"Healthcare is like cultivating a plant; it requires the right approach from the start," stated pediatrician Nguyen Tri Doan at the Wisdomland World School education forum in TP HCM on 31/1. The forum's theme was "Journey to Nurture Green Dragons."

Exposure to the external environment through schooling and play helps children build natural resistance, rather than being overprotected at home. Photo: Le Phuong

Exposure to the external environment through schooling and play helps children build natural resistance, rather than being overprotected at home. Photo: Le Phuong

This view aligns with the "Hygiene Hypothesis," proposed by British professor David Strachan in 1989 and widely recognized by the global medical community. This hypothesis suggests that a lack of exposure to infectious agents, symbiotic microorganisms, and parasites in early childhood increases immune system sensitivity, leading to a higher risk of developing allergies and autoimmune diseases later in life.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) also compared children raised in farm environments, with greater exposure to bacteria, to urban children. The results indicated that the "farm children" group had stronger immune systems and a significantly lower incidence of asthma.

Dr. Doan advised parents to distinguish between two categories of illnesses. Dangerous diseases, such as polio, measles, and meningitis, require mandatory prevention through full vaccination. In contrast, common viral illnesses contracted at school are essential "training exercises" for the immune system.

The expert warned that a strategy of "keeping children in a glass cage" to avoid illness would be counterproductive. If the immune system remains "unemployed" during the first 5 years, children will face "compensatory illnesses" as soon as they enter grade 1. At this point, their bodies begin the process of encountering pathogens, leading to frequent school absences, gaps in foundational knowledge, and significant psychological pressure.

From a cognitive development perspective, Dr. Bui Hong Quan, Head of the Early Childhood Education Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, likened the preschool period to laying the foundation for a skyscraper. Dr. Quan cited the plasticity of young children's brains, a time when neural connections (synapses) form at their fastest rate.

According to the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, a child's brain forms over one million neural connections per second in the early years. These connections require activation through real-world experiences and play. Dr. Quan emphasized that if this critical period for children to engage with their environment is missed, unused connections will be "pruned," diminishing the child's potential for personality and cognitive development.

Le Phuong