Do you take your toddlers to play groups with colds ect?

[BlueHadeda]

I'm quite shocked at most of the answers on this thread! No wonder people's kids are "always ill with a runny nose" with those attitudes. I will never take my child to playschool/playgroups with a snotty nose, except if I'm 100% certain it's from allergies. My 5-year old had a cold 10 days ago, and it took him 7 days to stop having a runny nose, so he's been at home for 10 days now. He preferred it, because like me, my children just want to relax when not feeling themselves, even with "just" a cold.

I just don't think it's fair on the child himself firstly. They're tired when ill. And "just" a cold can so easily go over into something else. When they're ill, I nurse them at home. Warm, relaxed, taken care of, making sure they drink enough, eat healthy and sleep enough.

Secondly, it's sooooo unfair on any other child! Your child may "just" have a cold, but that child may get bronchitis, tonsillitis, ear infection, even meningitis from the same bug that gave your child "just" a cold! A cold in one person doesn't always mean a cold in another! Every child has different weak spots. One would mostly get tonsilitits from something that gave another ear infections, or brochitis in another, or sinisitus in another. I would hate to know that my child's cold caused another to get tonsilitis and they had to go on antibiotics.

Thirdly, I'm NOT of the opinion that all bugs just builds immunity. I believe keeping a child healthy, makes it possible for them to have a strong immune system. Having it break down constantly by being ill all the time, that doesn't build it. I strongly believe in "creche syndrome". And that it just breaks the child's immune system down without giving it time to recover. And when you then gets an awful bug like something causing meningitis or measles, the child has a much bigger chance of getting severely ill from it instead of being able to fight it off with his strong and healthy immune system. I don't understand this "building immune system by being ill constantly with colds". Immunity against colds doesn't even last 6 months, how come it "builds" the immune system if antibodies to it dissapears within 6 months?!

My children stays at home with me for at least 2-3 years. I don't expose them unnecessary. My children all have exceptional immune systems. My eldest 2 (age 12 and 9) only gets ill about once every 2 years or so. And they've been in school since age 3-4, and currently goes to primary school full time. My 5-year old only gets slight colds, and most of it only when he's not on his reflux medication. Usually, he gets ill about once every 6 months or so. I really can't remember when last any of my children were on antibiotics, apart from my daughter's poisonous spider bite earlier this year. I don't think they've needed antibiotics for over 2 years now for a bug. And my 7-month old has never had antibiotics at all. I strongly feel that keeping them home with me for 3 years, and minimising their exposure until their immune systems has mostly formed at age 3, has contributed to them being exceptionally healthy children now that they're older.

Last point. I also agree with the poster that says why should she herself constantly get her child's ilnesses because other people take their ill children to playgroups? That would seriously peeve me off. Especially since with my GERD, I get throat infections from colds. So unfair!

 

[louandivy]

I think a lot of people go by the same rules as nursery and school - 48 hours for sickness and diarhhoea But there aren't really rules for a cold I don't think anyone is saying they take their kid at the height of illness but when ivy gets a cold she is often snotty for weeks after but she is still happy and wants to play - you could catch a cold just from catching a bus, most people don't quarintine themselves everytime they have a runny nose.

 

[louandivy]

Also your kid may be fine with it but there is no way ivy would be happy staying in the house for 10 days with a runny nose, she would go nuts.

 

[GossipGirly]

through the winter they constantly have runny noses/coughs but I weigh up the pros and cons of socialising and they will most likely get all this when they go to nursery. If they are fine in themselves and a bit of a sniffle then yeh I take them as most of the children do too, we get the bugs from playgroup but I would never keep them away, we go to one every morning.

 

[Jchihuahua]

If mine are feeling ill they don't go but if they are feeling fine but still have a runny nose or a bit of a cough then yes, I do take them.

In the class I teach out of 30 children I'd say 20 of them have a cold or runny nose at any given time.

 

[hattiehippo]

I'm quite shocked at most of the answers on this thread! No wonder people's kids are "always ill with a runny nose" with those attitudes. I will never take my child to playschool/playgroups with a snotty nose, except if I'm 100% certain it's from allergies. My 5-year old had a cold 10 days ago, and it took him 7 days to stop having a runny nose, so he's been at home for 10 days now. He preferred it, because like me, my children just want to relax when not feeling themselves, even with "just" a cold.

Thirdly, I'm NOT of the opinion that all bugs just builds immunity. I believe keeping a child healthy, makes it possible for them to have a strong immune system. Having it break down constantly by being ill all the time, that doesn't build it. I strongly believe in "creche syndrome". And that it just breaks the child's immune system down without giving it time to recover. And when you then gets an awful bug like something causing meningitis or measles, the child has a much bigger chance of getting severely ill from it instead of being able to fight it off with his strong and healthy immune system. I don't understand this "building immune system by being ill constantly with colds". Immunity against colds doesn't even last 6 months, how come it "builds" the immune system if antibodies to it dissapears within 6 months?!

My children stays at home with me for at least 2-3 years. I don't expose them unnecessary. My children all have exceptional immune systems. My eldest 2 (age 12 and 9) only gets ill about once every 2 years or so. And they've been in school since age 3-4, and currently goes to primary school full time. My 5-year old only gets slight colds, and most of it only when he's not on his reflux medication. Usually, he gets ill about once every 6 months or so. I really can't remember when last any of my children were on antibiotics, apart from my daughter's poisonous spider bite earlier this year. I don't think they've needed antibiotics for over 2 years now for a bug. And my 7-month old has never had antibiotics at all. I strongly feel that keeping them home with me for 3 years, and minimising their exposure until their immune systems has mostly formed at age 3, has contributed to them being exceptionally healthy children now that they're older.

Last point. I also agree with the poster that says why should she herself constantly get her child's ilnesses because other people take their ill children to playgroups? That would seriously peeve me off. Especially since with my GERD, I get throat infections from colds. So unfair!

I'd love for my child to have 3 yrs to supposedly build up their immune system but unfortuantly I (like an awful lot of other people) have to work and therefore use childcare. Despite being at nursery since 8 months old my son has a good immune system and rarely gets ill.
Is there any actual evidence for 'crèche syndrome' other than it fits with your personal beliefs on child rearing? As far as I understand, it is important to develop children's immune systems (even if the immunity then fades) as its how the body learns to deal with infections and how to identify actual ones (rather than triggering an immune response to allergens for example) that is important.

And while your children are happy to stay at home for days, I can say mine certainly isn't. If he's running a temperature or is clearly under the weather then fine but if we stayed in because he had a runny nose or cough then we'd be in for weeks sometimes and for virtually all of that he'd be full of beans and fine in himself to be out and about.

I myself get really bad sinus infections with coughing and lots of snot (lovely!) when I have a cold - I've got one currently and am more likely to have spread it with all the coughing, sneezing and nose blowing I've done than my son. I go to more different places than he does due to my job and I can't take weeks off work because I feel a bit under the weather or I'm coughing.