preschool for PID child?

[Guest guest]

Rogena:

We agonized over the decision but decided to give it a shot based on the

accomodations they were making for us, knowing we could always drop out if we

had

to.

We went with our local park district, whose program I have been very

impressed with -- they instruct parents not to send their kids if they have even

a

cold, even if they just seem unlike themselves that day! The class sizes are

small (avg 10 kids with 2 teachers), too.

We went through the director of the program and got them to make certain

allowances for us. They sent home a note to the class stating there was a child

with an immature immune system in class (not naming the child), so to make sure

to follow the rules about keeping sick kids home. They had a tear-off at the

bottom of the note to sign that said it was okay for the child to use Purell

every morning when they arrived. The teacher put the Purell right next to the

attendance bowl, the kids very quickly got into the habit of putting their name

thingy into the bowl and then taking a pump of Purell. Most of the parents

Loved the Purell idea, for their own benefit! This doesn't work everywhere,

though. In Kindergarten, a few parents refused to let their kids use the Purell

(one had multiple allergies, I completely understand that one), in first grade

the school flat out refused to make everybody use Purell. I provide it for the

classroom anyway, but nobody has to use it.

Anyway, preschool was a rough year, illness-wise, but not really any worse

than we expected. For us, it was worth it, but keep in mind 's PID is not

as severe as some kids.

So if you can find a cleaner program, that is really stringent about keeping

kids out for illness, you might want to give it a shot. But I would not go to

a place that is also a daycare -- you'll find a lot of contagious illness

there.

(mom to , age 7, dairy intolerant-related GERD -- currently has

polysaccharide antibody def, previously had transient IgG, IgA, t-cell & other

defs... and also to Kate, age 3!, more dairy intolerant but very healthy!)

[Guest guest]

Oh, also our preschool program was three days per week, 2-1/2 hours per day

only.

(mom to , age 7, dairy intolerant-related GERD -- currently has

polysaccharide antibody def, previously had transient IgG, IgA, t-cell & other

defs... and also to Kate, age 3!, more dairy intolerant but very healthy!)

[Guest guest]

The thing about daycare or preschool is that it comes at an age when most

PID children are just into the throws of diagnosis. Tests being run,

multiple infections that have led to the testing, FTT, fatigue. Macey was

in isolation until pre-k and attended pre-k on a reduced schedule. She was

diagnosed at 2. It took that long to get her diagnosis testing done and her

treatment started and her levels straightened out. She still ended up going

to a reduced week some of kindergarten and missing 50 to 60 days up through

2nd grade. 3rd grade was our best year and since subq she's missed hardly

any.

I just don't think that it's worth the risk of exposing a toddler/young

child to everything that is brought in. Even if it is just a preschool and

they say they don't allow " sick " children. You have to remember those are

children that outwardly show symptoms at school. Scores of other children

are at school daily who have symptoms at home but mom/dad fail to make the

school aware. Many more are contagious of this that or the other thing

before the symptoms start and meanwhile your PID Pumpkin has already been

exposed (case in point chicken pox). It's just not worth it. Macey also

was kept from church nursery and started going to church pretty much for

holidays at about 4 and then started AWANAS when she started 1st grade. We

are very fortunate to have both families here in town so that was pretty

easy. She was fortunate to have a loving church family who understood and

kept sending stuff home from sunday school.

Preschool is a very vulnerable time for a PID patient. Too many things are

up in the air diagnosis-wise. Too much is unknown. Truth be told we still

don't know how these diseases progress, how fast or how far.

Just my .02.

Ursula - mom to Macey (10,CVID) and (13)

http://members.cox.net/maceyh

Immune Deficiency Foundation http://www.primaryimmune.org

Pediatric PID email list

Modell Foundation http://jmfworld.org

[Guest guest]

my twins went to the YMCA preschool program. It starts at 9 and ends at 1. No

daycare - only ages 4 to kindergarden.

kim

sassykay59@... wrote:

In a message dated 3/1/2006 11:16:50 AM Pacific Standard Time,

mrlbrinks@... writes:

.. It has been my observation that many sick

children are allowed to attend...probably because of the daycare

there.

Rogena,

Is it possible to find a preschool that is not a daycare as well?? My son

went to preschool at a church--where they went for a few hours three times a

week. No day care--no sick children allowed. It was a wonderful experience for

him. Just my two cents.

Sandi, Mom to --age 13--CVID

[Guest guest]

Our two older PID kids go to preschool. Our immunologist suggested

against it, but our pediatrician and I had a long talk about long term

goals for the kids, and we ultimately decided preschool was something we

were willing to risk. When Charlie started he was not yet on IVIG, or

diagnosed for that matter, but Kate was. We, luckily, had picked a part

time program, 2 days a week for 3 hours, where part time kids and full

time kids NEVER interacted, and never were in the same room. The school

made some accommodations for him, everyone washed hands 3 times in 3

hours. Charlie was able to carry a water bottle from room to room, so he

did not have to drink from the water fountain, and I talked with all the

staff members about precautions. Every parent was notified. He did

great! He did end up on IVIG, but that was for a pansinusitus that he

had gotten nearly a year prior that we could not clear. Once on IVIG,

we had very little worry about him going to school. Kate also started

IVIG just before she turned 2, and at 2 started in the same part time

preschool program as Charlie - 6 hours a week total. We do not want our

kids to live in a bubble, and honestly, Charlie was falling behind his

peers in social skills and fine and gross motor skills. I just could

not offer all the variety of opportunities a preschool could. 2 kids in

the part time program got chicken pox, and I flipped out, and was sure I

had made a bad decision - my kids never got it, on IVIG the immunologist

said they were pretty protected. We've moved away, and both kids

continue in preschool. Charlie goes 4 days a week to a school district

program - ready for this - it's held at a daycare. I flipped when I

found out. I nearly pulled him out. I'm so glad he didn't. He has

only been sick 3 times all year. Heck, I got pneumonia, and I live in

the house with him, and he didn't get it! This will blow your mind - in

Charlie's class, there is another little boy on IVIG - he has XLA. It's

been WONDERFUL for Charlie and to be able to play every day

like that. Charlie does drink from a water bottle, and I am notified of

illnesses in the classroom, but that's it. Plus, Charlie is no longer

behind in social, or motor skills - he'll be attending kindgerten next

year, with very few accomidations. Kate also still attends preschool, a

private preschool near our house. Everyone knows he condition - and

tries to help in any way possible, she also only drinks from a water

bottle.

Here is the thing - every families choices will be different. I guess,

what the question really is not about preschool - it's more about your

long term goals for your child, and what risks you are willing to take

to get them there. I don't want my kids to be isolated, and I want them

to experience life, and learn to LIVE with this illness. For that

reason, I put them in preschool, it was worth the risk for me. One

thing our pediatrician said made sense to me - he old me the

immunologist was right - their immune systems should not be in

preschool, but once you treat the whole child, yes, they should be in

preschool. ly, after 5 months of isolation while Kate was being

diagnosed, Charlie's personality was changing, and I didn't like the

changes I saw.

Tommy will start preschool next year.

Dayna

Mom to Charlie, Kate, & Tommy all PIDD, all on IVIG

Re: preschool for PID child?

My doctor suggested that I do not put my 4 year old - non PID - son in

preschool at all in order to protect my PID (2 year old) son, Reiyan.

Noah is starting Kindergarden soon and I'm considering home schooling

him to prevent him bringing home stuff to my 2 year old.

osdbmom <osdbmom@...> wrote: Hi, I struggled with this as well.

Neither of my sons attended

preschool or daycare, in fact, I ended up quitting work b/c they were

so sick so often. I didnt want them to be in a " bubble " but didnt want

them to get any sicker, either. What we ended up doing is finding a

smaller church, our old one was HUGE.........we found one we love

locally with just about 150 people, and a great kids program. This

way, the boys classes are only maybe 5-8 kids in each, and they get

plenty of socializing, w/o so much risk, plus at most churches they

have a " no sick kids " policy. Then we our 5 yr old became school age,

we put him in a charter school with a very small class size, only 14

kids, and a 504 plan that he is not allowed to sit next to anyone who

is actively ill--coughing, sneezing, snotty nosed, etc. Its worked

very well so far. I feel like being in the small church group(or maybe

another type of similar thing if you dont go to church) was enough for

a child that age to learn about sitting still in class, waiting for

potty time, taking turns, etc that they learn in preschool, with less

risk for infection.

He has done just fine this yr in kdg even though most of his peers

went to preschool, he is right at age level from what we have taught

him.

Hope this helps some!!

Valarie

This forum is open to parents and caregivers of children diagnosed with

a Primary Immune Deficiency. Opinions or medical advice stated here are

the sole responsibility of the poster and should not be taken as

professional advice.

To unsubscribe -unsubscribegroups (DOT)

To search group archives go to:

/messages

[Guest guest]

Our two older PID kids go to preschool. Our immunologist suggested

against it, but our pediatrician and I had a long talk about long term

goals for the kids, and we ultimately decided preschool was something we

were willing to risk. When Charlie started he was not yet on IVIG, or

diagnosed for that matter, but Kate was. We, luckily, had picked a part

time program, 2 days a week for 3 hours, where part time kids and full

time kids NEVER interacted, and never were in the same room. The school

made some accommodations for him, everyone washed hands 3 times in 3

hours. Charlie was able to carry a water bottle from room to room, so he

did not have to drink from the water fountain, and I talked with all the

staff members about precautions. Every parent was notified. He did

great! He did end up on IVIG, but that was for a pansinusitus that he

had gotten nearly a year prior that we could not clear. Once on IVIG,

we had very little worry about him going to school. Kate also started

IVIG just before she turned 2, and at 2 started in the same part time

preschool program as Charlie - 6 hours a week total. We do not want our

kids to live in a bubble, and honestly, Charlie was falling behind his

peers in social skills and fine and gross motor skills. I just could

not offer all the variety of opportunities a preschool could. 2 kids in

the part time program got chicken pox, and I flipped out, and was sure I

had made a bad decision - my kids never got it, on IVIG the immunologist

said they were pretty protected. We've moved away, and both kids

continue in preschool. Charlie goes 4 days a week to a school district

program - ready for this - it's held at a daycare. I flipped when I

found out. I nearly pulled him out. I'm so glad he didn't. He has

only been sick 3 times all year. Heck, I got pneumonia, and I live in

the house with him, and he didn't get it! This will blow your mind - in

Charlie's class, there is another little boy on IVIG - he has XLA. It's

been WONDERFUL for Charlie and to be able to play every day

like that. Charlie does drink from a water bottle, and I am notified of

illnesses in the classroom, but that's it. Plus, Charlie is no longer

behind in social, or motor skills - he'll be attending kindgerten next

year, with very few accomidations. Kate also still attends preschool, a

private preschool near our house. Everyone knows he condition - and

tries to help in any way possible, she also only drinks from a water

bottle.

Here is the thing - every families choices will be different. I guess,

what the question really is not about preschool - it's more about your

long term goals for your child, and what risks you are willing to take

to get them there. I don't want my kids to be isolated, and I want them

to experience life, and learn to LIVE with this illness. For that

reason, I put them in preschool, it was worth the risk for me. One

thing our pediatrician said made sense to me - he old me the

immunologist was right - their immune systems should not be in

preschool, but once you treat the whole child, yes, they should be in

preschool. ly, after 5 months of isolation while Kate was being

diagnosed, Charlie's personality was changing, and I didn't like the

changes I saw.

Tommy will start preschool next year.

Dayna

Mom to Charlie, Kate, & Tommy all PIDD, all on IVIG

Re: preschool for PID child?

My doctor suggested that I do not put my 4 year old - non PID - son in

preschool at all in order to protect my PID (2 year old) son, Reiyan.

Noah is starting Kindergarden soon and I'm considering home schooling

him to prevent him bringing home stuff to my 2 year old.

osdbmom <osdbmom@...> wrote: Hi, I struggled with this as well.

Neither of my sons attended

preschool or daycare, in fact, I ended up quitting work b/c they were

so sick so often. I didnt want them to be in a " bubble " but didnt want

them to get any sicker, either. What we ended up doing is finding a

smaller church, our old one was HUGE.........we found one we love

locally with just about 150 people, and a great kids program. This

way, the boys classes are only maybe 5-8 kids in each, and they get

plenty of socializing, w/o so much risk, plus at most churches they

have a " no sick kids " policy. Then we our 5 yr old became school age,

we put him in a charter school with a very small class size, only 14

kids, and a 504 plan that he is not allowed to sit next to anyone who

is actively ill--coughing, sneezing, snotty nosed, etc. Its worked

very well so far. I feel like being in the small church group(or maybe

another type of similar thing if you dont go to church) was enough for

a child that age to learn about sitting still in class, waiting for

potty time, taking turns, etc that they learn in preschool, with less

risk for infection.

He has done just fine this yr in kdg even though most of his peers

went to preschool, he is right at age level from what we have taught

him.

Hope this helps some!!

Valarie

This forum is open to parents and caregivers of children diagnosed with

a Primary Immune Deficiency. Opinions or medical advice stated here are

the sole responsibility of the poster and should not be taken as

professional advice.

To unsubscribe -unsubscribegroups (DOT)

To search group archives go to:

/messages

[Guest guest]

from dale

Okay, let me put another idea on the table.

We chose to skip preschool for a totally different reason -- totally

unrelated to PID. We had higher goals for our kid than for them to

learn social skills from other 4 year olds. We felt that we could

better teach him the proper social skills in life by exposing him to a

variety of age groups and lots of adults who obviously knew how to behave.

When we applied to a private Kindergarten, the children actually

" competed " for an entrance. They would attend the current Kindergarden

class for 1 day and the teachers would cast a vote concerning their

performance. The principal told me that there was no way he would get

into the school because they had NEVER accepted a child who had not

learned the social skills of preschool. I am happy to say that both

and Katy were accepted based on their performance. There was

nothing wrong with their social skills that were learned at home and

under our supervision.

So, I agree, it's a matter of what you want for your kids. I wanted to

raise individuals that wouldn't bend to peer pressure -- and boy has

that happened! Those of you who met Katy at the IDF convention can

attest to that! They definitely express their individuality --

sometimes good, sometimes bad -- but peer pressure has never been a

problem!!!!! Nor has their social skills been lacking in any area.

So, what am I saying: I'm saying that a lot of times PID brings about

questions and longings for our child to be able to do things that if

your child was healthy -- you would STILL have to make decisions

concerning. Boy, that's wordy. Preschool IS important to some

families, but it's not to others -- so, the decision to Preschool or not

Preschool is entirely up to you. For some it's worth fighting to

achieve, for others, it's no biggy. And it's okay. Not ALL kids in

America go to preschool. And it's not a determining factor for their

success in life -- I promise! It's incredibly stressful when your kid

is unable to meet one of your goals -- but, there are other routes to

success.

In His service,

Dale

[Guest guest]

I believe that Dale made some good points. However, I would take a

good hard look at your child's personality. If he/she is not exposed

to peer pressure/peers who act " their age " is your child going to be

stronger from that, or is she going to be so overwhelmed when

elementary school rolls around that she won't know how to respond.

Kids have to learn how to respond to behaviors that only kids do. So

if your child is very independent, strong willed, etc, they may not

need preschool. But if your child is very shy, quiet and sensitive,

exposure to peers may help her develop the skills she needs for

dealing with the teasing and peer pressure that comes with being a

kid, and with some kids, they need that young. They need to learn

coping skills.

[Guest guest]

I agree that there isn't a tremendous educational value with the preschool

experience. In fact, I know for CERTAIN that if I was homeschooling , she

would be learning more. Even though her school is fairly highly regarded (just

a plain ole public school but they do a lot with very little $$), I feel like

the curriculum is geared to the lowest common denominator.

BUT, although I know her education would be better, I am willing to admit

that homeschooling is not for us. There is a lot of love in our home, we're

involved parents, I'm a nice mom and all, but my kids and I need breaks from

each

other once in awhile. Also, outside teachers may not meet some of the natural

resistance I meet at home when somebody doesn't feel like doing something and

we butt heads.

With all the isolation had, she was champing at the bit to get out of

our house and to be with other people. So she loved preschool. We did great

together, she learned a lot very early with me, don't get me wrong, but at some

point we both needed a change in scenery.

So I hate to admit it, because I know homeschooling would be more effective

for , but we just need that time apart for all of our sanity!!

(mom to , age 7, dairy intolerant-related GERD -- currently has

polysaccharide antibody def, previously had transient IgG, IgA, t-cell & other

defs... and also to Kate, age 3!, more dairy intolerant but very healthy!)

[Guest guest]

I remember when my non-PID son was preschool age. He was very clingy to me.

This doctor told me I had better get this child in preschool, la de

da.......... I was going to ruin this child. I went out of there holding back

tears. I

didn't listen to him nor did I go back to see him. Josh went to kindergarden

when it was time and is in college now and is doing fine.

Janet mom to Brittany CVID age 15

[Guest guest]

I have to agree with Dale there, personally, my best friends kid was

so pressured by their local school system that he HAD to have 3 yrs of

solid preschool under his belt to even go to regular kdg, she was

flipping out b/c she didnt start him until he was 4.

None of my kids went to preschool, b/c initially I intended to

homeschool, and my oldest daughter is 9, and even though she went

straight to kdg from home!!gasp!!! and no preschool!!gasp!!(which was

pointed out to me SEVERAL times by other moms)gasp!! she is in the 4th

grade, reads at a high school level, tests out in math post 7th grade,

and when people ask me how she is doing in school, in a very sad tone,

b/c they know she did not have the benefits of learning in preschool,

I tell them that and they flip right out. I doubt the learning aspect

has as much to do with the preschool as it does the home and family.

To me, preshcool, has always been more like a precursor to learn to

get ready for kdg, how to sit until your turn, wait for a potty break,

play nicely with other kids, listen to the adult in the room.

So, preschool is fine, its great for many kids, but if your kid doesnt

go to preschool, trust me, he/she isnt doomed to educational failure.

valarie