Parents know that any number of kids in close proximity can mean germs spreading like wildfire – and, subsequently, an infection that takes down your entire family one by one. But new reports by researchers also describe surprising benefits that can come from putting kids in daycare.

The report by American researchers, presented at a conference in London, claims that kids in daycare or other playgroups are 30% less likely to develop a common form of childhood leukemia than those who do not have this same interaction. This was especially true for those kids who started daycare as early as 1 or 2 years old.

The study, which was led by Patricia Butler of UC Berkeley, seems to show that, as it is popularly believed, children exposed to different illnesses and infections early in life are able to gain protection against them and build up their immune systems for later. (The same is said for other illnesses and allergies.) In this case, though, it’s also possible that social contact may somehow play a role in developing protection against leukemia in particular. This common form, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, accounts for approximately 80% of childhood leukemias.

Research will no doubt investigate these findings further, taking us one step closer to helping to shield our children from illness. But, in the meantime, we can at least feel less guilty about sending our kids to daycare.

To see more on the story, visit Reuters.

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