The truth about the dreaded ‘first winter in daycare’
Nobody said anything about parents faring worse than the kids, writes Stephanie Arthur-worsop
EVERYBODY WARNED ME of the dreadful “first winter in daycare”. That precious bundle, having been cocooned in their own home since birth, is suddenly thrust into a new environment with other kiddos — of course it’s going to result in a hit to their immune system.
Putting our son into daycare just before winter, I knew he was going to get sick and I had made my peace with that. But then people started sharing war stories of their own “first winters”.
One woman told me she had to take 30 sick days in three months. Another said her baby had a cold that persisted from May to August.
Probably the most alarming, I was told by a parent that they had to suck the snot out of their little darling’s blocked nose. (I love my son but not that much!)
So when the temperatures dropped, I had geared myself up for all the sick days, the calls to pick up my boy from daycare, the sleepless nights and general unhappiness. Well, imagine my surprise when we made it to September 1 relatively unscathed. I breathed a sigh of relief; the worst winter was over.
There had been a couple of minor colds that lasted a few days and one chest infection that I seemed to suffer from more than my son. Perhaps it was all the social distancing and hand sanitiser but even my son’s carer was surprised by how little he had been sick.
So here I am, in December, thinking smugly that I’m totally out of the woods and what do you know — we get sick.
It turns out the dreaded “first winter” actually has no limit — hence why I have a box of tissues and lemon tea by my side right now, and I’ve been pounding Strepsils like they are lollies for the past few days. My son appears to have inherited hubby’s stellar immune system, getting over his daycare illnesses quickly and without fuss. Though, not before he inevitably passes whatever germs he has, on to me.
Then I am left with a foggy brain, aching throat and a cough that seems to last half a year.
I feel cheated! Nobody warned me that I would be the one suffering from all the bugs spread in those petri dishes they call childcare centres!
And to make matters worse, my son’s carer (who is amazing and we adore) has recently informed me there are nasty cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, croup and D and Vs (if you don’t know, you don’t want to know, trust me) going around at the moment.
Perhaps I need to start stocking up on tissues and lozenges now. Though I’m sure my son will be fine.