wife is very frustrated with how sick my 4 year old has been getting!

[msi1337]

Cliff notes:
My 4 year old started daycare about 6-7 months ago.
Wife has neurological disorder and has issues with tiredness/fatigue
Everyone constantly getting sick from my daughter being in daycare, and we are looking for anything that could help

So, as seen above my daughter started daycare last year (a little later than the norm because we had her mom watching her during the day). My wife has a neurological disorder that fatigues her, so any extra illness really stresses her out. She also has a very mentally demanding job and the time away to take care of my daughter is getting to be an issue for both of us as well. Since my daughter has been in daycare she has constantly been sick with colds, vomiting, diarrhea, and 1 flu. She is literally sick every single week. The daycare we have her in is highly rated, however I do question whether they are turning away kids that are sick and if they sanitize toys at all after use.

I am much more relaxed than my wife about the issue (because I know this is somewhat typical to happen once a child starts daycare), however it is really starting to bother her.. I want to find anything we can do to minimize the amount of times she is getting sick.

Here are some things I have thought about:
1) My daughter is a very picky eater. I need to help balance her diet a little more to find foods that she likes that are better for her. She does love vegetables, but only likes some meats.
2) Possibly having her drink a PediaSure or other vitamin based supplement each morning
3) Get her more active! I feel like she might be too closed indoors and might not be getting the exercise she needs to boost her immune system.
4) Possibly: Change daycare. Find a daycare which is more concerned with cleanliness and sanitation? Maybe a smaller place (her current place accommodates 40 kids)

 

[highland145]

Group care=sick kids. Not much around that, imo.
40 kids + ~80 parents + 8 employees + their kids/families germs +++.......germs

My kid was 2 before we took him to the DR because he was sick. I credit the mass quantities of yogurt he consumed. He wasn't in group care but he went to work with the wife dealing with families and small children, daily.

 

[gar655]

And it just keeps coming. Moving to kindergarten in a year will help, but not much. Your child will be the barer of germs and contagions from now and until she leaves school.

Her immune system will improve as she is exposed (gets sick) to more so she should be getting sick less often as she ages. My youngest is in the third grade now and she gets less than half the colds and flu she had when she was in KG and first grade.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, so hang in there.

 

[Joeydubbs]

This is part of the daycare scene and it only gets worse in the winter. Other than getting the flu shot, there really aren't any practical steps you can take to avoid this situation. My kids were in daycare from the time they were 6 weeks old and the colds, gi bugs, flu etc.. were relentless

The upside is, now that they are school age, they rarely get sick...just grin and bare it, the early years truly suck...

 

[StinkyPinky]

A bit late of a replay, but this is very common in daycare. Both my kids went through the same, although perhaps they weren't getting sick every single week (but were getting sick a couple times a month). This will last 6-12 months until their immune system builds up immunity to most of the common bugs. The bad side is that you will also catch some of these bugs. I hadn't vomited since I was a young kid, but as soon as my son went to daycare I vomited four times in a year. You pick up all sorts of nasty shit.