[crick]

When your kids started middle school, did they start to get sick more often??

J is the kid that rarely gets sick. He's had strep twice, the flu once and maybe 1 cold in the last 7-8 years. Now since starting middle school in mid August, he's missed 5 days due to illness!!!

2 days at the end of August, 2 days just 2 weeks ago, and now another day yesterday.

I know it's a new school building, more kids etc., but he also went to a new school with more kids in 3rd grade too and we didn't have this much illness.

Is there something about this age group and their ability to fight illness? I'd think as kids get older, the school would be less virus/cold infected?

[AmyAnne]

I think the opposite, because preteen boys are so bad about washing their hands, and by this age, I think the teachers assume they'll do it so they don't keep reminding them to wash their hands.

[momraine]

Also middle school introduces the locker room, boys locker rooms are totally disgusting! Also boys that age dare each other to do gross things. Add to that the huge growth spurt and hormonal changes the kids are going through that make them require more sleep, but thier brains tell them they are older and so should need less sleep, so they are often sleep deprived.
I also think that parents are less likely to keep thier sick kids at home when they get to that age. Partially because it gets harder to make up the missed work and partially because some kids don't complain. Also at that age you have less control over thier diet so thier immune system is not as good.

[momraine]

Oh and some kids, not yours of course, start getting interested in the opposite sex at that age and even start kissing!

[crick]

Rainey...SHHHHHHH! LOL! We aren't there yet as far as I know, but good point. SIgh.

Amy - Likely true too that they aren't washing hands as much as they were hammered into doing at the elem. level.

He hasn't had P.E. yet, but it did dawn on me he has computer class and I wonder if they are wiping down the keyboards & mouse in there? Or sanitizing hands before beginning class? I'll have to ask him about that.

I just hope he quits catching everything. It's so odd because he's usually so healthy! UGH!

[SuzBerg]

It seems like when my oldest went through a growth spurt he was more susceptible to stuff (of course he went through his big growth spurt much later than most so he was HS not MS) and missed more school than he ever had for illness.

OF COURSE......this also might have something to do with certain children and the "licking the bus" habit (although that was K not J wasn't it?)

[crick]

LOL, yes Suz...that was K. Funny thing is while he complained of a tummy ache that night, he never got sick and hasn't been sick yet at all this season. Hmmm...maybe I should tell J to lick the bus floor to build up his immunity? Egads!!!

I never heard of a correlation between growth spurts and illness, but seems to make sense?

[Joy2566]

I have two 7th graders this year (first year of middle school here) and they have both been sick more than ever before. ds has had perfect attendance every year and this year he has already missed 5 days. dd has missed many days for court and sib visits but never for illness and has missed 2 days for illness this year. I am teaching 7-8th grade this year and it seems that more kids are out sick than the other classes.

[CaddoRose]

They actually come in contact with more kids and more germs throughout the day. Every time they change classes and sit in a desk that was occupied by a sick kid, etc. So instead of being in a class with 20 or so kids throughout the day, they are really in a class with potentially a hundred depending on big the school is.

[kretzklan]

YES! DS1 has been sick more since starting middle school than ever before. I don't think anything gets wiped down in the middle of the day!

[crick]

Well I'm glad to know it's not just my kid and possible lack of good parenting! Sheesh though, eh?

Guess I'm going to just have to follow him around daily wiping down his desks, chairs, computers and whatnot. LOL! Ugh! Why ask for clorox wipes and sanitizer on the school supply list if they aren't going to use them???

[DPline]

Not really technically middle school, but my son just went from a K-4 school to a 5-6 school where four of the K-4 schools merge together. So he went from a school with about 420 kids to a school with 650 kids. All sharing gym equipment, computer equipment, library books, musical instruments, etc. etc. I know they do use a lot of Chlorox wipes, sanitizer, etc. in the rooms, and the mouthpieces for the instruments are soaked in an antiseptic between students, but still that is a lot of kids and a lot of germs.

[slightx]

Have you also considered the fear factor? Middle school is a scary transition from BMOC in grade school to a lowly junior high grunt. Unless there are visible symptoms of an illness, might just be a case of the jitters kicking in...I know mine went through it.

[mrsred]

Strange as it may seem, I am comforted by this! Last year J missed more school than he has ever missed, one thing after another. T missed a lot too, but not as much as him. Good to know this is "normal".
We are only a little over a month into school now, and despite the fact that so many of our friends from church have been flu plagued, my kids have stayed healthy. Knock on wood.

[crick]

We are back on the healthy track and it better stay that way!

Slightx - If it were any of my other kids I might consider that fear factor, but not for J. He was sooo happy to get to middle school and out of his bullying elementary school. He's quite the social bug now and is really enjoying middle school. Plus he's just not the kid that gets sick, kwim? That's why I was so surprised he has gotten sick 3 different times now.