Although day care may increase the risk of colds at a young age, it may prevent colds when children are older.
Parents of preschoolers who are frustrated by their child's frequency of colds and the lack of an effective treatment for the common cold should take heart in knowing that their child is developing immunity which will protect them against similar illnesses in the future.
To investigate, Ball and his colleagues conducted a long-term follow-up study of 991 children from birth to 13 years.
Overall, children who attended large day care centers had more frequent colds at 2 and 3 years of age than their peers who were enrolled in small day care centers, and children in small day care centers had more frequent colds at those ages than those in home care.
In fact, children cared for in large day care centers were 90% more likely to have frequent colds than their peers who were cared for at home.
Yet, by 6 to 11 years of age, the children who had been enrolled in large day care centers were reportedly 60% to 70% less likely to have frequent colds than their at-home peers. The children cared for at home had a similar number of colds at those ages as the children in small day care centers.
At 13 years of age, however, all three groups of children were at similar risk of frequent colds.
Similar trends were observed for length of time in day care, the researchers note. Children who attended large day care centers for 2 years or longer had a 70% greater risk of frequent colds at 2 and 3 years of age and a 70% to 80% decreased risk of frequent colds at ages 8 through 11 than their peers who attended large day care centers for less than one year. Again, by age 13, both groups had a similar risk of frequent colds.
It is hard to see our children suffer through common childhood maladies, such as the common cold, but this is an inevitable part of the development of their immune systems. Whether they acquire that immunity during preschool or elementary it will be acquired on their way to a healthier future.
The real lesson is that there are roses and thorns in all aspects of child rearing. Parents must do what they think is best for their families and should not obsess about minor illnesses like colds, over which they have little control.
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine February 2002;156:104, 121-126
This is an important study that really is somewhat of a landmark in helping parents make wiser choices regarding day care.
The results of the study are consistent with the hygiene hypothesis.
A growing body of medical research supports the commonsense idea that children who experience frequent infections and inflammations in early childhood will strengthen their immune systems and will be less prone to allergies and asthma than children who rarely experience such infections.
The only caution would be that a child should be on an optimal eating plan. I have treated many hundreds of brain-injured children and am quite familiar with the diet most children eat.
Let me assure what you likely already know. Very few children are fed optimal diets once they are weaned from the breast.
They are generally given regular milk, or worse yet soy milk. Juices, large amounts of grains and sugars are other foods that actually impair their immune system.
Once a child is off of their ideal diet they will be far more likely to get an infection with more severe complications.
It appears quite clear that exposing a child to these infections in a day care setting may actually be a good thing. If the child is eating healthy, which is true for nearly all breast fed children under six months of age, they will likely not get a serious infection.
If they do pick up an infection, the symptoms will be very mild and self-limiting, perhaps noting more than a few sniffles.
This is actually a good thing, as the infection will naturally immunize the child against future illness and also protect them from asthma, allergies and eczema as they grow older.
The bottom line is to clean up the child's diet and be considerably more relaxed about children picking up infections in the day care.
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