Thursday, October 17, 2013

The Pre-School Plague.

Everyone always talks about how wonderful pre-school is. How engaging it is. How early education and socialization is so important to the growing three and four year old. I've read countless articles that promote pre-school enrollment specifically for the promotion of self-awareness in an environment that teaches your child how to problem solve, how to be a student, how to separate from mom and continue that onward development of self awareness. I get all that and after struggling with the decision as to whether or not to enroll Carter in a program earlier this year, I'm so glad we took the leap.

Except I'm not. 

What no one and no article warns you about is the Pre-School plague that often accompanies first-time enrollment into a school-type program. 

Carter loves school {clickable link} and when I say "loves school" I mean he wants to go on his days off, talks about his friends all the time and even though it's only been a six weeks since his enrollment, I can already see a difference in his behavior, unfortunately behavior that now includes fighting like a ninja, but that's a story for another day. 

I really want to love pre-school {clickable link}. I want to love it as much as Carter does but I'm finding it really hard to love when each week brings with it a new illness. It's barely flu season and already we've encountered strep throat, bronchitis, croup, a GI bug and as of late, a cough that just won't quit. 

I get it. He's strengthening his immune system and blah blah blah, but it still sucks more than what Martha Stewart said about us bloggers. These days, I'd much rather prefer our old way of things, the way that didn't involve sending him off to Germ School. 

I pride myself on a clean home. I mop my floors, I wipe down all surfaces regularly and hand washing has always been important to this nurse-turned-mom but lately even that hasn't been enough. I even took the plunge to bathing the boys with a soap comprised of essential oils that promises cleanse and defend the skin's surface. Hell, if the label said to feed it to them while hopping on one leg and singing MoTown, I would probably do that too. 

Despite these precautions, nothing we do seems to protect the two tiny immune systems in our home from these atrocious bugs. Prior to this, I used to envision how Carter spent his two and a half hours away from me. The games he played, the songs he sang, the crafts he painted. Now, I imagine all of that but with a side of licking not only the floors but also his fellow classmates.

I can think of very few things more heartbreaking than watching your children suffer with sickness and it's gotten so bad recently that my husband, a proponent of pre-school from the very beginning, has asked about whether or not I believe we should pull him out. 

I'm beginning to think that pre-school is nothing more than a giant cesspool of ecoli, rotavirus and other infectious diseases. We haven't even begun to receive the letters home alerting us to the recent outbreak of lice, pink-eye and Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, among other wonderful bugs shared between children. 

Something tells me that when that time comes, it just might send me over the edge. In the mean time, I think it's time we invest in a frequent flier card to the pediatrician's office. 

Five visits and we get a free bottle of Amoxicillin? Anyone? 
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36 comments :

  1. Ahhhh. I feel you on this one. My daughter has been enrolled in daycare and now preschool since she was 12 weeks old, she is currently Maclane's age. We have had two battles with pneumonia, 12 colds, 2 croups, 3 hand foot and mouth, one pink eye, 5 stomach bugs and numerous viruses/fevers and rashes and partridge in a pair tree! Oh and of course we also battle asthma, allergies (food being the worst) and everything else thosethe universe can throw at us. My husband tells me daily that we need to move her! My thought NO those kids have different bugs and we'll be starting at day one, I cannot handle it.

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  2. I bet this can be super frustrating as a momma. My first year of teaching, I was sick more than I was there at the very beginning. I promise it gets better.

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  3. Hang in there. Here is some advice to take or leave. I'm no expert but a mom of 3. When we get home from school clothes are stripped and a quick bath or quick body wash is done and fresh clothes! It's cut down drastically on sickness. Luck maybe who knows for sure.

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  4. We encountered the same thing in the first couple of months Connor was in a multi-child setting (for 18 months he had a private sitter). He got a stomach virus the 4th day and missed a week. I was second-guessing my decision so much. BUT, I figured that we either had to deal with it now or deal with it when he started kindergarten. For us, after a couple of months it basically ended. Sure there's a cold here and there, but it's just that - a simple cold. All of that to say - it really does get better so hang in there, mama! After the initial 'introduction' we have found that the benefits FAR exceed the illnesses. Now when I got the first lice note sent home, I almost lost my shit! Thankfully that one didn't come near us!!

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  5. I wonder since I'm around big germs (aka high schoolers) it's helped Kennedy when she goes to school. We haven't had many sicknesses. I guess that's one perk of being a working mom? lol. I hope that your kiddos get to feeling better and that those immune systems start kicking butt!!

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  6. My kiddos get fish oil and SilverSol to help strengthen their immune systems. They still get a a cold here and but nothing too serious. I know it's al little out there but there are also other herbs and alternative medicines...extra Vitamin D, echinacea, vitamin C. I did a whole blog post about it... I know alternative medicine isn't for everyone but I figure it's worth a try.

    http://tracistrip.blogspot.com/2013/01/how-we-try-to-stay-healthy.html

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  7. Try Daycare Defense! I swear by it!

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  8. Try Daycare Defense! I swear by it!

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  9. My son has been in daycare since 6 weeks old and the first year was rough, one of us was always sick, but after the first year it got better, I think it's helped all of our immune systems. Even if you pull him out, you'll still have to deal with it when he starts kindergarten so may as well start building that immune system now.

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  10. Been there done that. It is so very frustrating!! Add on a new job that doesn't really care about your or your "always sick" kids and it turns in to way more drama than it is worth! It really does get better....and then you send #2. My first year in pre-k I got strep twice, bronchitis, and pink eye and I was with infants all day.Keep your head up, it'll get better!

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  11. I know this all to well. 8 weeks into preschool and kaylee has been sick with something every other week. This last time she was out of school for a week cause she caught a nasty virus that she then gave to her younger sisters and the baby got it the worst (bronchitis). We've gotten many letters home about pink eye and strep throat this year.

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  12. Daycare mom here to throw in my best advice! Jackson has been that kid who catches absolutely everything, so much so our pediatrician doesn't allow us to enter the sick child waiting room for fear of what he'll catch. First up and I'm sure as a nurse you know this, but it'll probably take a year of catching a bit of everything to shake it out of his system. I rolled my eyes every time someone told me this but they were right. Second, amoxicillin is free at Publix pharmacies. Also, if amoxicillin doesn't seem to kick Carter's funk, we have found omnicef fights those school germs much more efficiently. Last the preschool plague really and truly is awful but just keep at it! I'll be praying the plague leaves y'all quickly!!

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  13. You know how I feel about this. You know I'm Germy McGermison...but I do think you're taking the right steps. Maybe you need to get the Thieves Oil STRAIGHT and put it on them both daily, diffuse it in their rooms, etc.

    Also, I do use Silver Spray...can't remember if we've talked about that. We get it from our chiropractor. It's good stuff too. Remember in the old days the weathy kids ate off of a 'silver spoon'....they did that because of the health benefits! Google it.

    https://www.naturalhealthconsult.com//Monographs/SilvercillinSpray.html

    Between the thieves and the Silver Spray I think you'd be pretty good! But I totally understand your frustration. TOTALLY! I PRAY that you do NOT get HFM! We had it 3 times! And his school was VERY sanitary!

    Hugs Momma!

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  14. I feel you! My son seemed to stay sick when he started one thing after another stomach virus, flu, pink eye, constant snot and cough . We did end up pulling him but have since but him
    back and its been a lot better hes been 3 months and sick once so far but flu season has me freaking already and there was a lice scare I've checked his head daily but the things he is learning is outweighing the bad and I know when school starts I can't keep him home away from it all then I just pray his immune system is stronger lol. Hang in there mama.

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  15. You are making me feel better about not sending Sawyer to preschool this year. Although I think he could benefit from those positive points about preschool!

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  16. Ugh, Aria is nowhere near school age, but I am so not looking forward to all the germs. I'm already thankful that I don't have to send her to daycare. My cousin's little boy is sick every other second it seems, and every time I see that on FB I just thank the Lord that I can stay at home with her. Strengthening the immune system is bull. Sign me up for the germ free program please.

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  17. Ahh I DREAD the day when Ben is in some kind of program and exposed to these nasty germs for the first time. I'm a total germophobe and I legit, need to see a therapist for my fear of the stomach flu/vomit. I'm not even lying when I say I've considered hypnosis to help me overcome my barf fears.

    I definitely definitely definitely recommend probiotics for all of you, especially the kidlets! Ben is on them permanently (we started them because of his eczema) and anytime he gets sick, it's always pretty mild. He's never been sick to the point where I was actually worried - I think I've only used Tylenol once in the past year - and, he licks/chews/mouths EVERYTHING. His favorite is unsantitized shopping cart handles and shoes. Another key part to the recommendation is don't waste your time with off-the-shelf probiotics - get the refrigerated kind - that's the good stuff and it actually works! We've used RAW Kids Organic and Baby's Jarro-Dophilius by Jarrow. I liked both but have been using Jarrow recently since it's cheaper - though I've heard you're supposed to switch brands periodically to expose them to different strains of probiotics. Whole Foods has it in a little refrigerator section - it's a tasteless powder you can mix in with juice/milk/etc. I absolutely swear by this stuff. Best defense in my mommy-arsenal. Wish I was getting kick-backs from them since I recommend them so often! ;-)

    Hope everyone is feeling better soon! This stuff is never fun, especially when exhausted and pregnant!

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  18. Oh hon. My kids have mostly always gone to daycare/preschool so I guess I'm just used to this. Right now I'm dealing with a 5-year-old with strep and a 3-year-old with croup. It just happens with that many kiddos running around each other. The germs cannot be contained! I feel like it comes in spurts now. We will have a period of wellness followed by a period of sickness. I do feel like taking them out won't really solve anything though. It prolongs the inevitable. They'll eventually have to be around others when they start school anyway so might as well start building that immune system now :)

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  19. Last fall, while my son just stayed at my mom's house, he also stayed with my niece and nephew. My niece who is a little older went to a mother's morning out preschool two days a week. I swear it was a never ending cycle for months on end. She'd get something, pass it to my son, he'd pass it to me and so on. By the time that one passed we'd start seeing the next one. I actually got a formal "warning" at work recently because of too many unscheduled absences over the past year... way to support new moms and families HOSPITAL I work in. This year seems a little better and he's actually going to a mmo program himself. Hopefully, we've seen the worst!

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  20. Is he getting the rest of you sick too? Do you know Laura at cowboy boots and baby booties. She uses essential oils and swears they keep her family healthy. I'm tempted but my hubby is so anti alternative methods. He totally scoffed at the amber teething bracelet. I want to put C in preschool next fall but if all he does is get the twins and I sick... Idk

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  21. Andrew has been in preschool since June and we've had our share of sicknesses- I'd say once a month maybe? at least 2-3 of them have not been contagious, but he has caught colds, a stomach bug, and random fever viruses. I have to keep telling myself it will get better over time!

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  22. Yes, I feel your pain. My oldest has always been susceptible to illnesses, even as a baby he was always sick during the winters. Now that he's in kindergarten, we made it approximately 2 weeks into the year before we got sick. And now we have been sick for a solid month! I suspect we won't be leaving the house until May... or June since we always get sick when the seasons change, too. I say just teach your kid good hand-washing skills and hope for the best... Good luck!

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  23. Umm. You're a nurse. Shouldn't you have already known about this? I'm a peds nurse and I'm well aware that with lots of children comes lots of germs. Duh. It's life, get over it. I'm sure you have plenty of thermometers, children's tylenol and OMG essential oils to make it through okay. Also, you're a NURSE so you know how to deal with ILLNESS. Rant over.

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    1. Thank goodness someone said this... You'd think he was the first toddler to go through preschool.

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    2. You'd think you two were the first grown women to read a blog. Why all the aggression?

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    3. You'd think you two were the first grown women to read a blog. Why all the aggression? She is venting a frustration every mother has felt at one point or another.

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  24. This is a reason my girlfriend pulled her daughter out! She was always ail and pedi suggested it. She just didn't have the immune system for it! She ended up putting her in a in home daycare which made it slightly better!

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  25. I have a weird theory that probably isn't truth in any way. But I feel like when my kids get sick young they're building their immune systems so that they can beat sicknesses easier as they grow up. Kind of goes off my husband and I's experiences as kids. I was NEVER sick as a child. It was super rare.. Now.. As an adult I catch every thing possible.. Where my husband was sick all the time from birth.. And now in our 7 yrs of marriage I can count on one hand his many times he's been sick. Of course this is probably just our own experience and might be totally different people. But I don't really mind when my kids get sick.. Sad yes.. But I have to remind myself its building their immune systems.

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  26. I'm glad we're not alone. It makes me feel so dirty when he's sick so much...like I'm doing something wrong. But can we talk about the ninja fighting?! WTF is up with that? It kills me!

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  27. I feel you! My three year old is a walking runny nose, as is my almost one year old. And I feel like crap because the younger one has been sick for pretty much his whole life. Definitely going to try some essential oils or anything else really to help shake these illnesses!

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  28. I have an almost 2 year old that has been in daycare full time since she was about 8 months old.
    She is now in her 3 one (hopefully the last because it's amazing) but every.single.time we switched, she had to deal with all of the new germs. She has also had strep and croup twice, but I promise it does get easier!
    Hang in there!

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  29. Oh no! My daughter started pre-school this year and so far so good!! nothing! not ever the sniffles. I hope this means she's got a rock solid immune system and she won't start bringing home any bugs soon. You might want to ask what the classroom's/school's policy for illness prevention is. Hand washing procedures etc.

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  30. My son got sick EVERY time we went to our library's story time so we quit going...c ant even begin to think about school germs I hateeeeee seeing him with a runny nose anything worse and he just might be homeschooled ! Kidding but not really...

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  31. Hang in there mama. Maybe you'll get every sickness over with by the time kindergarden starts. HOPEFUL!

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  32. my best friend told me my son (who is almost 5) had the preschool plague. i thought she was joking so i googled and found this blog post.. My son had on two separate accts in the last two weeks high fevers with vomiting a few days after.. he had never vomited in his life before, (not even as a baby!) NOW HE HAS PINK EYE! all in a three week period! He has missed two weeks of school too! It's driving me to insanity! haha.

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