Child always sick after starting kindergarten: why it happens and what helps

If your child is always sick after starting kindergarten, that is common in the first year in a group. Their immune system is meeting dozens of viruses it never came across at home, and it builds its own defence against each one. Slovak specialists quoted in the media say that six to eight illnesses between September and April are still considered normal for a young child at kindergarten. In the second and third years there are noticeably fewer. Pay closer attention if there are repeated infections, very high fevers, or if your child doesn’t recover between illnesses.

Knowing it is normal is one thing. Getting through a winter where your child spends one week at kindergarten and two weeks at home, while you use up your holiday and work piles up, is another. In this article you will find out why it happens, what is worth doing and what isn’t. We will also help you make a plan so you get through the first winter.

Why children get sick so often in their first year at kindergarten

Ordinary childhood colds, coughs and viral infections are caused by hundreds of different viruses. An adult has met many of them over the years and has antibodies. A two- or three-year-old is meeting them for the first time. At home, your child only came into contact with viruses the family brought in. At kindergarten they meet viruses from fifteen children and their brothers and sisters all at once.

Then there is the way small children behave. They pass toys to each other, put them in their mouths, wipe their noses with their hands and then hold hands. They can’t yet sneeze into their elbow, and they need help with handwashing. That is why the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) puts the emphasis on handwashing for children and adults, and on cleaning toys and surfaces, when it comes to prevention in group settings.

Every illness your child gets over leaves a memory in the body. That is why, for most children, the number of illnesses drops after the first year in a group. A child who first joins a group at school often goes through this “training” in their first year of primary school instead.

How many illnesses are still normal

There is no single official number for all children. This table gives you a rough guide. It does not replace the view of your paediatrician, who knows your child.

What really helps a kindergarten child’s immunity

There is no miracle syrup for immunity. What helps are ordinary things you do every day, and their effects add up.

Enough sleep

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends 11 to 14 hours of sleep in 24 hours, including naps, for children aged 1 to 2, and 10 to 13 hours for children aged 3 to 5. A tired child gets ill more easily and the illness wears them out more. If your child doesn’t nap at kindergarten, put them to bed earlier in the evening. There is more in our article Does my child have to nap at kindergarten?

Handwashing

Teach your child to wash their hands as soon as they get home, before eating and after using the toilet. A song that lasts about 20 seconds helps them keep going. Handwashing is the simplest and cheapest way to stop infections spreading.

Vaccination

Go through compulsory and recommended vaccinations with your paediatrician. Some of the diseases we vaccinate against are dangerous for small children in a group. Your paediatrician will also tell you whether a flu vaccine is suitable for your child.

Time outdoors

Viruses spread mainly indoors. Time in the fresh air means less time in a crowded room and more movement. Dress your child in layers so they neither overheat nor get cold.

A varied diet and plenty to drink

Your child’s diet should include fruit, vegetables, wholegrain bread, dairy and plenty of fluids. Only give supplements after talking to your paediatrician.

A sick child stays at home

A child who recovers fully comes back stronger and doesn’t pass the illness on to other children. Coming back with a fever, or on fever-reducing medicine, makes the illness last longer for your child and for the others. Slovakia’s Public Health Authority (Úrad verejného zdravotníctva) repeatedly reminds parents that sick children, and children who haven’t fully recovered, should not be at kindergarten.

What doesn’t help, even if it sounds sensible

• Overheating. A child wearing a hat in a warm room gets sweaty and catches a chill more easily.
• Avoiding the outdoors in cold weather. Cold itself doesn’t cause illness. Viruses do.
• Antibiotics “just in case”. They don’t work against viral illness. A doctor prescribes them for a bacterial infection.
• Going back quickly after a fever. A child who had a fever yesterday needs at least a day without fever and without medicine.

When to take your child to the doctor

With an ordinary cold you don’t need to rush to the doctor if your child is lively, drinking and the fever isn’t high. Always contact your paediatrician or the out-of-hours service (pohotovosť) if:

• your child has difficulty breathing, breathes fast, or the chest pulls in when they breathe,
• they are not drinking, are passing little urine, or have dry lips and mouth,
• they are unusually drowsy, hard to wake or impossible to settle,
• they have a fever that doesn’t come down even with medicine, or lasts longer than the doctor advised,
• a rash appears that doesn’t fade when you press a glass against it,
• their ear hurts, there is discharge from the ear, or they pull at their ear and cry,
• you feel something isn’t right. A parent’s instinct is a good reason to call the doctor.

The illness cycle: why your child is sick again a few days later

We understand that mornings aren’t easy. You have work, a meeting or a shift nobody else can cover, and your child has “only” a runny nose. That is exactly when a cycle begins that in the end hits your own child the hardest.

A runny nose is most often caused by a virus. But at the door in the morning nobody can see what exactly your child is carrying, for example whether there is strep as well. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that group A streptococci are very contagious and spread through droplets when people cough and sneeze, or through direct contact. Some people carry them with no obvious symptoms.

In the classroom, the illness then passes along like a relay. A sick child infects the friends they play with and share toys with. The teacher often catches it from the children too. When she is off, cover staff take over the class, and in the morning the children say goodbye to someone they know less well. Those days are harder and more unsettled for them. Meanwhile the children keep passing the illness on. Your child comes back after being ill to a class where other children’s illnesses are still going round, and a few days later they are at home again with a fever.

So we will say it openly: bringing a sick child to kindergarten, even with a runny nose that could be strep, is irresponsible. It puts every child in the class at risk, and the people who look after them. But in the end it hurts your own child most, because they don’t get the chance to recover properly and fall ill again.

If the doctor confirms strep throat, your child can go back among other children only when they have no fever and at least 12 to 24 hours have passed since starting antibiotics. That is what the CDC states in its guidance for doctors. Your paediatrician decides the exact day your child can return.

It helps to have a plan for sick days ready before winter. Agree in advance with grandparents or someone else close who can come and help. At work, find out whether you can work from home, and at home decide who stays with your child on the first day and who on the second. At Sovička the rule is simple: a sick child stays at home, you let us know through the parent app, and the teacher won’t take in a child showing signs of illness in the morning. That way we protect your child too.

How to get through the first winter when you work

Frequent illness wears out parents most of all. It helps to have a plan before the first fever arrives.

1. Agree at home in advance. Decide who stays with your child on the first day and who on the second. Taking turns takes pressure off one parent.
2. Find out how carer’s benefit works. In Slovakia it is called ošetrovanie člena rodiny (OČR) and is paid by the Social Insurance Agency (Sociálna poisťovňa). You will find the conditions and how long it is paid on their website.
3. Have a back-up person. A grandparent, a friend or a babysitter who can take over once your child is recovering and stable.
4. Agree on working from home with your manager. For some jobs this is the simplest solution during the winter months.
5. Put together a medicine box at home. It should contain a thermometer, fever-reducing medicine suitable for your child’s age and weight, saline nose drops and a nasal aspirator. Check doses with your paediatrician.
6. Allow some slack. If you can, don’t go back to work in October without some holiday in reserve.

How long common childhood illnesses last

When you know roughly what to expect, it is easier to plan your work and your child’s return to kindergarten. These lengths are only a guide, because every child and every illness is different.

If the symptoms get worse instead of better, or last longer than is usual for that illness, contact your paediatrician.

When your child falls ill: what to do day by day

For an ordinary viral infection, a simple routine helps. If anything gets worse or you are not sure, call your paediatrician.

1. Day one. Take their temperature and keep an eye on drinking and urine. Offer fluids in small sips. If your child has a fever and feels unwell, give fever-reducing medicine. Work out the dose by age and weight, as your doctor or the patient leaflet advises. Let the kindergarten know your child is absent.
2. Days two and three. Your child needs rest, sleep and light food as they feel like it. It doesn’t matter if they eat less. What matters is that they drink. Saline drops and a nasal aspirator help with a blocked nose.
3. When the fever has gone. Wait at least 24 hours without fever and without fever-reducing medicine. Your child should be lively, eating and playing as usual.
4. Before going back. Check whether the kindergarten needs a doctor’s note and pack spare clothes. If your child still has a cough but is otherwise fine, ask the kindergarten what rules apply.

If the fever lasts more than three days, your child refuses to drink, or any of the symptoms in the list above appear, don’t wait and see a doctor.

Going back to kindergarten after an illness

Your child can go back to kindergarten when they are well: no fever, even without fever-reducing medicine, lively, eating and able to manage a whole day. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the UK’s NHS advise waiting at least 48 hours after the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting. In Slovakia the rules are set by each kindergarten’s school rules (školský poriadok), which also say when you need a doctor’s note.

The first day after an illness can be harder for your child. If you can, pick them up earlier and put them to bed a little earlier that evening. If your child was at home for longer, saying goodbye may be harder again.

How to work with the kindergarten

• Tell the teacher what your child has had. If your child is more tired or eating less after an illness, the teacher will adjust their day.
• Report the illness in good time. With contagious illnesses, the kindergarten lets the other parents know.
• Bring spare clothes. After an illness, accidents happen more often, or your child may sweat through their clothes.
• Agree how the kindergarten will contact you if your child falls ill during the day, and who can pick them up if you can’t.

Don’t forget about yourself

The first winter of kindergarten is often hard on parents too. The illnesses your child brings home are often caught by the whole family. Enough sleep, handwashing and sharing the night-time waking help you as well. A tired parent doesn’t need to apologise for it, because this is what the first year in a group looks like in almost every family.

Settling in, stress and immunity

The first weeks at kindergarten are emotionally demanding for your child too. A new place, separation, a different routine and less sleep can also show up as more frequent illness. A calm settling-in period, with the days made longer step by step, helps your child. How to approach it is described in our article How long does settling in take?

Sometimes a child cries again at drop-off after an illness, even though they had got used to it. That is natural. After a week at home, your child needs a little time to get back into the rhythm.

Should I take my child out of kindergarten?

With ordinary viral infections, it usually doesn’t help. Your child will meet the same viruses later anyway. Your paediatrician may recommend a break from the group after repeated, more serious infections, such as ear infections, tonsillitis or pneumonia, so the body can recover. Decide on a break together with your doctor. The number of days marked on the calendar on its own is not a good measure.

Myths about illness at kindergarten

• “Children don’t get sick at a private kindergarten.” Illness spreads in every group. A smaller class and clear rules for sick children can help, but they won’t stop illness completely.
• “They got ill from the cold.” Cold is unpleasant, but illness is caused by a virus.
• “Green snot means antibiotics.” The colour of mucus on its own doesn’t mean a bacterial infection. The doctor decides on treatment.
• “Vitamins will prevent every cold.” A varied diet matters, but no supplement guarantees your child won’t get ill in a group. Talk to your paediatrician before giving supplements so you don’t exceed the doses.
• “If they are always ill, something is wrong with their immunity.” For most children, it is the normal process of getting to know viruses. A paediatrician considers testing immunity for serious or unusual infections, not for frequent colds.

How we do it at Sovička

We know how hard a morning is when your child starts sniffling and you are rushing to work. That is why we want to explain why a sick child stays at home at Sovička. A sick child in the classroom infects the friends they play with, and often the teacher too. When the teacher falls ill, a cover teacher the children know less well greets them in the morning, and their days are more unsettled. The illness is passed from child to child like a relay. Once your child has recovered, they come back to a class where the illness is still going round, and a few days later they are sick again.

When sick children stay at home, the cycle is broken and your child stays healthy for longer. If your child falls ill, just let us know in the parent app, where you can also cancel their meals. If your child shows signs of illness at the door in the morning, the teacher won’t take them in. She doesn’t do this to make your day harder. She is protecting the other children, and on the days when other children are ill, she is protecting yours in the same way.

Your child will be in a class of 7 to 15 children. They go outside in the morning and in the afternoon, and can rest after lunch. Every day they have a morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack and fruit, and they can drink throughout the day. You can see what a typical day looks like on the Daily routine page and find out about food on the Meals page.

If you would like to see where your child will play and ask about our illness rules in person, book a visit. When to keep your child at home is covered in detail in our article When to keep your child home from kindergarten.