A friend pointed me towards this recent study indicating that children who enter daycare as infants are less likely to develop asthma or other respiratory ailments. The research suggests that children who are exposed to pathogens at an early age are less prone to allergies and asthma later on.
While the study is peer-reviewed, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and seems like good science, I was a little peeved by this e-zine headline: Daycare Prevents Asthma. That isn’t what the study says, and even the staunchest daycare advocates couldn’t assert the connection in such a black and white way. This kind of thing is internet reporting at it’s worst, especially when it concerns parenting decisions and children’s health.
Nonetheless, for those of you out there who use daycare (as I do), here’s another reason to feel good about your decision. And for those of you who don’t — no worries — the study really suggests that having your kid around lots of other kids (and exposed to all of their germs) is what makes the difference, not daycare per se.
Related links:
- The New York Times reports on the study here.
- The paper published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology is here.
- An overview on childhood asthma from The American Lung Association.
