Green boogers/can't fill this kid up

Lovely morning topic...enjoying your breakfast?! One of my daycare kids, who is currently 2 1/2 (I have cared for him since he was 6 months old) constantly has a runny nose...always has, no matter the time of year. The problem being that it's a greenish color. The child comes in every morning with his nostrils just crusted full...Mondays mornings it's just unbelievable. Mom offhandedly says that she can't wait for the days he comes to me because "he won't let her near his nose" (or clip his nails!). Yeah, my 16 year-old doesn't like to 'let me' tell him to do his homework before anything else...but we are the parents and my child 'letting' me get him to do something doesn't enter into our vocabulary in our house. But, I digress...I have suggested a number of times that she take him to a doctor to get him checked out; he was a preemie and not a lot is known about his birth mom. The following concerns me: Hzis hands and toes are always freezing, he was a late walker @ 1 1/2 and still falls ALOT... he's prone to nosebleeds and the child has absolutely no filter for enough food...if I let him he will literally eat and drink until he throws up). His verbal skills are amazing, he far surpasses my other 2 daycare kids at the same age. But he does not retain information like them...ie. letter recognition. I have been teaching my son and him together (they are a month apart in age). My son reads all the letters of the alphabet and some short words and has mastered all primary colors as well as others. This other child simply knows A & B and the colors red & green. Example, "Tommy, this is the letter D. D like Daddy. Can you say D. "D" Right! Letter D! What letter is this Tommy? Blank look...or he guesses another letter. I thought that perhaps he was having vision issues (he leans so close to the book whenever we are reading) but also, sees the tiniest speck of lint on the floor and brings it to me. Am I being over zealous in suggesting a Drs visit for the conditions mentioned above; especially since Mom is so casual about it all.

ewww....green snot! They're not allowed in care if it's green snot!

I would ask for a doctors note explaining why he always has green snot. Just a doctors note period! Especially considering this isn't his birth mother!

Good luck with that parent! Or person should we say, because she isn't parenting the poor child.... :(

Hmm.. Found this on Medical Mythbusters
Here's the link: http://shs.osu.edu/blog/medical-mythbusters-green-snot

True or False: My snot is green so I need an antibiotic, right?

A:* False!!

This is one of the most tenacious, and frustrating, medical myths out there: that clear snot indicates a viral infection that will clear on its own while green snot automatically means a bacterial infection that requires an antibiotic for treatment.*

I would think the constant green snot would be reason to check with a doctor...maybe it is due to a food intolerance? As for the rest, I am not sure any of it is really cause for concern. My oldest son (now 16 years) would eat until he threw up as a young child...we had to monitor him closely with foods that he really liked...but he eventually learned to control himself and is a healthy teenager now. (Though it wouldn't hurt for her to talk to her doctor at his check-up about this). Also, at 2 1/2, I wouldn't be overly concerned about letter recognition. I have a 2 1/2 year old in my care who is much like you describe (although his verbal skills are not so great)...he doesn't remember letters, colours very well...but I don't think there is anything wrong with him...2 1/2 is pretty young! If he were 4 or 5 and still not getting it, then I would be more concerned.

Ummmm...some kids seem to have hollow legs and can eat and eat! I just put a post up today about my little daycare monkeys eating me out of budget and playfelt came up with a few great ideas to maybe make bites a bit bigger and foods that they have to chew and take longer to eat. My friend's little guy seems to non stop eat and he is healthy and just has a fast metabolism. Might be the case with this little guy??
As for the nose thing, maybe an allergy? I know that a runny nose can also be linked to ear problems but to have ear problems this long without a Dr noticing it doesn't seem right :blink:
I would maybe suggest an allergy reaction and look into getting allergy testing done since they don't know his biological parents? A different suggestion that might get to the Doctor?

Although it all sounds REALLY annoying... (ugh, boogers!) I don't know that there is cause to be overly concerned. Just keep an eye as he grows to see if things are getting better.
I would also wonder if the snot is caused by a food sensitivity. Does he eat a lot of dairy? Too much dairy can cause excess mucus.
I wouldn't stress at all about number and letter recognition right now. My second son was like that. He could say all the words, but if you asked him about something, it was like he just didn't care. (Everything was "blue" if you asked him what color stuff was)
As for the walking; is he pigeon toed at all? Does he sit in the "W" position often? Some kids are simply not as co-ordinated. I used to care for a 3 year old that would trip over a shadow, I swear. It was frustrating, but he just had to "grow into himself".
There is a disorder that involves a child never feeling full, and therefore eating until they are sick. I would certainly keep an eye on it, but again, if it was that there would be some more really severe signs.
Good luck!

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Originally Posted by mom-in-alberta

Does he sit in the "W" position often? Some kids are simply not as co-ordinated. I used to care for a 3 year old that would trip over a shadow, I swear!

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wow! You nailed it...he sure does sit in the "W" position! Thanks everyone for the posts...food for thought! This little guy was my first in care and really is the sweetest, kindest, most best behaved child (his mom would disagree as he's a bear at home;).

I have one little girl who is like this re: the runny nose and she actually has a liver condition and this is one of the 'things' that comes with it. Annoying....yes!

and about the letter & colours I too wouldn't worry about it. My own daughter who is 2 knows her letters and primary colours if you point to them BUT can't sing the alphabet song or speak in sentences that we can understand. Then there is a 2 1/2yr old girl here who speaks very well, she and I can have full-on conversations and she sings everything even new songs by the second day she knows all the words....but ask her what letter this is....blank stare....what colour is this "red" for everything! LOL I don't get it :)

Because they don't know much about his birth parents (or mother) I would encourage a full check from a DR anyways....who know what they can be missing, right?

I think some kids just naturally have cold hands and feet. Probably less circulation going to their extremities. I have two kids who are pretty cold all the time. One of the girls' even gets such cold hands INSIDE t hat they often look purple-y. And then I have two other kids who seem to run hot and love to shed layers as the day goes on.

The nose bleeds can be from dry air and then veins popping in his nose if he touches it. I went through an era of a couple of years as a teen like this where I would have a nose bleed and ended up in the ER because it was happening so often and with such a large amount of fluid but they told me it was usually the veins/capillaries (SP??) popping from dry air and to get a humidifier. Since his nose also gets crusty and dry - that is probably it.

The rest of it sounds normal. Some kids are just clumsy and everyone learns at different rates. I had one boy who was tripping over himself a lot and the parents decided to take him to a chiropractor for a couple of months because they felt maybe his alignment was off. It helped a bit but he stills falls every 20 minutes. All day long when he is hear I hear "Thud" "Thud" "Ow" as he falls or bumps into something. :no:

Given that there are several somewhat unusual symptoms going on it would be worth a chat with the doctor. A hormonal imbalance issue can cause many of these things. Cold hands and feet can be thyroid or poor circulation due to a heart defect. Do watch him for developmental delays or that he is not progressing on the normal path - ie getting too far ahead in one area but lagging way behind in another. Given the premature start it will take him longer to catch up.

For the nose issues, an allergy comes to mind. Is he exposed to cigaratte smoke in the home?

On the food again the imbalances can cause the brain not to register when they are full or an agressive metabolism could mean things are going through the system too quickly. Word of caution if that is the case and that is that the child won't be getting all of the nutrients from the foods because there isnt' time to convert them so may be lacking in things like iron, etc. - all of which helps with brain function so it really is a vicious circle that only a doctor can diagnose and treat. Hopefully if you mention some of this to mom and put it with the idea of everything together and how the child could be missing out on needed nutrtion and therefore learning development she might be more likely to take him to the doctor than over the nose. Let the doctor discover the nose when he is there or have mom mention it as part of the feeding issues - allergy. If she then gets to see a nutritionist they will go over everything she is feeding/not feeding at home too.

Is mom feeding enough breakfast and supper or is he trying to make up for it during his time with you.

Re: Food at home. I do know breakfast for him (before he gets to me) consists of whatever travels well in the car....mornings are early for them. He gets breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks with me. This child will eat anything! My groups last snack (I make sure and get a protein in) is at 3pm. All leave b/w 4p and 4:15. Mom says that while she is prepping supper he literally pulls bowls, pots of food down off the counter to eat. Once she had put everyone's plates (family of 4) on the table to cool and ran to pee (the child had banished to the living room watching TV). By the time she had returned he had hoovered down EVERYONE'S piping hot dinner!

I should also add that he is very tiny...I have no idea where he puts it!

http://pediatricservices.com/parents/pc-22.htm

I don't allow kids to sit that way. I ask them to "fix their legs". I know that the schools in my area are the same. It seems like overthinking it, but after doing a bit of research, it's not a good position for the entire lower half of the body to be in for any length of time. Studies have also shown that kids who W-sit have a tendency not to use a dominant hand, or learn to pass things from one hand to another (called crossing the midline) which is actually a really important part of brain development.
That being said; you can only do what you can do. I had a little girl last year who was AWFUL for sitting that way. She was terribly pigeon-toed and very clumsy. Watching her run made my stomach turn, because inevitably, she was going to face plant!! If she sat down that way, I asked her to "fix her legs" into "criss cross applesauce" or "legs in a line". She would do it right away. But even though I sent home info on it, and mom always talked about how she wished Little One wasn't so pigeon toed, I know that they never did the same. Every Monday morning, or if she was away for a while, she slipped right back into the habit.