Staying healthy in this line of work?
Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 4:06 pm
Hello everyone,
I am looking for some tips on how you stay healthy while working in Childcare and also for a second opinion on whether I should continue to work in the field or not.
This is my third year in the industry and since the beginning I have just been sick all through it. One thing after another, I still continue to get bad viral infections, stomach sicknesses from gastro and other infections and just generally not feeling well. Sometimes I cannot even go two weeks without coming down with something. I have been to the doctors and explained that I cannot stop getting sick and ask for different methods that I can use to prevent it but they brush me off and tell me to take some anti-biotics (which I do) and say that it is expected in the industry I work in and that sickness just spreads very easily but this doesn't really help me! I don't blame them of course they have done some simple blood tests and despite being low in iron at one point they see no need for concern. It is just getting to the point where I am feeling terrible, like a terrible educator, terrible co-worker. I was told that sickness is bad in the first year..
My lead educator whom I have worked with for two of the three years tells me not to worry and focus on getting better and praises me for working so hard when I am at work but I don't feel like this is enough. When I expressed my concerns to some staff I feel like they just tell me what I want to hear (if you're sick then you're sick, that's not your fault) but I feel like this doesn't really help me as I want to be good at my job and not unreliable. I am starting to doubt myself and wonder if I should even bother continuing to be a childcare educator... I really wanted to do my Diploma and perhaps go into primary school teaching or even high school teaching in the future but I just don't know if I want to keep feeling this crap about letting everyone down. My previous boss (He has gone on to be an Ops Manager) told me he can see how much of passionate person I am and they kept me after my trainee ship even though they technically didn't have any room for another staff member and expressed that he thought I was such a hard and dedicated worker that I could be a centre manager one day if I worked hard enough for it... But I am just not feeling it. Being sick and letting everyone down is just making me feel upset and unworthy. Sorry to drone on I just have not really been able to talk to anyone about my worries.
So please, any tips or suggestions for daily medications that you take in order to keep well. I do take some pills to hopefully boost my immune system but I still seem to get sick. I practice good hygiene and follow the centre practices and policies on ways to minimise spreading germs but I am a very hands on worker. I love getting down and dirty with the kids during experiences and give cuddles and will be on the floor rolling around and playing with the kids so even though I encourage children to use good hygiene and cover their mouths, when they sneeze or cough they do cough on me and I suspect I get a lot of germs on me from this. I see other educators standing around and not supervising and talking and I don't want to be like that and I could never imagine not playing with the kids and being down on their level etc so I don't know.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated by me.
I am looking for some tips on how you stay healthy while working in Childcare and also for a second opinion on whether I should continue to work in the field or not.
This is my third year in the industry and since the beginning I have just been sick all through it. One thing after another, I still continue to get bad viral infections, stomach sicknesses from gastro and other infections and just generally not feeling well. Sometimes I cannot even go two weeks without coming down with something. I have been to the doctors and explained that I cannot stop getting sick and ask for different methods that I can use to prevent it but they brush me off and tell me to take some anti-biotics (which I do) and say that it is expected in the industry I work in and that sickness just spreads very easily but this doesn't really help me! I don't blame them of course they have done some simple blood tests and despite being low in iron at one point they see no need for concern. It is just getting to the point where I am feeling terrible, like a terrible educator, terrible co-worker. I was told that sickness is bad in the first year..
My lead educator whom I have worked with for two of the three years tells me not to worry and focus on getting better and praises me for working so hard when I am at work but I don't feel like this is enough. When I expressed my concerns to some staff I feel like they just tell me what I want to hear (if you're sick then you're sick, that's not your fault) but I feel like this doesn't really help me as I want to be good at my job and not unreliable. I am starting to doubt myself and wonder if I should even bother continuing to be a childcare educator... I really wanted to do my Diploma and perhaps go into primary school teaching or even high school teaching in the future but I just don't know if I want to keep feeling this crap about letting everyone down. My previous boss (He has gone on to be an Ops Manager) told me he can see how much of passionate person I am and they kept me after my trainee ship even though they technically didn't have any room for another staff member and expressed that he thought I was such a hard and dedicated worker that I could be a centre manager one day if I worked hard enough for it... But I am just not feeling it. Being sick and letting everyone down is just making me feel upset and unworthy. Sorry to drone on I just have not really been able to talk to anyone about my worries.
So please, any tips or suggestions for daily medications that you take in order to keep well. I do take some pills to hopefully boost my immune system but I still seem to get sick. I practice good hygiene and follow the centre practices and policies on ways to minimise spreading germs but I am a very hands on worker. I love getting down and dirty with the kids during experiences and give cuddles and will be on the floor rolling around and playing with the kids so even though I encourage children to use good hygiene and cover their mouths, when they sneeze or cough they do cough on me and I suspect I get a lot of germs on me from this. I see other educators standing around and not supervising and talking and I don't want to be like that and I could never imagine not playing with the kids and being down on their level etc so I don't know.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated by me.