--- title: Study: Some Benefits of Probiotics for Kids description: A new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) finds that probiotics — types of "good" bacteria that colonize in your gut and may... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7143372/study-some-benefits-of-probiotics-for-kids/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2010-11-29T17:14:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T11:24:36.258Z article:section: Health og:title: Study: Some Benefits of Probiotics for Kids og:description: A new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) finds that probiotics — types of "good" bacteria that colonize in your gut and may... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7143372/study-some-benefits-of-probiotics-for-kids/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7417c218ed7712e2/698a9518cabb1d53b6e5a832/infantcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 307 og:image:height: 173 og:image:alt: 75019518 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Study: Some Benefits of Probiotics for Kids twitter:description: A new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) finds that probiotics — types of "good" bacteria that colonize in your gut and may... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7417c218ed7712e2/698a9518cabb1d53b6e5a832/infantcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Study: Some Benefits of Probiotics for Kids > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=6f6d3929-5d18-49fc-be3d-048624a983da&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Nov 29, 2010 5:14 PM UTC  Baby drinking from bottle Baby drinking from bottle Getty Images/Altrendo by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Nov 29, 2010 5:14 PM UTC A new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) finds that probiotics — types of “good” bacteria that colonize in your gut and may help improve digestion, immune defense and even metabolism — can have certain health benefits in some children.more The AAP review, published Monday by the journal _Pediatrics_, suggests that giving probiotics early to children with diarrhea from a viral infection, but who are otherwise healthy, can shorten the duration of illness. The review also found that probiotics can help prevent diarrhea in children who are taking antibiotics. (**More on Time.com:** [The Scoop on Raising Baby, from Two Mom Docs](http://healthland.time.com/2010/11/23/the-scoop-on-raising-baby-from-two-mom-docs/)) But the AAP stopped short of recommending that probiotics be added to children’s formula (although infant foods and formula that already contain probiotics, such as _Bifidobacterium lactis_, which has been available in formula since 2007, aren’t considered harmful to healthy children), and warned that the live microorganisms should not be given to seriously ill children with weakened immune systems or who use intravenous catheters. There’s also not enough data to recommend probiotics to kids for constipation, irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease, or to prevent asthma or eczema in children, the AAP reports. The probiotic industry has taken off in recent years — evidenced by labels on yogurt, sports drinks and even some vitamins, which proudly display “probiotic” and “with live cultures” on their packaging. Companies claim that these organisms boost health by influencing the gut microflora — the masses of bacteria in the intestinal tract that are acquired at birth (in the birth canal and, later, through the environment, including breast milk) and are thought to play a role in various functions, including allergies, digestion, inflammation and perhaps even [weight gain](http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1969807,00.html). (**More on Time.com:** [ 5 Pregnancy Taboos Explained (or Debunked)](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/30/5-pregnancy-taboos-explained-or-debunked/?iid=WBmostpopular)) For consumers who seek the friendly bacteria found in probiotic foods, it’s worth noting that they may not be present in the amounts the labels suggest. The Washington _Post_ [reports](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/29/AR2010112900064.html): --- > “” --- **Related Links**: [Change Your Life in Less Than One Minute](http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/11/22/change-your-life-in-less-than-one-minute/) [How to Get Your Kid Through the TSA ‘Pat-Down’ With Little Trauma](http://healthland.time.com/2010/11/23/how-to-get-your-kid-through-the-tsa-pat-down-with-little-trauma/) [](http://healthland.time.com/page/4/#ixzz16h03NveZ) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7143372/study-some-benefits-of-probiotics-for-kids/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7143372/study-some-benefits-of-probiotics-for-kids/"},"headline":"Study: Some Benefits of Probiotics for Kids","datePublished":"2010-11-29T17:14:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T11:24:36.258Z","description":"A new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) finds that probiotics — types of \"good\" bacteria that colonize in your gut and may...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7143372/study-some-benefits-of-probiotics-for-kids/","keywords":["Children","kids","study","probiotics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7417c218ed7712e2/698a9518cabb1d53b6e5a832/infantcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7417c218ed7712e2/698a9518cabb1d53b6e5a832/infantcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"75019518","caption":"75019518","creditText":"Getty Images/Altrendo","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7143372/study-some-benefits-of-probiotics-for-kids/","name":"Study: Some Benefits of Probiotics for Kids"}}]}] ```