Young children pick up 15 illnesses in first year at nursery
A new study has found it leads to around 13 days off for sick children.
A new study has confirmed what many parents know to be true, children pick up more bugs when they start nursery.
Research has found toddlers and pre-schoolers will get 15 illness in their first year of nursery – but they will be more resilient to bugs when they start school.
The illnesses lead to around 13 days off nursery, as experts called for parents to be given more recognition by employers that they and their children may be “frequently sick” during this period.
But researchers said nursery settings can serve as an immune system “boot camp” which help children build up resilience against bugs in the years ahead.
"How often do kids get sick, and what can be done about it?"
The study's authors wanted to examine the impact of illness among youngsters after noticing how frequently their own children were sick during the first year of formal childcare.
Co-author Dr Lucy van Dorp, an infectious disease genomics researcher in the UCL Genetics Institute, said: “As parents, we were all struck by how often our collective nine children became ill after starting nursery.
“So we came together to do the first review of how often a child starting nursery will get sick in their first year of attendance and what can be done about it.”
Working with colleagues from the University of Cambridge, Cornell University and North Middlesex University Hospital, experts from UCL examined immunology, infectious disease genomics, and epidemiology data to try and understand why children starting formal childcare outside their own homes are so susceptible to a range of different common childhood infections.
They concluded that during their first year of formal childcare, babies and children are expected to have 12 respiratory illnesses such as coughs and colds, two episodes of diarrhoea and/or vomiting illness and at least one illness that involves a rash – such as scarlet fever, slapped cheek or hand, foot and mouth.
The researchers said that children who go to nursery experience more infections from age one to five than those who remain at home until starting school.
But once they start school this pattern is reversed as children without prior childcare experience get sick more frequently.
They added that early exposure to illnesses in group childcare settings appears to provide some protection for the early school years, likely due to acquiring immunity to common infections.
"Vaccines are a key way to protect children from serious infections in childcare"
“Respiratory, gastrointestinal, and exanthematous illnesses in infants and young children are common and driven by a wide variety of viral and bacterial pathogens,” the authors wrote in Clinical Microbiology Reviews.
“Employers need realistic expectations about the likelihood and frequency of both child and parental/caregiver sickness absence following the end of parental leave.
“Attendance at formal childcare may tip the balance in favour of infection now rather than later.”
The authors said that vaccination is one of the most effective things parents can do to protect their children from illnesses.
Co-author Dr Leo Swadling, from the UCL Institute of Infection, Immunity and Transplantation, added: “Newborns have some protection against infection thanks to antibodies passed from the mother, but this wanes in their first year, leaving infants – especially those starting childcare – more vulnerable to infections.
“It’s normal for children to get sick a lot because their immune systems have never seen these bugs before – but then nursery serves as a ‘boot camp’ for their immune systems, building up resilience for the years ahead.
“Vaccines are a key way to protect children from serious infections in childcare, so we encourage parents to keep their children up to date with all available vaccines.”
The study’s corresponding author Dr Charlotte Houldcroft, a virologist at the University of Cambridge, said: “We all have experience of our children coming home from nursery with a bug that leaves them, and often us, feeling pretty poorly – even occasionally needing hospital care.
“But it’s important for parents to follow guidelines to keep children home from nursery while unwell – and potentially for another day or two after recovery, depending on the type of infection.
“While infections during nursery are normal and common, it’s important to do what we can to mitigate their spread.”