Always Getting Sick at Children's Courtyard in Arlington

The cleanliness does matter, especially depending on the age of your son. I pulled my son out of Gymboree when he was smaller because we kept going around and around with sickness and 2 stomach viruses in a month at 15 months was my final straw. He started part-time preschool last year and we had a lot of colds (more than usual) and a few sore throats which of course got passed on the the new baby brother but I knew to expect that because of the close proximity to 9 other kids. The stomach viruses etc however didn't show up this time so I think that shows as part of the cleanliness factor of the preschool when it comes to their toys and table surfaces etc. They also each had their own pencil/crayon boxes and scissors so I think there was less chance of cross contamination. I'd definitely question their sanitizing/cleaning practices where you're sending him.

I found that my daughter was sick the first 6 months of childcare too. It comes with kids playing together, they are very tactile and they touch everything. Not sure what the policy is on sick children at Children's Courtyard, but many places will not let you bring in a child that has a cough, non-clear runny nose, or fever. The only problem with this is people still do and if the children are not screened they can touch a million things before a worker realizes that they are too sick to be there (it also doesn't help that many parents medicate their children to appear well which often wears off by nap time). You can check with the facility and see how they enforce their policy and also see if they wipe down their toys and tables at the end of the day. Also just teaching your son basic habits of washing hands and seeing if the facility makes them wash their hands before eating and supervises after potty time(which often is not and kids will say they washed their hands). I have no problem with kids getting sick, they are kids, but they shouldn't be continuously sick.

Yes.... I know that makes a huge difference. I would ask questions to your daycare provider about the cleaning and sanitizing of the school. We decided not to go the Childrens Courtyard in our neighborhood only for that reason. When we toured my husband and I noticed the cleaniliness was not a priority when you can physically see it on everything. They should be sanitizing all toys and hard-surfaces with a safe bleach solution/ or alternative nightly.

My kids aren't in daycare, and I'm sure you'll get lots of responses about how they do always get sick in there. I just wanted to say that we visited that daycare specifically when we were looking for a school for our 2 year old. I couldn't believe that, after looking at the place that they wanted $122 for 2 half days! It smelled like poop in there and it just looked dirty! When I had my 9 year old in daycare (7 years ago) she went to Kindercare and they kept it immaculately clean. I'm sure that other Children's Courtyards are better, because I've heard that they are great, but that location didn't seem to be run well.

From my experience, it's anyplace they go. It's possible that the children at your son's school have a lot of older brothers and sisters that bring home things from their other schools making a cycle.
The only time my kids did not get continually sick was this one class where we found out all the classmates were first borns! ...but then we moved and...well they're back to being sick again. :)

There are germs no matter where large groups of children gather. The key to fighting them is a strong immune system. Message me for info on how I manage to keep my son out of the doctor's office except for well checks! Wish I had known this when he was in daycare!

Blessings,

M.