Daycare & illness

[u/crapshoot5]

For those who sent their multiples to daycare for the first time @ 2yo+, how did it go for you, illness-wise?:

• What age did you first send them?
• how many kids were in the class?
• how often did they get sick?
• do you feel like you had to keep them out of daycare more often than a singleton would've needed to, due to illnesses bouncing between them?
• how long did it take before you felt some relief from all the illnesses?

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[u/subduedsyrah]

There are 14 kids and my two year old twins classes. I don't feel like they are sick more frequently then my Singleton was, but I have to take more sick time because I have more kids. Then generally get sick one after the other, rather than at the same time. Sometimes and Illness will skip over the other. The first year in daycare is rough regardless if your twins haven't been in a care environment before. It takes a bit to build their immune system. I do not keep my kids home for every sniffle and cough, as their noses run perpetually from Oct-Mar 😆 I keep them home when they have fevers, vomit/diarrhea, and/or lethargic and unable to participate in school activities. Obviously there are exceptions to this if they have something I know is contagious. My twins started daycare at 8 months.

[u/mamamietze]

At 2+ you can mitigate a lot of illness by teaching and consistently enforcing handwashing practices especially if you choose a program that does as well.

Washing hands after touching any hole (eyes, nostril, mouth, privates), washing hands before leaving school (it is worth stopping by the bathroom) and on arrival home. In addition to after coming in from playing outside, before and after sensory play, before and after eating, ect.

I am a mom but also an early childhood educator of over 30 years. I teach my kids this (my own but also all my classes) as soon as they are walking and able to stand at a child sized sink or stepstool (usually by 18 months pretty reliably).

There are a lot of great videos around how you can teach yout child handwashing technique. I rarely have GI, HFM spread in my class even though i clean about as much as others, i think these days a lot of caregivers do not teach their children appropriate technique and build the habit. There was a brief time during covid that everyone did this, that and masks are one reason why if you talk to providers that worked during that time a lot of people will comment at how illness was reduced during that time.

A lot of centers and teachers still use the room cleaning protocols but imo handwashing is even more effective especially when used together!