Snotty young faces may have you reaching for the anti-bacterial solution, but there’s a lot to be gained for your child’s immune system when they get sick. The average Australian child catches 5-10 colds a year, and while it sounds like a lot, each bout is an essential building block in their immunity. Children start building immune defences from a very young age, and they continue to develop throughout the first few years of their life. This coincides neatly with the huge milestone of their first days of day care – a new and bacteria-rich environment. In this setting, you can expect plenty more coughs, runny noses and hot foreheads. But rather than see this as a negative, you can embrace it for the immunity builder it is.