Although young children might get sick more often when they first start group daycare — replete with its shared finger paints, building blocks and germs — a new study hints at a possible future pay-off: fewer infections come kindergarten.
The researchers stop short of crediting childcare for the protection, however.
“Daycares have a reputation for being germ factories,” lead author Sylvana Cote of the University of Montreal, in Quebec, told Reuters Health.
That bad rap may be at least somewhat warranted, she said. Children going into daycare have been shown to get sick more often than children who stay at home. But earlier studies had not looked into daycare’s potential long-term effects on children’s health.
Full story: Early daycare linked to fewer infections later