How often does your child get sick?

**sangie** · February 13th, 2013, 08:33 PM

So week 3 into DDs first year of school and she's already picked up a bug (sore throat, blocked nose). She was sick quite a bit last year and missed a fair amount of kinder because of it. I was hoping for a better year this year but given she's already sick in the middle of freakin summer I ain't holding my breath!

So how often do your school kids get sick and how much school do they miss per term on average? Do you use any probiotics/olive leaf or any other products to try and boost immunity and do you think they work?

TIA

**~~Snoogans~~** · February 14th, 2013, 04:31 AM

Ohh poor E!! I hope the extra day off today will help her feel better for Friday!

I noticed with miss H when she started kindy, that the sickness ramped up! Have been told to expect a lot of sickness now she has started school! Fun huh?!

Hope miss E feels better soon xx

**RhiChiChi** · February 14th, 2013, 04:38 AM

Touch wood, no illness last year or so far. Saying that though, she had attended creche from 10mths old until just starting school and was sick quite often until she was about 3 yo. I give DD (when I remember) a multi vitamin. I think being sick at a younger age has helped build up her immunity.

**Chocaholic** · February 14th, 2013, 06:04 AM

DS1 is grade 1 now. Last year he had about 5 days off in total, not including the trip to hospital for injury (he accidentily pushed all of his eyelashes in his eye when he rubbed it). Most of the days off were in the first semester.

There were some kids that had almost 3 weeks off with illness but they were given "homework" to do at home so they didn't feel that they were behind when they returned.

**sangie** · February 14th, 2013, 07:34 AM

Have been told to expect a lot of sickness now she has started school! Fun huh!

Yeah super fun NOT! DD drives me nuts when she's sick, you'd think she has man flu

RhiChiChi I gave her a multivitamin last year but I don't think it made any difference. She probably didn't need it as she eats really well (loves fruit/veg) and she gets plenty of exercise and sleep. But still she seems to get every bug going around (I don't think the bugs even have to get within a 1km radius for her to catch them lol!)

Choc 5 days off in total is awesome.

**Trillian** · February 14th, 2013, 07:49 AM

My kids didn't get sick at all last year. there were several bouts of flu/gastro going around and they never got any of them. DS2 did get a tummy bug for a day, but that was during school holidays so he hadn't even been to preschool. Fingers crossed it happens like that again this year. I don't do anything special all the time - they just eat and sleep well. I used to give probiotics to boost them if they were starting to get a bit run down but now i don't worry.

**Phteven** · February 14th, 2013, 08:13 AM

Last year neither of my boys missed more than 1 day of school via sickness. They got gastro just after Christmas at the same time as the rest of Australia and over the winter holidays DS2 had a fever for a day with a cough.

I think the getting sick heaps in the first year of school is a bit of a myth. It didn't happen to either of mine.

**Rouge** · February 14th, 2013, 08:23 AM

Getting sick depends on the common sense of the parents of other children at school. It also depends on your child's immunity. I found more kids were sent to school sick in kinder/prep than in primary school. And by the older years they hardly ever get sick.

**AnyDream** · February 14th, 2013, 09:13 AM

My kids don't get sick very often, touch wood. But I happen to think there are things you can do to help with this. The obvious ones are a diet high in antioxidants (the brighter coloured you fruit & veg, the better) and regular intake of live culture yoghurt is another. But the main, most important of all is teaching your child how to wash their hands properly, using liquid soap. Front, back, thumbs, wrists, between fingers. Make sure your school has liquid soap dispensers in every toilet block (believe it or not, some schools scrimp on this basic hygeine standard). Also teach them to cough into the crook of their elbow, and sneeze into a tissue that immediately goes into the bin. This prevents you from reinfecting yourself/family members over & over with the same virus.

**No.5** · February 14th, 2013, 09:45 AM

DS has brought home a bug from school already. We've all got it

If something is going around, he will get it.

**~Kim~** · February 14th, 2013, 10:04 AM

Not very often here either.
However, when DD1 started childcare at 18 months old we were really really ill (both her and I) for 6 months straight....so ill I had to miss the first day of a new job since she brought home gastro on her first 3 days lol.

She missed 1 day through illness last year. She was too ill to get out of bed.
We live in a special environment here though, with unique....ummm hazards lol.

Nothing special done, but the girls have a great diet (DSs sucks he's just lucky he's cast iron), spend a lot of time in the sunshine and the dirt.

**LuluHB** · February 14th, 2013, 11:19 AM

Mine were sick heaps last year - it was just a round robin of one would go down, and then the next and then the next and then back to the beginning again. I gave I and E multivitamins but don't know that they did anything. Having been very much against it in the past, I am considering the flu vaccine for everyone this year - the girls were sick heaps and I ended up with pneumonia.

I know my girls don't eat well enough, but its not through lack of trying on my part. I think they would be a lot healthier if I could get a more balanced diet into them but they just won't eat it. I also think a lot of our trouble last year is that my kids have never been to daycare and so haven't been exposed to a lot of bugs before they got into the school system. If you've got people with kids in your kids' class that send their children to school no matter how sick they are, its a losing battle.

I'm just hoping that things will improve as they get older.

**AliBaby** · February 14th, 2013, 12:33 PM

As a teacher, most kids wouldn't have more than 5 days off a year from sickness. I am not including childhood illness I.e. chicken pox, etc or family holidays.

Hopefully your DD's immunity will build up soon.

**sangie** · February 14th, 2013, 12:50 PM

Thanks Alibaby, I hope so too.

I hope you all get better soon Schonell

I know its not her diet. She eats really well and a wide variety of veg/fruit. She's the kind of kid who'll eat all her dinner and then ask for more broccoli. Also I give her live yoghurt culture. I think she just lucked out with immunity. I blame her dad as I wasn't a child who got sick very much lol! She's never been to childcare either but she has had two years of kindy.

Marydean I asked her about soap at school and she said they have liquid soap but it has been empty some days

**chody47** · February 14th, 2013, 12:51 PM

Sangie - did your DD attend childcare? I'm asking as my DD1 started around 6 months. The first 6 months she was sick nearly every week. Last year she was sick maybe twice a term. I'm hoping that by the time school starts she will have built up a bit of an immunity. If kindy and school are the first things your DD has attended on a regular basis then I would suggest (from my experience) its fairly normal to get sick often initially. Hopefully it'll reduce soon.

**Taurean** · February 15th, 2013, 08:06 AM

Oh big hugs hon, that's so annoying for you all! I honestly reckon some kids are just prone to picking up stuff, more so than others.

DD1 didn't get gastro until she was 2.5yrs. Everyone was quite amazed that we got to that age without getting it. She had it 3 times last year and DD2 never caught it.

Both my girls have had colds but I don't feel like they're sick very often at all. DD1 suffered from teething snot and coughs more than from a cold. DD2 has had 2 colds (I think) at 14 months and nothing else.

DD1 has started two full days in care (preschool and day care) this year. We are 4 weeks in and so far so good. She has a busy social life too with swimming, mothers group, playgroup and random play dates and she does seem to bypass a lot of bugs. I think it is just her though, we've been lucky!

Anyway, enough of my rambling! I hope your gorgeous DD gets better soon and finds her inner bug repellant soon

xx

PS I love Olive's suggestion of alcohol gel in her bag. DD1 already knows to use it (and happily does it herself) if there is nowhere to wash her hands or if she can't turn the taps on herself.

**sangie** · February 15th, 2013, 08:14 AM

Thanks all, she was much better this morning so she was able to go to school. She was happy that she didn't miss a day of school (as Vic teachers were on strike yesterday).

Taurean both my kids rarely got sick as babies. They went to playgroup, swimming, creche at my gym etc so plenty of opportunities to catch bugs. It wasn't until 4 year old kinder that Miss E really started to pick up everything. Hopefully you are lucky with your DD's and they have fab immune systems. Now if only someone would invent that inner bug repellant.................

**Taurean** · February 15th, 2013, 08:57 AM

Thanks all, she was much better this morning so she was able to go to school. She was happy that she didn't miss a day of school (as Vic teachers were on strike yesterday).

Taurean both my kids rarely got sick as babies. They went to playgroup, swimming, creche at my gym etc so plenty of opportunities to catch bugs. It wasn't until 4 year old kinder that Miss E really started to pick up everything. Hopefully you are lucky with your DD's and they have fab immune systems. Now if only someone would invent that inner bug repellant.................

Oh no, no, no! Don't tell me that! Lol! I'll get Bunsen burner and test tubes out today and see what I can whip up!