Just a gem from the website Kidsgrowth, sponsored by Similac.  Notice what
is not mentioned?

Magda

Children's Illnesses Part of Growing Up

Some youngsters seem to spend the first few years of their life always ill.
No sooner do they recover from an ear infection then they are afflicted with
intestinal flu, only to be followed by a cold and yet another ear infection.
Their parents claim they see their pediatrician so much that they are
thinking about asking for a "reserved parking place" at the office. Why do
some children seem so much more susceptible to getting sick than others?

In order to answer that question, parents must realize that during the
preschool years all children average six to eight colds per year. There are
over 200 individual viruses responsible for these illnesses, and a young
child’s immature immune system simply makes them more prone to sickness.
Some protective antibodies are passed from mother to child during pregnancy
but they slowly disappear during the first 6-12 months of life. This makes a
toddler "bare" from a protective immune point of view and the child is more
susceptible to every contagious germ encountered. In addition, young
children cannot take care of themselves. They can’t blow their nose, clear
their throats, or remember to wash their hands. It is not until the age of
five or so that a child develops immunity of their own to fight these
infectious germs and begins to learn the use of a handkerchief. Next time
you are at your child’s doctor’s office, look around the waiting room. You
will notice that the age range of most of the sick children is between nine
months to five years.

continues...

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter, BfN, UK

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html