Am I hurting my child by putting her in daycare at 22 months?

On Dec 6, 11:33 am, Ericka Kammerer wrote:
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:
My concern is her (physical) health as she will inevitably go down
with something pretty soon. This was the crux of my relative's
argument - that a child under 3 is best left protected at home. Maybe
I should have said this more explicitly in my original post.

Oh, pbbbthb on the health issue. If the child were immune
compromised, that would be a problem, but otherwise, it's not the
end of the earth for kids to get sick. They're going to start building
up their immune systems sooner or later. Sure, she'll come home with
crud (and likely pass it on to you), but keeping her home will just
postpone that process until later. Make sure you're happy with the
sanitary practices at the daycare, keep her home perhaps if something
bad is going around, and just deal with the rest. I'm enjoying a
cold brought home by my 4yo preschooler now. I'd love not to have
to deal with that, but what else is one going to do?

Reading the story below made me more pessimistic about the health
effects of day care.

A Proposal to Require Flu Vaccines for Preschool
By JILL P. CAPUZZO
New York TImes, December 9, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/ny...09vaccine.html

'The New Jersey Public Health Council is expected to vote tomorrow on
a rule that would require flu vaccines for any child entering day care
or preschool. If it is approved, New Jersey would become the first
state in the country to impose that mandate.

The flu vaccine is one of four that the council will consider. There
is a vaccine that would be given to children entering day care or
preschool to protect against pneumonia, and two others that would be
given to those entering sixth grade: one to guard against
meningococcal disease, a fast-killing strain of meningitis, and the
other an additional booster of a three-part shot already administered
at a younger age against tetanus, pertussis and diphtheria.'

snip

'The decision to propose the additional vaccines, especially the one
for the flu, was based on recommendations by the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration,
according to Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, New Jersey's deputy commissioner of
health and the state epidemiologist. Each year, 108 of every 100,000
children 5 or younger are hospitalized with complications from the
flu, and about 100 die, according to the C.D.C.

"If you have children and they go to day care, they're constantly
getting sick," said Dr. Bresnitz. He noted that children were also the
best transmitters of influenza virus.

"We believe this will limit the disease, decrease hospitalization and
prevent death," he said, "not only for the children affected but also
in the community at large."

At present, 13 other states require pneumonia vaccines for preschool
students, and 27 states have added the extra three-in-one booster for
sixth graders. Two other states, Kansas and Vermont, recommend the
meningococcal vaccine.'

In article ,
Beliavsky says...

On Dec 6, 11:33 am, Ericka Kammerer wrote:
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:
My concern is her (physical) health as she will inevitably go down
with something pretty soon. This was the crux of my relative's
argument - that a child under 3 is best left protected at home. Maybe
I should have said this more explicitly in my original post.

Oh, pbbbthb on the health issue. If the child were immune
compromised, that would be a problem, but otherwise, it's not the
end of the earth for kids to get sick. They're going to start building
up their immune systems sooner or later. Sure, she'll come home with
crud (and likely pass it on to you), but keeping her home will just
postpone that process until later. Make sure you're happy with the
sanitary practices at the daycare, keep her home perhaps if something
bad is going around, and just deal with the rest. I'm enjoying a
cold brought home by my 4yo preschooler now. I'd love not to have
to deal with that, but what else is one going to do?

Reading the story below made me more pessimistic about the health
effects of day care.

Isn't this the *very* thing you cited earlier as a possible *benefit* to
daycare, which you then instantly dismissed as not applicable to most of those
posting here due to your presumptions about our SES status???

All this is, is starting immunizations earlier than kindergarten, when the same
issue would arise anyway. And no, there's no evidence that you've shown that
this is a larger issue for younger kids.

I get the definite impression you're looking, seeking, for evidence to show a
position you've taken, and even forgetting what you've said *earlier*. You're
reaching, Beliavski, you're reaching.

Banty

"Sue" wrote in
news:jZadnWaJCvNQcsbanZ2dnUVZ_v6rnZ2d@wideopenwest .com:

Ah gotcha. You had said something about not wanting Boo
labeled, but I thought that was the point of the visit, to
get help for him.

no, of course the DD preschool wants to label. their funding
is based on that. you just can't have an unlabelled kid in
developmental delay.
the issue came up with just which labels... i had no
objection to, say, "speech delay" or "poor fine motor
control", because those were the primary things i thought he
had problems with.
the intake coordinator, OTOH, wanted to stick "ADD",
"autistic" (which he may be, but he's high functioning like
me, & i don't see a need for the label as that can cause it's
own problems), "emotionally immature", "overly attached to
mother" etc. on him.
his teacher says he's a pretty normal 7 year old boy. he's in
2nd grade, reading on a 4th grade level. he hates writing,
because it is hard for him, but he's getting better at it.
lee

In article
,
wrote:

Well, It's a montessori school. The rooms are called classes. The kids
do what they do in regular day care centers but montessori is more
organized rather than random play. Even at 2 years of age, they have
dipping/pouring, cleaning, brushing their own teeth, brushing hair,
folding kitchen towels etc. I was really impressed that kids that
young can learn so many things. They say that montessori is for all
kids but not for all parents. It may be a cliche. I liked the school
so far.

It actually isn't supposed to be "random play" in a good centre.

To describe a parent's entry into a room of two-year-olds as "disturbing
the class" suggests to me either extreme regimentation or extreme pomposity!

Why wouldn't it disturb a toddler to see parent in the middle of the
day? Most 2 year olds will throw a fit and want to go with the parent
no matter how much they love the school. If one toddler throws a fit
crying "I want mommy", I'm sure atleast one more will follow. That is
very disturbing to the other kids.

IME it doesn't quite work like that. Once a child has settled in to day care,
they do not cry when left, as a rule. Most children do not respond badly to
the sight of other parents, either. It is only when it's going-home time that
the sight of another mummy might cause tears. The mere presence of another
adult is not disturbing -- unless it's the adult who is throwing the fit!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

In article
,
Beliavsky wrote:

'The decision to propose the additional vaccines, especially the one
for the flu, was based on recommendations by the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration,
according to Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, New Jersey's deputy commissioner of
health and the state epidemiologist. Each year, 108 of every 100,000
children 5 or younger are hospitalized with complications from the
flu, and about 100 die, according to the C.D.C.

I think there might be a typo there. I doubt very much that any part of the
USA has an under-five mortality rate of 1:1000 from flu complications alone!

According to Unicef, in 2002, 7 of every 1,000 children in industrialized
countries died before they were five.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

On Dec 10, 3:57 am, Chookie wrote:
In article
,

Beliavsky wrote:
'The decision to propose the additional vaccines, especially the one
for the flu, was based on recommendations by the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration,
according to Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, New Jersey's deputy commissioner of
health and the state epidemiologist. Each year, 108 of every 100,000
children 5 or younger are hospitalized with complications from the
flu, and about 100 die, according to the C.D.C.

I think there might be a typo there. I doubt very much that any part of the
USA has an under-five mortality rate of 1:1000 from flu complications alone!

According to Unicef, in 2002, 7 of every 1,000 children in industrialized
countries died before they were five.

From
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/0607season.htm#children
Pediatric deaths to to flu complications (pediatric = less than 18 yrs
old, although usually more than 50% of the deaths are in kids under
the age of 5). This is for all of the US.

*During the 2003-04 Season, 153 flu-associated deaths in children were
reported to CDC.
*During the 2004-05 Season, 47 deaths in children were reported to CDC
*During the 2005-06 Season, 46 deaths in children were reported to
CDC.
*As of August 6, 2007, 68 deaths in children occurring during the
2006-07 season have been reported to CDC.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weekly...7/weekly20.htm

On Dec 9, 10:24 am, Beliavsky wrote:
On Dec 6, 11:33 am, Ericka Kammerer wrote:



Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:
My concern is her (physical) health as she will inevitably go down
with something pretty soon. This was the crux of my relative's
argument - that a child under 3 is best left protected at home. Maybe
I should have said this more explicitly in my original post.

Oh, pbbbthb on the health issue. If the child were immune
compromised, that would be a problem, but otherwise, it's not the
end of the earth for kids to get sick. They're going to start building
up their immune systems sooner or later. Sure, she'll come home with
crud (and likely pass it on to you), but keeping her home will just
postpone that process until later. Make sure you're happy with the
sanitary practices at the daycare, keep her home perhaps if something
bad is going around, and just deal with the rest. I'm enjoying a
cold brought home by my 4yo preschooler now. I'd love not to have
to deal with that, but what else is one going to do?

Reading the story below made me more pessimistic about the health
effects of day care.

Why?

All kids should be getting these vaccines, whether they're in daycare
or at home. However the government can't mandate the vaccines for a
child who is at home, but can do so for a child in school/daycare.

That these vaccines are being recommended or required is simply a
measure of good public health, not reflective of the daycare setting.
It's very true having kids in large groups means more likelihood of
disease spread, but presumably even a parent at home with their child
is not going to keep their kid locked up all day for fear of disease.

btw - breastfeeding helps to protect the young ones esp. against many
diseases.



A Proposal to Require Flu Vaccines for Preschool
By JILL P. CAPUZZO
New York TImes, December 9, 2007http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/nyregion/09vaccine.html

'The New Jersey Public Health Council is expected to vote tomorrow on
a rule that would require flu vaccines for any child entering day care
or preschool. If it is approved, New Jersey would become the first
state in the country to impose that mandate.

The flu vaccine is one of four that the council will consider. There
is a vaccine that would be given to children entering day care or
preschool to protect against pneumonia, and two others that would be
given to those entering sixth grade: one to guard against
meningococcal disease, a fast-killing strain of meningitis, and the
other an additional booster of a three-part shot already administered
at a younger age against tetanus, pertussis and diphtheria.'

snip

'The decision to propose the additional vaccines, especially the one
for the flu, was based on recommendations by the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration,
according to Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, New Jersey's deputy commissioner of
health and the state epidemiologist. Each year, 108 of every 100,000
children 5 or younger are hospitalized with complications from the
flu, and about 100 die, according to the C.D.C.

"If you have children and they go to day care, they're constantly
getting sick," said Dr. Bresnitz. He noted that children were also the
best transmitters of influenza virus.

"We believe this will limit the disease, decrease hospitalization and
prevent death," he said, "not only for the children affected but also
in the community at large."

At present, 13 other states require pneumonia vaccines for preschool
students, and 27 states have added the extra three-in-one booster for
sixth graders. Two other states, Kansas and Vermont, recommend the
meningococcal vaccine.'

"Chookie" wrote in message
news:ehrebeniuk-F30526.20495310122007@news...
In article
,
wrote:

Well, It's a montessori school. The rooms are called classes. The kids
do what they do in regular day care centers but montessori is more
organized rather than random play. Even at 2 years of age, they have
dipping/pouring, cleaning, brushing their own teeth, brushing hair,
folding kitchen towels etc. I was really impressed that kids that
young can learn so many things. They say that montessori is for all
kids but not for all parents. It may be a cliche. I liked the school
so far.

It actually isn't supposed to be "random play" in a good centre.

To describe a parent's entry into a room of two-year-olds as
"disturbing
the class" suggests to me either extreme regimentation or extreme
pomposity!

Why wouldn't it disturb a toddler to see parent in the middle of the
day? Most 2 year olds will throw a fit and want to go with the parent
no matter how much they love the school. If one toddler throws a fit
crying "I want mommy", I'm sure atleast one more will follow. That is
very disturbing to the other kids.

IME it doesn't quite work like that. Once a child has settled in to day
care,
they do not cry when left, as a rule.
I'm not sure that's true. I've certainly known several children who have
been happy at school/preschool for weeks/months even over a year and
suddenly for no known reason had a week crying when left, then been happy
again.
Debbie


Most children do not respond badly to
the sight of other parents, either. It is only when it's going-home time
that
the sight of another mummy might cause tears. The mere presence of
another
adult is not disturbing -- unless it's the adult who is throwing the fit!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

"Chookie" wrote in message
news:ehrebeniuk-4CDE28.20571510122007@news...
In article
,
Beliavsky wrote:

'The decision to propose the additional vaccines, especially the one
for the flu, was based on recommendations by the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration,
according to Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, New Jersey's deputy commissioner of
health and the state epidemiologist. Each year, 108 of every 100,000
children 5 or younger are hospitalized with complications from the
flu, and about 100 die, according to the C.D.C.

I think there might be a typo there. I doubt very much that any part of
the
USA has an under-five mortality rate of 1:1000 from flu complications
alone!

I read that to be that out of 100, 000 children who get flu, 100 of those
die. That's a mortality rate of 1:1000 flu cases, or 0.1% of flu cases.
Not of the population as a whole.
Debbie

"Welches" wrote in message
...

"Chookie" wrote in message
news:ehrebeniuk-F30526.20495310122007@news...
In article
,
wrote:

Well, It's a montessori school. The rooms are called classes. The kids
do what they do in regular day care centers but montessori is more
organized rather than random play. Even at 2 years of age, they have
dipping/pouring, cleaning, brushing their own teeth, brushing hair,
folding kitchen towels etc. I was really impressed that kids that
young can learn so many things. They say that montessori is for all
kids but not for all parents. It may be a cliche. I liked the school
so far.

It actually isn't supposed to be "random play" in a good centre.

To describe a parent's entry into a room of two-year-olds as
"disturbing
the class" suggests to me either extreme regimentation or extreme
pomposity!

Why wouldn't it disturb a toddler to see parent in the middle of the
day? Most 2 year olds will throw a fit and want to go with the parent
no matter how much they love the school. If one toddler throws a fit
crying "I want mommy", I'm sure atleast one more will follow. That is
very disturbing to the other kids.

IME it doesn't quite work like that. Once a child has settled in to day
care,
they do not cry when left, as a rule.
I'm not sure that's true. I've certainly known several children who have
been happy at school/preschool for weeks/months even over a year and
suddenly for no known reason had a week crying when left, then been happy
again.
Debbie

It seems to be a developmental thing, and it's not just limited to daycare.
For example, in my music classes where parents participate only for the last
15 minutes, most 3 1/2 yr olds are more than willing to come with me and
could care less if the parent is there, but many of the 4 1/2 yr olds want
mommy there, at least for awhile. And many of these kids have been in music
with me since they were 2 and were THRILLED to move up to the "big kids
class".


Most children do not respond badly to
the sight of other parents, either. It is only when it's going-home time
that
the sight of another mummy might cause tears. The mere presence of
another
adult is not disturbing -- unless it's the adult who is throwing the fit!

It depends on time of day. Little ones don't tell time by the clock, but by
events. If enough of the day's events have passed that it's reasonable to go
home, especially if the parent picking up isn't expected, it can cause a
string of "where's MY mommy", especially if there's no event to look forward
to. "Your mommy usually comes after we play outside. We will have snack, and
then we'll go out to play" is easier for a child to handle than if the
entire afternoon is unstructured play without any obvious divisions.

And, at best, another adult coming in is usually a break in schedule while
all the kids run over to hug, tell the parent what they did that day, show
off their art, etc, so it can be disruptive.

Having said that, I don't see a daycare center as needing to be structured
enough that this is a problem, but I do understand why many preschool
programs prefer to not have parents sticking their noses into the room
randomly, especially half-day ones, when there's a lot to accomplish between
8:30 and 11:30.