Thursday, June 7, 2012

It's okay dirt is good for you.......

photo credit
I let my children get dirty. In fact I regularly encourage it. I am in no way at all the sanitary police. You will not find a bottle of sanitizer in my diaper bag or purse. I simply don't believe in the stuff. Now I usually gets a knee jerk reaction from a lot of parents, when they find out that I don't have any.

" What do you mean you don't sanitize your children? Do you want them to be clean and safe? What about GERMS?????"

Eh, Germs are cool with us. I actually want my children exposed to bacteria, germs and all things microscopic. I believe in the need for natural immunity. Letting my child experience the world and all that is in it. I figure if I let their bodies be exposed to the little things they will better fight off the big things. 

Now I know parents who carry the little bottles everywhere with them some have two or three with them at all times. That is cool with them and if the feel the need for it that is their choice. It is just a choice I don't make for my children.

We actually avoid chemical antibacterial things in out house. We have a few cleaners For good deep cleaning and the toilet and such. I don't use anti bacterial cleansers on a regular day to day cleaning, just good ol' soap and water. My big thing with anti bacterial soap is they kill 99% of bacteria, that sounds great right? Well there is good and bad bacteria and you need the good ones around. They are little bacteria climbing all over everything right now. All over your skin hair and even side you, and that is a good thing. Your immune system is better for all of it.
Generally my kids are pretty healthy little guys. When they get sick, it is not for very long.We do keep a clean enviroment. They (usually) wash their hands on a regular basis. If they are excessively dirt covered I'll wipe them down with a cloth and warm water.  I do not whip out the sanitizer before they eat anything. Not even when we are out and at the park. I also let my children play in those indoor play centers, yup with out sanitizer, with out the bubble, and without being sick for the next two weeks. You know what they haven't died, and if they find something really gross and yucky ( which they never have, knock on wood) they know not to touch stuff. 
Go ahead get dirty let your kids play. Dirt and germs are okay they really are. Did you grow up in a bubble, or did you eat bugs and drink water from the hose?


5 comments:

  1. Nice point. Now that summer has come, I've let my kids play in those mud puddles and if it happens, drink from the hose. lol

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  2. I was that kind of mom when my kids were small. The neighbours often thought I was crazy, but they were the healthiest kids I knew! :) I was appalled when I cruised recently and the staff tried to push hand sanitizer, which I refuse to use!

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  3. Amen! I drank water from the house and ate my fair share of mud. I'm not that mother either but I try. :o
    Happy Weekend!

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  4. Yup, I too believe it's to expose kids to germs. It improves their immunity :) I sometimes let my child eat something that just fell on the floor (of course, I choose the floor that's cleaned often and the dogs don't really go to much).. but that doesn't happen much either :)

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