Young children who are cared for at home may have an advantage over children who attend group childcare. According to researchers from Copenhagen, Denmark, young children in daycare are more prone to respiratory infections than their counterparts who stay at home. Danish researchers analyzed 135,000 children and found that the increased risk is most pronounced in children 0 to 2 years old and is greatest soon after they begin daycare.
In children younger than 1 year of age, the first 6 months of daycare attendance were associated with a 69% higher incidence of hospital admission for acute respiratory infection compared with children at home. Children aged 1, 2, and 3 years or older experienced a 47%, 41%, and 8% higher incidence of hospitalizations in the first months of daycare attendance, respectively.
