Keeping your child healthy in childcare

Children in childcare get sick. More than children at home, more than you'd like, and almost certainly right before a school holiday or an important work deadline. This is not a conspiracy. It's just how group care works.

The upside? Every illness is a small deposit into your child's immune system bank account. Cold comfort when you're cleaning up vomit at 2am, but true nonetheless.

Why do children in childcare get sick so much?

Children in group care have increased exposure to other children, share toys and surfaces throughout the day, and haven't yet built up the immunity that comes with years of germ exposure. Their hand hygiene is also, let's be honest, unreliable at best. All of this adds up to more frequent illness than you'd see in a child cared for at home, particularly in the first year or two of attendance.

Most of what they catch is mild and self-limiting. The body handles it, the immune system learns, and your child emerges slightly sturdier on the other side.

When should I keep my child home from childcare?

This is the question every parent is wrestling with at 7am while their child asks for toast and looks fine. The answer depends on what's going on.

Many children with mild symptoms, like a runny nose with clear discharge, can attend childcare without posing a risk to themselves or others. But the moment symptoms tip into something more serious, or something contagious that the centre has a policy about, they need to stay home.

Before anything else, read your childcare provider's illness policy and know it well. A common example is: if your child's nose is running with green or yellow mucous, they should be kept home. Most services have a written policy and they have it for good reason. Sending a sick child to care when they should be home is one of the fastest ways to strain your relationship with educators, and to infect half the room by lunchtime.

It's also worth calling or messaging your provider if your child had any symptoms the night before, even if they seem fine in the morning. Educators who know to watch for something are better placed to catch it early.

Ask yourself these three questions before you drop off:

Will my child be comfortable and well enough to participate in the day? Will the educators be able to care for my child without it affecting everyone else? Is my child likely to pass something on to their classmates today?

If you're unsure on any of those, keep them home.

Symptom or illness	Keep home?	When can they return?
Fever with behaviour changes, lethargy or breathing difficulties	Yes	When fever-free and well enough to participate
Uncontrolled coughing, wheezing, or breathing difficulties	Yes	When symptoms have resolved
Influenza or bronchitis	Yes	When recovered and well enough to participate
Uncontrolled diarrhoea	Yes	When symptoms have stopped for 24 hours
Vomiting	Yes	At least 24 hours after the last episode
Chickenpox	Yes	Day six after rash appears, or when all blisters have crusted over
Impetigo (school sores)	Yes	24 hours after starting antibiotics
Scabies	Yes	After treatment is completed
Mouth sores with drooling	Yes	When sores have healed
Bacterial conjunctivitis (yellow discharge)	Yes	24 hours after starting antibiotics
Runny nose with clear discharge, no other symptoms	Usually fine	Check your service's policy
Green or yellow nasal discharge	Yes	When discharge clears

How can I help prevent illness spreading at home and at childcare?

You can't childproof against all germs, but good habits at home make a real difference to how quickly illness moves through a family and a centre.

Handwashing is the single most effective tool. Children are taught to wash hands after the toilet, but they should also be washing before and after eating, after messy play, and after contact with animals. Make it a habit early and it becomes automatic.
Covering coughs and sneezes matters too. When a tissue isn't handy, teach your child to cough into the crook of their elbow rather than their hands. It's one of those skills that takes about a week to embed and pays off for years.
Keeping sick family members away from well ones sounds obvious, but in a busy household it takes active effort. If someone is unwell, apply the handwashing and covering rules more strictly until the illness passes.

Your childcare service should also have clear hygiene policies covering surface cleaning, hand hygiene routines, and how they manage illness during the day. If you've never asked about these, it's worth raising on your next visit.

Do cold and flu remedies actually work for kids?

Most of them don't, and the research is fairly clear on this. A review by the Cochrane Library, a respected independent health research organisation, found that many cold and flu remedies marketed for children have little or no measurable effect on recovery. This includes dehumidifiers and vaporisers, which the research found no evidence to support, and cough medicines containing antihistamines, which showed no difference in recovery rate compared to no treatment at all.

The evidence-backed approach for a child with a mild winter illness is straightforward: keep them home, offer plenty of fluids, and give paracetamol such as Panadol if they have aches, pains, or a fever. The cold runs its course and a healthy child will typically recover within a few days without pharmaceutical help.

If you're worried or symptoms are worsening rather than improving, see your GP.

Before winter really kicks in, get organised

Having a sick day plan before you need it is one of the more underrated parenting moves. Know who your backup care options are, whether that's a grandparent, a partner who can work from home, or an emergency care arrangement. Care for Kids can help you find childcare options near you, including services that may offer occasional or emergency care when your usual arrangements fall through.