Daycare kids can fight off infection at school

KIDS in daycare tend to fall sick more often than children cared for at home but will grow up to be healthier than their non-daycare classmates at school.

New research, based on a study of 10,000 Australian children, suggests that childcare in the first year of life doesn’t bring lasting ill-effects. Babies and toddlers are more likely to suffer illnesses such as ear infections if they attend long daycare than if their parents care for them at home.

Children with older siblings, who were born prematurely or who are growing up in a family suffering hardship, are the most likely to suffer ear infections. But by the time they start school, daycare “graduates” will be less likely than their classmates to fall ill.

Full story from The Australian here