Nobody warns new preschool parents about this properly: in the first year, your child will probably be unwell more often than in the previous two years combined. It feels alarming, and it is almost always normal.
Why the first year brings so many illnesses
Toddlers in group care commonly have eight to twelve respiratory infections a year, plus a couple of stomach upsets. Before preschool, most of what your child caught came from within the family. At preschool they meet fifteen or twenty small people who each bring their own viruses, and children of this age are superb at spreading them: they touch everything, put things in their mouths, and have not yet learned to cover a cough or wash hands unprompted.
The upside is real. This is how the immune system builds its repertoire, and children who go through it usually have noticeably fewer illnesses once they reach school age. The first year is the difficult one.
When to keep your child home
The rule schools generally apply is not about the name of the illness but about three things: is there a fever, is it contagious, and can your child take part in the day? Keep your child at home if:
- There is a fever. Most schools ask for twenty-four hours with no fever, without fever-reducing medicine, before returning.
- There is vomiting or diarrhoea in the last twenty-four hours. Stomach bugs spread through a whole classroom fast.
- There is a contagious rash that has not been diagnosed - chickenpox, measles, hand-foot-and-mouth, or anything the doctor has called infectious.
- There is conjunctivitis with discharge, until it has been treated and is no longer weeping.
- They are too unwell to participate - listless, crying on and off, not eating or drinking. A child who is going to spend the morning on a mat is better off at home in bed.
- The doctor has said so. Ask for a note on when they can return; schools often ask for one.
When it is fine to send them
- A mild runny nose with no fever, and a child who is eating, playing and sleeping normally
- A cough that has already been assessed, is not worsening, and is not accompanied by fever or breathlessness
- The tail end of a cold, when the child is clearly themselves again
If you are genuinely unsure, ring the school and describe the symptoms. A receptionist who has seen fifty children that week is a useful second opinion, and they would rather answer a call than have an infection run through a class.
Monsoon-specific risks in Delhi
The monsoon months bring a different set of problems from the winter cold season, and a few are genuinely worth protecting against:
- Mosquito-borne illness. Dengue and chikungunya peak in the weeks after heavy rain, when stagnant water collects in coolers, tyres, pots and blocked drains. Empty and scrub water containers around your home weekly, and cover your child's arms and legs in the evening.
- Water- and food-borne illness. Typhoid, hepatitis A and diarrhoeal infections rise in this season. Boiled or filtered water, freshly cooked food, and no cut fruit or street food for small children is sensible rather than fussy.
- Wet feet and damp clothes. Hours in wet socks invites fungal infections and skin problems. Send a spare pair of socks and a spare set of clothes in the bag every day through the season, in a plastic bag so the wet set does not soak the dry one.
- Waterlogging at the gate. Ask the school how drop-off works on a heavy-rain day, and whether the entrance is covered. It is a completely reasonable question and schools plan for it.
The practical bag, in monsoon
- A spare set of clothes, a spare pair of socks, in a sealed plastic bag
- A raincoat or a small umbrella your child can manage alone - and a name on it
- A water bottle that closes properly; no sharing
- A small hand towel or napkin
- Tissues, and a named bag for anything wet
Teaching the habits that actually reduce infection
- Handwashing with soap, for twenty seconds - after the toilet, before eating, and after coming home. Count songs, not seconds; children enjoy it more and do it longer.
- Cough and sneeze into the elbow or a tissue, and throw the tissue away.
- Own bottle, own tiffin, no sharing. Shared spoons move everything from one child to twenty.
- Shoes off at the door and hands washed on entering the house. This one routine quietly protects the whole family.
- Enough sleep. Sleep is the single most powerful immune support you have. See Sleep and School.
Fever: the rule that keeps everyone safe
Do not send a child with a fever to school - not even with medicine that brings the temperature down. The medicine wears off mid-morning, the child is unwell in a classroom that cannot care for them properly, and any infection they have comes home with twenty other children. The usual school requirement is twenty-four hours fever-free without medication before returning.
Do check the fever properly rather than by hand. And take a child to a doctor promptly if a fever lasts more than three days, if there is breathlessness, a stiff neck, a rash that does not fade when pressed, severe pain anywhere, or a child who is drowsy and hard to wake. Those are not wait-and-see symptoms.
About missed days
It is normal for a new preschooler to miss a fair number of days in the first year, and it is far better to miss days than to push an unwell child through a school day. What helps is telling the school why, and asking what can be sent home so a child who is recovering can catch up gently. Most preschool work is not something a child "falls behind" in at this age. The routine, the friendships and the confidence are the part that matters, and all three recover quickly.
Ask the school about its illness policy when you visit, so you know the rules before the first fever rather than during it. Sanskaar Kids Valley's team will explain how they handle a sick child, when they call you, and what to send. Call or WhatsApp 9990280330, or start with the Admissions page.