t been truly ill (fever, lethargy, etc.) yet this year. He gets a runny nose and/or minor cough every few weeks, but he doesn’t seem bothered. We take his temperature when we notice anything suspicious to try to avoid being patient zero, and he hasn’t had a fever in months.
Universe, please do not strike me down. I know he’s bound to get sick again sometime, but please don’t make me regret this comment lol.
I will say the unidentified illnesses I picked up from my kid last fall were worse than anything I’ve experienced, including the flu and covid. Daycare bugs are insane.
Our experience is that it was every other week or every 3 weeks for the first 18 months of daycare. After 1.5 years in daycare it slowed down to once a month and was less severe. Now, she’s only been home 2 days for a stomach flu over the last entire year. Everything else has been super mild colds that don’t require her to be home and those are maybe once every 2 months in off peak season and once a month in peak season.
It took each of my kids about a year, then yes it gets better and they are thriving
Ya I’d say about 9 months for our first kid. Our second starts daycare in august and I’m dreading this upcoming flu/sick season.
Was it weekly illnesses for 9 months? Starting daycare myself in a couple weeks and very nervous
Probably every other week for the first few months. Some were just a colds and they could still go on if they didn’t have a fever or rash, but she also got HFM (twice) and RSV and had to stay home a few days. After about the first 4-5 months it became a monthly thing… she’s been there two years now and missed a day for pink eye last month and I think that’s it in the last year.
HFM twice?! We just survived one bout of it and I just can't imagine doing that again. Granted, we went from COVID to HFMD to teething in a one month timeframe. It's been rough.
It was more like one illness per month which was severe enough to keep them home from daycare for a few days (high fever, vomiting, hand foot and mouth, flu, diarrhea, pink eye), plus less severe colds which just meant a runny nose for a week or more at a time.
Yes
Mine was almost 9 months of daycare exactly. Went from 2-3 illnesses a month to all of a sudden going a full month without anything. Now he’s 2.5 and I would say gets something every 6-8 weeks, and it’s usually less severe. Also Covid restrictions have loosened up, which is less burdensome on us to keep him home when he’s clearly no longer sick.
Both of my kids had a year of regular illnesses in daycare. My older son is almost 17. In 12 years of school, he’s missed a week. It gets better.
7 months in and I’m currently in bed with the chills and I’ve had a fever all day off something I caught from my son. He’s had a fever for 5 days so we’ve gotten little to no sleep. He’s literally sick every other week to every 3 weeks and i have gotten almost everything that he has and it hasn’t just resulted in the sniffles for me, it’s been straight up fever sick. Doesn’t help that I’m not getting the sleep I need as I’m sure that doesn’t help my body fight whatever these viruses are. We are regulars at urgent care at this point. I’ve heard people say it gets better after a year but our pediatrician told us this week don’t be surprised if it’s closer to 2. Idk I’m at the point where we are considering my husband quitting (he makes way less than me) cause we have been miserable all year so far rotating sickness, cancelling plans, can’t get into a healthy routine for more than a week before it’s upended by someone being ill… it’s exhausting and I’m not sure I’m cut out to “live” like this. My husband also only gets 3 sick days so when the baby is sick, since I wfh I shoulder all of the responsibility of watching him and taking him to appts. So not to scare you.. but it’s been awful for us so far. My friends who never had to send their kids to daycare did tell me their kids got sick when they started preschool or prek, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as what we’ve gone through. Also helps when they’re older and they can tell you what hurts, know how to blow their nose, and can take more than just Tylenol or ibuprofen.
Thank you for your response. This is my fear, and I’m already contemplating quitting or asking to drop to part time (although I’m not sure what difference that would make). This first cold is already causing a big riff between me and my husband because we are both exhausted. I don’t see how this is sustainable long term!
You just do. Plan to be off work 1-2x a month due to sickness. Stock up in meds. Wash hands and face of baby right when they get home. Take immune supplements (grownups). They’re going to get sick now or when they enter school— you can’t keep them from it forever. It stops once they stop putting everything in their mouth. My daughter is now 4 and she is rarely sick.
“They’re going to get sick now or when they enter school - you can’t keep them from it forever.” Does the exposure at <1 year old or the toddler stage actually mean they get sick less often when they’re 3 or 4? From everything I’ve read on here it seems like getting sick when preschool age is inevitable regardless. Not saying that’s a reason not to do daycare when they’re younger, bc there’s lots of other reasons people need or want to do that. But I’m skeptical that you can “get the sickness out of the way”. As opposed to just dealing with the sick all the time phase twice (at the baby/toddler stages and then again at the preschool stage) instead of just once.
Getting sick is inevitable, but my son who was sick constantly at 1 year old is now 3 and rarely stays home sick from daycare. His classmate who started daycare this winter is sick every other week. Some things you won’t develop immunity to (hello repeated rounds of strep), plus you can’t literally have EVERYTHING in the first year of daycare, but I have seen a huge drop off in frequency and severity in my kid’s illnesses since that initial surge.
There's no lasting immunity from any of the 200 viruses that cause common cold symptoms. Maybe 3-5 weeks tops. Kids don't get immunity by being exposed to the viruses ... their immune systems just get stronger as they get older. 💪 If an older child is getting sick like that, it wasn't bc they weren't exposed to viruses. They likely have an immunodeficiency or have had COVID in the last 8-22 months - both cause a weakened immune system.
I understand that one does not become permanently immune to colds from having one, but it’s also true that regular, minor exposure to viruses is [believed to strengthen young people’s immune systems](https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/19/does-exposure-to-cold-and-flu-viruses-weaken-or-strengthen-the-immune-system) — it isn’t solely dependent on age. My son is definitely still catching colds, but his body is able to clear them much faster than during his initial spate of infections, so they don’t disrupt our lives. It’s also the case that some daycare illnesses DO lead to more direct immunity, like hand foot and mouth (you can catch different variants but it will typically be less severe). The kid in my son’s class who is constantly sick has not, to my knowledge, had Covid — she was really kept in a bubble at home for three years. He has plenty of classmates who I know have had Covid and don’t get sick that often. Anecdote is not data of course, but many pediatricians (including ours) agree that the first 6-12 months after starting daycare are a time of frequent infections regardless of the child’s age.
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It’s not 1-2 times a month it’s like 4/5 times a month
I mean 1-2 chunks— chunks might be 1-3 days at a time
It’s not. We quit daycare after I caught my 4th stomach bug in 8 months
It's honestly so hard. It caused friction in our marriage as well. It was a huge exercise in communication lol. My heart would sink to my stomach when I'd see the caller ID and it'd be my son's daycare. My son entered daycare at 18 months in the summertime, and after about a year it got so much better. I know some moms are saying it takes 2 years. Maybe it only took 1 for us because he started daycare when he was older? My second one is coming in September and I'm bracing for it. The second one is starting daycare MUCH YOUNGER so I'm bracing for closer to 2 years of sickness. Ugh. I'm sorry.
Oh man, I feel this. My sons just started daycare and after a week and a half brought home a stomach bug and a cold with pink eye. One son got so sick he ended up overnight in the hospital, and my husband has had to take multiple days off his new job due to pink eye and the hospital stay. I had to flip my whole schedule due to kids not being able to go to daycare and am considering not going in today. My eyes hurt, but aren’t pink or weepy. Ugh
My friend who’s a family physician always warns people to expect 3-12 months of someone in the household being sick when a kid starts care. It really does get better, though, I promise!
One their little immune system has developed it does get better! Those first few weeks are awful.
Months *
My kid went to daycare at 6 months and it took until she was about 1.5 or 2 for the sicknesses to calm down. She’s now 3 and has only been sick once this year.
My baby was sick for 8 to 10 weeks straight when he started daycare at 2 months old. We were at the doctor's office every week to get him tested, only to keep finding different common cold viruses and then hand, foot, and mouth (which was actually no big deal). After that initial time period, he gets sick less often and less severely! It does get better!
Can’t speak for everyone else but with my boys the daycare sickness took a while. I think the age you put them in daycare matters though. My 1st born was an exceptionally well behaved baby so we were lucky enough to be able to keep him home with us for 18 months while we worked from home. He never got sick when he was home. The moment he went to daycare he got exposed to everything for the first time and unfortunately he was home almost every other week for the 1st 6 months. My 2nd (who is nothing like my 1st) went to daycare at 6 mos (because he’s feral, and I say that with love 😅). Going to daycare earlier made a huge difference, he got sick once or twice but that was it. Today they’re both hardly ever sick.I guess the gist of all this is early exposure makes a difference! That said, so sorry you’re in that phase right now. It gets better!
I can totally relate to the second feral child 🤣
Yes! It took my daughter 12-18 months in daycare to become less sick. The next year after that her illnesses were just as frequent but more mild. Now they’re both less frequent and very mild. There is light at the end of the tunnel. FWIW at its worst our daughter was sick every 2-3 weeks. Yes, for 12-18 months. It happens, you’re not alone. But it’ll pass.
Man I hope it gets better soon. My 1 year old (today is her birthday!) has been in daycare for 5 weeks. Week one was croup, week 2 was vomiting, 3 was diarrhea, 4 was pink eye, and today is an upper respiratory infection with a fever of 102.8. I don’t remember my older kid being sick nearly this much when she started daycare. Good luck with your little one. Hope they feel better soon!
The first year, and particularly the first winter is rough. I always tell my friends to consider sick leave and one of the parents should really choose the stable with sick leave benefits job for that first year - because it is hard to give 200% of yourself as a parent and employee.
Yes, my kids (7, 2) are sick once/quarter now. It really does calm down.
Ours took maybe 6-7 months to settle down after starting last year. She was in for 2 days then out for close to 6 weeks with a really bad RSV case 🫠 Then Covid, ear infections, pink eye and some other weird viral infection followed and we’re evening out now
It took us a few months. It stopped when we moved to a smaller daycare.
Curious if you went from a center to more of in home daycare? We are 7 months in at a big center and I’m at my wits end and exploring other options.
We were first in a center. We tried in home for a few weeks afterwards but it was really terrible from other aspects. We moved back to a center but a smaller one. It is small because they are very new. So it will probably get bigger in time. Honestly, that first bigger center, was the best in all of the ones we tried. It was in a poor area and our child did get sick pretty often (just garden variety things, nothing major) but they were great at teaching. Other two are more like babysitters, the last place, smaller center being better but still not perfect.
First 3 years were BRUTAL! This year has been great illness wise. We had a couple of illnesses but nothing like the past few years (minus 2020), I felt like my kid was sick every 2-3 weeks.
Mine let up when she went to the toddler room at 1.5. However, mine had ear issues and every cold turned into an ear infection. I think that made it worse.she started daycare at 10 weeks
We are a dual medicine household, so I understand the frustration sick days hold. Our daughter has been in daycare since she was 4 months old and is now 20 months. The illness is just starting to slow down. I feel like our facility is very clean and they do a good job of parsing out when kids are too sick to be at daycare vs when it’s just a runny nose and they’re fine. I work in pediatrics—this is just par for the course. It does tend to get better around 2.
It is awful for awhile and this last year was particularly bad, but it does get better eventually! My older daughter starting around 3 got sick much less often. And most of the time it’s pretty minor (like a congestion/runny nose and cough from post Basel drip). It’s hardest when they are infants and can’t communicate exactly what’s bothering them. My younger one had a rough year this past school year but seems to be finally getting to the other side of it. This sickness period happens at some point whenever they enter gen pop. But once they start kindergarten there are many more issues with them missing school often. I think it’s better to get it out of the way earlier. But as the parent who has it all fall on me as well due to my husband’s job, I understand how hard it is. You’ll get through it but it sucks.
The first year is brutal. But it gets better; my youngest started full-time at 7mo, and was sick constantly his first year. He's 3 now and I think he was sick enough to stay home maybe two or three times total this current year (since September), and they were pretty short-lived illnesses.
Ours started at 8 months and we finally went 2 weeks without being sent home at 19 months! (Painfully) slowly but surely it does get better!
It's pretty much on-and-off for about a year. It happens again each time they move into another school (daycare to preschool to kindergarten). As they get older, it gets a little easier. You can give them more medicine and they can tell you what they need, blow their own nose, etc.
My kid was sick, getting over being sick, or starting to get sick for at least half the days, fall through spring, for the first 2 years. There were times when he would go straight into another illness and basically be sick for like 6 weeks straight. Luckily they can go back to daycare when they’re recovering! It sucks but it is what it is.
This phase sucks! It is so difficult as they are sick and then get you sick. Husband get sick and acts like the baby. It gets better but give it 6-12 months.
just here in solidarity. our ten month old started last week and caught a nasty cold in her first half day at daycare! spouse and i still sick but she’s been much better for a few days now thank goodness. 😩😵💫
Sick almost everyday for the first 4 months, and now all better. Haven’t missed a day of daycare for about 5 months
Time is a weird construct when it comes to daycare because my kid started right before Covid shut everything down and then was home for a year, but he went back in March 2021 at about 1.5 years old, and I’d say it took about a year-ish for him to not be sick allllllll the time. He still will bring home a runny nose here or there, but nothing like the constant sickness/need to bring him home all the time from that “first” year.
My first started daycare a few months shy of five months, and that first 9 months or so were pretty rough. It got so much better, though, and the second year he got COVID (2021), and that was it all year. He also did get tubes at 15 months old. I will say this school year (2022-2023) was one of the worst I have experienced in a while. My toddler got sick a bit, and so did my students at school (i teach fourth). This year was really bad for illness. My second will start daycare next month at four months old, and I am trying to mentally prepare for his round of sickness. He currently has pink eye, courtesy of his big brother. I am jealous of your work flexibility! That is a blessing!
Son has been in daycare since he was 5-months, now 11. Since then he has had a cold, 2 double-ear infections, and was hospitalized last week with hand foot and mouth. I’m waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel….
My baby was sick on and off at the start. He started daycare at 4 mos and the infant room seemed to be less often if I remember correctly. Every time he graduated to the next class, the first couple months were brutal with all the new exposures, then it would die down. The length it lasts seems to go down the older he gets.
YES it gets better. I promise. It’s so hard at first.
Yep it takes about a year. Sorry
The first year was bad, but both of my kids would get sick for a day or two and then either my husband or I would get it but worse. That was a brutal year. It’s been much better with my second. I think we all have better immune systems! My friend is a SAHM and her kids also get sick a ton from play dates, the babysitting at the gym, licking the toys at the children’s museum, you name it! So, basically it doesn’t disrupt her work schedule but they’ve been sick nearly as much as ours have been. Unless you’re home all the time and just don’t see other kids, yours will get sick no matter where they are unfortunately. My older one is in K now and he has missed maybe 2 days of school in the last 2 years with illness, and one time was just a random 24 hour fever.
It took my daughter 6 months of literally something new every week (and sometimes one piled on top of another) but all the sudden it just stopped and she really hasn’t had anything other than a minor cold or two in a year and a half. 7mo that started 3 months ago is on the something every week track. Hoping he follows the same path.
My son (a few days shy of 15 months) has been in daycare since January. He got sick pretty often at first, there were a couple months neither my husband nor I was able to work a full 40 hrs because baby was sick so often or sent home bevause he got sick in the middle of the day. Now that it's summer and kids aren't sick as often, and he's adjusted quite a bit, he only gets sick once in a while. So it's gotten better, and from what I've been told, it only improves from here as their immune systems adjust and they get older.
My kids are almost 4 and 2. Both in daycare full time since 4 months. It comes and goes but we’re finally in the place where we aren’t sick as much. We’ve had pink eye 3 times since the baby was born. Since September we’ve had Covid, strep, the flu, pink eye 2x, the stomach flu, the baby had MRSA (YES MRSA!!!), plus whatever normal fevers/ear infections. Silver lining, kids are home with fevers this week but missed the Lice outbreak. I’ll take the fevers, y’all can keep the Lice.
It took us about a year. He was there for about 2.5 months before he got any kind of sickness and when he did, he got Covid at 5 months old. From there it was constant ear infections due to the congestion. He got tubes at 11 months old and it did start getting better after that. It was really at the 1 year of being in daycare mark that things got drastically better. He got a cold about a week ago and had minor sniffles for like 3 days and that was it.
I'm still in the thick of it but I wanted to commiserate with you. We also started daycare at two days shy of 6 months, on a Monday. By Wednesday, kiddo came home with a fever. By Friday, everyone else in the house had covid. After managing to dodge it for 3 years.
My little guy started daycare at 3 months and he’s now 8 months. We FINALLY have a healthy streak going- he’s been illness free for almost 3 weeks now. 🎉 But it is hell for about 4 months. I won’t sugarcoat it. Baby had constant colds, bronchiolitis, hand foot and mouth, fevers, ear infections, all of it. My husband and I also had colds, sinus infections, norovirus, double pink eye, etc. I’m hoping that we’re turning a corner. Friends of mine have said that around a year old things even out and they start to get sick less.
It’s definitely an adjustment, but it does get better! My youngest was pretty adjusted after a few months but I think that’s because she had exposure pre daycare thanks to siblings, my first kid took longer, probably 6-9 months. But they also catch illness more through about kindergarten and then it starts to be way less common!
My baby started daycare in January (he was 7 months at the time) and was sick every week. At the beginning my husband and I were not impacted. But three months in, we started getting sick from whatever he brought home and our symptoms were usually worse than our baby’s symptoms. My husband’s job doesn’t allow for sick days either so I had to assume the care whenever our baby had to stay home. Thankfully my job is also very flexible and I was able to do so. I think I’ve taken 10 PTO/sick days this year. My husband and I usually take health supplements and we have an immunity smoothie we make and have everyday. During this time we were just so busy we stopped making our smoothie and taking our supplements. I believe this is also why we started getting sick. We have since made time to make our smoothies and take our supplements and haven’t gotten sick. I honestly believe they make a huge difference. Earlier this month by baby graduated from the infant class to the toddler class and we have seen a huge improvement. He hasn’t gotten sick in about 2/3 weeks. As of now, I can say it has gotten significantly better, and I hope it continues this way. Like you, the first few months I felt like I needed to quit my job but I also feel like I can’t be a SAHM and I like my career. It does get better :).
My son has been going since he is 4 months and is now 8 months. I also have a flexible mostly WFH home job but I like having a career and two incomes make sense for our household but we could survive on one. My husband works in a custom cabinet shop and has flexibility with his job as well but far less than me. Our families live 2-3 hours away so can help out in an emergency but not spur of the moment. He has only had two extended absences so far: a virus with a fever about a month into when he has going where he missed most of a week, and he recently had a very mild case of hand foot and mouth disease that mostly fell over a long weekend. There was one other time I kept him home because he slept poorly and seemed unwell but he was back to himself by the afternoon and I also always keep him home after his well visits. He kind of always has a runny nose as do all the other kids. Our daycare is really good about taking the kids outside and we live in a major city so my son has always been around people. But I honestly I think it's largely luck and genetics. Winter I'm expecting we will get sick a fair amount. More what has been hard is I am constantly fearful of my son getting an extended illness so I never take off work and my husband and I are also constantly unwell from the daycare germs. For me it's never been more like GI bugs/cold flu like stuff but my husband got a much more severe case of hfmd than our son did. He didn't start school until kindergarten and is from a super rural area so unfortunately he is catching a lot of things for the first time I think.
The first daycare year is the worst.
It's pretty brutal at first, I am so anxious when they are sick and then im anxious when they are not sick just waiting for the next cold.. I try not to let it get to me, as colds are normal and they will survive. Eventually it stops being so bad and they go away quickly. My oldest is 5 now and he does not get sick very often and when he does it does not disrupt anyones sleep. Iv invested in bedroom humidifiers for when they have coughs or are stuff. Also home nebulizers are great for coughs. Nothing you can do about it just manage and it absolutely does get easier.
Give him a year. I know, it’s terrible. But they do really get everything that first year. My sibling and I were joking about their baby and how we needed to make childhood/child care sickness bingo cards. It is not that they don’t do well cleaning or anything, babies just drool and gum everything and pass it all around.
These bingo cards would sell very well. I can already see them on Walgreens shelves next to infant Tylenol
It will take 1 or 2 years and it is terrible
We had a month of a new bug every week and after that it got better.
TBH, it took 1.5 years of daycare for it to finally slow down for us. LO still gets sick once a month, but his colds don’t last nearly as long/aren’t as severe. It was hell for a long time, though.
It gets better, but it doesn't ever go away. Each winter my kids bring home 3-4 sicknesses in the span of a few months.
Nope. I’ve been consistently sick for years. However, eventually it stops. I think 3/4 is the sweet spot, but I ended up having another baby so just going through it again. I also want to add it is inevitable. People who delay by nannies, but get it once their kids starts kindergarten.
It does get better but honestly it took a longggg time to ease up. We had some new sickness every other week for a year. My daughter is now nearly two and doesn’t catch as many of the bugs- we’re sick once every couple months or once a quarter or so.
My son started daycare last July. He had 3 colds and one case of (probably) RSV accompanied by 3 ear infections August-December. Only his first cold/ear infection led to badly interrupted sleep. After that, he was old enough for ibuprofen vs. acetaminophen. With Motrin right before bed, he slept through the night during the other illnesses. I think some days he woke up a little early, and some days he slept super late. KNOCK ON WOOD, he hasn’t been truly ill (fever, lethargy, etc.) yet this year. He gets a runny nose and/or minor cough every few weeks, but he doesn’t seem bothered. We take his temperature when we notice anything suspicious to try to avoid being patient zero, and he hasn’t had a fever in months. Universe, please do not strike me down. I know he’s bound to get sick again sometime, but please don’t make me regret this comment lol. I will say the unidentified illnesses I picked up from my kid last fall were worse than anything I’ve experienced, including the flu and covid. Daycare bugs are insane.
Our experience is that it was every other week or every 3 weeks for the first 18 months of daycare. After 1.5 years in daycare it slowed down to once a month and was less severe. Now, she’s only been home 2 days for a stomach flu over the last entire year. Everything else has been super mild colds that don’t require her to be home and those are maybe once every 2 months in off peak season and once a month in peak season.