Do you even TRY to separate them when sickness hits?

After this week, I think I am swearing off all attempts of preventing the spreading of germs among my little ones when sickness hits our home. If you have other little ones besides the twins, are you hit hard with viruses, or even if you just have the twins? No matter what I do whether it's staying home away from others, keeping children separated as much as possible, discouraging touching, kissing, sharing food/cups when sick, encouraging lots of handwashing, spraying Lysol, washing sheets and clothes, it just doesn't seem to help. We can have a few days of no symptoms, then BAM, it hits again as soon as I think we're well. I think I'm going to save myself the grief and practice general hygiene but not stress about them spreading germs, b/c it's just inevitable! Does it get ANY better when they get older??? Mine are 2, 2, 3, and 6. The 3 little ones get it the WORST.

 

Yes, I do try with varying degrees of success: Stomach flus always hit them both, other sicknesses often are limited to one child.

The only things I am stricter with than usual if one of them is sick are no sharing of cups, food etc. and frequent hand washing unless the sickness is really dangerous. If they are meant to catch something, they will ... One of my LOs has a light immune deficiency and our pedi actually recommends not sheltering her too much because every sickness builds her immune memory and the more she gets now the less school she will miss later.

 

Not at all! If anything, a stomach bug, but that hasn't really hit here. Colds? That just goes round and round! It's virtually impossible to keep three kids separated, so I just let it be. I figure they are building one heck of an immune system!

But highly contagious/really sick stuff-yes(think stomach bug, pink eye, etc).

 

nope. I never separate my kids when sick and I have 7 of them. By the time I know 1 of them are sick its too late so why bother making more work for myself? I will say its very rare that more than 2 of them get sick at a time. they were blessed with my immunity system and very rarely ever get sick. You would think with all my kids someone would always be sick but they might each get sick once or twice a year if that.

 

Nah. That's way more work for me as we all get sick one by one.

 

No.

 

No, it wouldn't fly to well around here. Though the way it's been working is that my daughter gets sick, then I get sick and somehow my son and husband avoid getting sick (they must have super immunity or something)...

 

I tried that the first time we had the stomach flu, but everyone ended up getting it anyway and it was so much work. So now I just let it happen!

 

No.
If their going to get it, not much I can really do. Why make more work?!
Also I've had times where one gets a tummy bug and miraculously, the other doesn't...... work that one out lol.

Thankfully though, mine don't get sick too often.

 

No, my kids share everything even when they are sick. Sometimes, they both get sick. Sometimes one is sick then the second gets it. Sometime only one gets sick, another one doesn't. It's just the twin thing

If they have been staying home, not going to school yet. They will get sick more often since they start school. You just need to accept and prepare for it. But it will get better though. Gl!

 

I don't even bother to try and separate them. I figure by the time they show symptoms, they have already shared the germs.

I AM working on teaching them about washing hands, not putting fingers in their nose, etc., but it's definitely a work in progress.

 

No they have already been exposed so why the extra work? Usually the one not puking doesn't want to be around the one puking if its a stomach bug

 

no. I just try extra handwashing and disinfecting wipes on frequently used places. Seems to work about 50 percent of the time

 

I never separate them either. When one gets sick, everyone in the house inevitably gets sick.

 

No way. Would never work. Besides they are spreading germs before they show any symptoms. And they spread germs even after symptoms are clearing up.

Just doesn't work.

 

At such a young age, it's good they get sick anyhow. Their bodies will build up immunity and they won't get sick as often later. For one full year, my boys got sick when they first started preschool. It was a pain to go through, but now they rarely get sick. So from 2-3 years old, they got sick. They 3-3 1/2 years old, they got sick maybe only part of the time. Then after about 3-1/2 to now, they've only gotten sick once which we are all currently going through. This illness came by because their daddy brought something home. We ALL got sick starting with him, then me, then the boys and it was a doozy! Cameron had gotten a 24 hr cold once a few months ago that gave him some asthma, but he didn't even get a chance to spread that to Kiefer or the rest of us it was so brief. So, really, that first full year of cold after cold was worth the trouble of letting them get sick. We'd wash hands and stuff, but it didn't really stop anything. Maybe helped make things not as bad or as often after a while, but kids go through these colds regardless. I only do whatever I can to prevent big things like the chicken pox and the flu or other more difficult illnesses.

 

I never tried to keep them physically apart, but I was more strict about things like sharing food/utensils/toothbrushes. We did occasionally have sicknesses that hit one kid and not the other -- or one would just get it worse and the other one would have a minor sniffle.

For stomach bugs (which have been rare in our house, thank goodness) we generally keep them apart but that's mostly because no one wants to be around a puking kid -- the parents just have no choice!