It happens every year like clockwork. The backpacks are still new. The lunchboxes aren’t even sticky and stained yet. The grumbling about homework hasn’t started when you hear it: the sniffle. The cough comes next, or worse– someone falls victim to a stomach bug that you pray doesn’t hit everyone in the house. It doesn’t take long before you’re on a first-name basis with the school nurse.
Every year, parents swap the same theories:
“They just need to get used to the germs.”
“It’s the weather changing.”
“It’s just part of childhood — nothing you can do.”
While there’smaybe some truth to those, they don’t tell the whole story. Frequent illness or constant sniffles, congestion, or coughing isn’t normal, even for kids, and it doesn’t have to be something you fight all school year long.
The start of the school year creates the perfect storm for kids’ immune systems. After a summer of playing outside, more sunlight and fresh air, and later bedtimes, back-to-school hits, and suddenly, they experience big changes. Sleep schedules shift. During deep sleep, the body produces and releases infection-fighting white blood cells and cytokines. These are like the “soldiers” and “messengers” of the immune system. When kids don’t get enough quality sleep, the production of those soldiers and messengers drops, leaving them less equipped to fight off germs. Lack of sleep means less energy for the body to allocate toward healing and repair. It also raises stress levels, in case back-to-school doesn’t create enough stress in the form of separation anxiety or emotional stress, academic pressure, social stress, and sensory overload. Stress hormones directly suppress immune function. And the icing on the cake: they’re surrounded by dozens, maybe hundreds, of other kids, all sharing more than just crayons. But just because your child is exposed to germs doesn’t mean they are sentenced to illness. The goal should be to build stronger little bodies so that when germs are introduced, their immune system can handle them with little disruption to your daily routine.
Here’s something most people don’t realize: your child’s immune system is deeply connected to their gut health. Just because you can’t see any tummy symptoms doesn’t mean their gut is healthy. And if their gut is struggling, their immune defenses are too. So when that first bug comes through the classroom, their body may not be ready to put up a strong fight. And by the time round two hits in the winter, your child’s immune system waves the white flag in surrender.
If you’ve ever thought, “It feels like my child is sick more often than they’re well this time of year,” you’re not alone. I’ve been there too, passing out vitamin C and elderberry like candy. And yet the cycle of sickness kept repeating, and I started wondering if anything could actually make a difference. There is good news, though. There are ways to reduce how often kids get sick and how severe their illness is when they do. But most of what actually works doesn’t show up in a quick-fix article, an influencer’s podcast, or on your pediatrician’s “stay hydrated and rest” handout.
If you’re ready for different outcomes this school year, let’s take a different approach. This fall, I’m hosting a live virtual class for moms who are tired of feeling helpless every September. We’ll talk about what’s really going on in our kids’ bodies this time of year and how to give them the best chance at staying healthy.
Mark your calendar for September 9, and if you want to make sure you don’t miss it, you can get early access by joining the email list on my website. Back-to-school sniffles might be common, butthey don’t have to be inevitable.
Becky is a wife, mom of four boys, nurse, and Functional Health Practitioner who’s passionate about helping women feel like themselves again. After spending over a decade in women’s health, it was her own journey through motherhood that highlighted the gaps in our healthcare system. Now, she applies her medical knowledge through a functional medicine lens to uncover the root causes of symptoms and help women move from surviving to thriving. Becky is the founder of Rooted and Restored Functional Health, where she walks with moms looking for real answers and lasting wellness. Learn more at www.rootedandrestoredhealth.com
