Your kid needs to get sick so he becomes immune?

Question

Who here buys into the theory that it's not bad for your child to get sick when they're toddlers because it helps build up their immune system, and by the time they start kindergarten, they won't constantly be sick and staying home? My sons' pediatrician told me this, and I don't buy it. There are SO many strains of the cold virus, flu, etc. out there. What are the chances my son is going to come into contact with the same cold virus twice? If he gets it, yes, he'll be immune, but the next person he comes in contact with who has a cold will more than likely have a different type of cold, so my son's going to be sick again anyway.

If your child was kept at home during infancy and the toddler stage and was rarely sick...when your child started kindergarden, did you notice him constantly sick and missing school? Same for those of you who have kids in daycare...since your child has probably had a few colds, was he mostly healthy during kindergarden?

Answer 1

Your Doctor didn't do a very good job of explaing this so called "theory". When a child gets sick & runs a fever, the first thing most people & medical staff do is try to get the fever to come down or go away & they consider this a success in the healing department. NOT TRUE! When the human body is being attacked by a Virus, it must have a rise in temperature in order to create the anti-bodies & cells that are needed to destroy the virus & related attacking germs that have entered the body & bloodstream. There is an old saying "Feed a cold & Starve a fever". In other words, when you have a fever, switch to liquids to cool the body naturally & keep the system flushing out the toxins without puting the extra strain on your body having to digest heavy, solid foods. Eat yogurt, rather than solid cheese for protein, but better yet, avoid protein altogether for a minimum of 24 hours & just make sure that you or your child is taking at least a sip of water every hour & you won't have to worry about them "burning up" their organs (as many health pros say). In the late 70's & early 80's my child entered day care & pre school & she wasn't sick a day until she entered these facilities. You really can't do much about children passing germs to one another in a public setting & with the current antibiotic problems, you & your child are better off if you can just tough it out without any medications whatsoever, because your body will build up an immunity to the medication & when they get REALLY sick, nothing will work on their bodies. This is the REAL problem. We have used so many antibiotics that our systems are no longer responding to the medications, so we must allow our bodies to incorporate new strains of viruses, rather that eradicate everything from our blood, thus leaving us in worse shape than before!

Answer 2

It is true. During the infant and toddler years, kids really need to build up thier immune systems to avoid getting more sick later on in life. A good example is chicken pox--kids need to get it so they will not get it when they are adults. For kids, chicken pox is like a flu, but it can be fatal for adults. As a mother, you want to protect your child from everything, but eventually your child will go to school, and will be sick a LOT. I am a kindergarten teacher, and I see very clearly that the kids who have not gone to preschool do get sick during August and January., the times when they are exposed to other kids after long breaks. I think you will be fine, it is not a matter of being immune to everything and different stands of viruses, it is a matter of having a strong immune system. You will be fine. Send your child to school without worry, and consider the colds and flus as what they are--part of growing up to be a healthy adult.

Answer 3

It is true. It's just like the concept/saying: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"
If a kid is NEVER exposed to a cold or flu, then all of a sudden goes to public school and is exposed to all types of germs, and boy will he get sick. But if he's been previously exposed, his immune system already has a higher tolerance for colds.
Even the vaccine's that your child gets is injected with a little bit of the virus for which he's getting vaccinated. For example, at age one, they get the varicilla shot, or the Chicken Pox shot. They actually put in that vaccine some of the actual Chicken Pox virus, so the body will recognize it and reject it right away. Believe me, for the most part, those doctors know their stuff.

Answer 4

I believe it and I kinda have proof of it (well an example). I had a friend who was home school and was only around other kids once a week at church. When her parents finally wised up and put her in school her first year (Middle School) she was CONSTANTLY sick! When she would get a simple COLD she would be twice as sick as others. Her parents blamed the school and pulled her back out of school. She begged and begged her parents to let her go back to school, and they finally gave in let her go back. When it was time to start college, she found the one that was FAR away! She went to a school in Nevada and her parents live here in Virginia! LOL!

Anyways, as far as the likely hood of your son coming into contact with the same strand twice you are right, it IS unlikely. But if he has one strand and the next strand is only SLIGHTLY different he can battle it better if he had the first strand then if he didn't have it at all.

My daughter got her first cold at two months and has had once or two since then (my fiance and I both work at Wal-Mart and we bring a LOT of germs home because we work with the public).

I was raised in a babysitter's home. It was me and another girl about two years older then me. I was sick a LOT in kindergarden. My sister on the other hand was raised in a day care and she got sick more then I did while I was a baby (because she had the germs of day care and the one I brought home from school) but she was not as sick as I was when she started school.

I DO believe that you child's body had to fight off bacteria and viruses to help them in the long run!

Answer 5

I believe that is true because nowadays it is a popular trend to have chicken pox parties so that an infected child can interact with others to infect them as well. Getting chicken pox over with early is great because it can be deadly to adults and the elderly. Statistically, kids in daycare get sick a lot more because there are so many viruses constantly going around. Why not give your kids an edge in such a disease-ridden environment

Answer 6

i have always been healthy my mom says i wasnt sick much i wentt to day care when i was like 6 months old and i usally only get a cold and a virus or the flu or sumthoing once a year i dont miss more then one day of school from beoing sick this year i only missed 4 days of school (3 for getting braces on and 1 i faked sick for the first and only time in my life)

Answer 7

i have one son who rarely gets sick even when the rest of the family is sick and another son who has been in pre-school and is getting ready for kindergarten. he gets sick more than the rest of us, always has. the whole chicken pox party is a nifty idea and all, but my aunt had it 3 times and my other aunt had it twice. i knew a girl who was taken to a chicken pox party and ended up getting the pox down her throat and into her lungs and suffocated. this is rare, but does happen. don't be paranoid, but i would never volunteer my child for something like that. i completely agree with you. if they get sick i deal with it and they get over it.

Answer 8

When my daughter started kindergarten in '04' she ended up with so many sicknesses, and she brought stuff home to her brother. They were constantly sick and I was pregnant. It was horrible. Neither one of them ever attended a daycare, or pre-school. I don't think it matters. These sicknesses manifest themselves in schools, and circulate throughout the year, that is my belief.

Answer 9

I have a 5yr old and 3yr old. My oldest was in preschool for 2 yrs. The first year he would catch everything and bring it home to my youngest. The second year he would just bring it home to my youngest so yes I believe my oldest has become more immune to colds, flue ect. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 10

yes