Researchers have revealed how many diseases children suffer from in their first year of nursery – and why it makes them more vulnerable to bugs when they start school.
That’s when experts decided to conduct the first major study of the impact of illness among youth during their first year of formal child care, after looking at how often their own children were sick.
The authors also said vaccination is one of the most effective things parents can do to protect their children from diseases.
The study found that toddlers and pre-schoolers will have 15 illnesses in the first year of nursery, leading to about 13 days off due to illness.
It also means that employers should have “realistic expectations” about the level of sickness absence for children, parents and caregivers, the authors write in Clinical Microbiology Reviews.
According to research, nursery settings can serve as an immune system “boot camp” that helps children build resilience against bugs in the years to come.
The study found that during the first year of formal child care, infants and toddlers were more likely to contract 12 respiratory illnesses, such as coughs and colds.
There will also be two episodes of illness consisting of diarrhea and/or vomiting, and at least one illness that includes a rash – such as scarlet fever, along with rashes on the cheeks or hands, feet and mouth.
Researchers said children who go to nursery experience more infections between the ages of one and five than children who stay at home until they start school.
But once they start school, this pattern reverses as children without prior child care experience get sick more often.
Read more from Sky News:
Meningitis outbreak is a reminder that young people are most at risk
‘Why did this happen?’: Inside Iran’s children’s ward
Early exposure to diseases in group childcare settings offers some protection in the early school years, possibly due to acquired immunity to common infections, the researchers said.
Experts from UCL worked with colleagues from the University of Cambridge, Cornell University and North Middlesex University Hospital to examine immunology, infectious disease genomics and epidemiological data.
Co-author Dr Leo Swadling, from the UCL Institute of Infection, Immunity and Transplantation, said: “Newborns have some protection from infection due to antibodies passed on from the mother, but this wanes in their first year, making infants – particularly those starting in nursing care – more vulnerable to infection.
“It’s normal for children to get sick a lot because their immune systems have never seen these bugs before – but then the nursery acts as a ‘boot camp’ for their immune system, building resilience for years to come.
“Vaccines are an important way to protect children from serious infections in child care, so we encourage parents to keep their children up to date on all available vaccines.”
