Parents are often aghast to find that their apparently healthy pre-schoolers are repeatedly ill, and subject to recurrent bouts of coughs, colds, flu and tummy bugs. The good news is that this is not only normal, but, in most cases, a healthy sign.
All children are born with immature immune systems and, as a result, get many infections - on average, every month or two. As their immunity develops, the number of infections decreases and by the time children reach school age, their rate of infection is usually the same as that of adults.
When a young child comes into contact with viruses or bacteria, their immune systems kick into action - and what we know as 'symptoms' are, in fact, evidence of this. A runny nose, fever and coughing are all evidence that a child's body is hard at work fighting off invaders. So symptoms need not be alarming, unless they cause a child to become seriously debilitated.
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