Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Call me crazy, but I thought that was kind of common knowledge.
No I don't think you are crazy. . .I am sure you would not allow your children to do the things that the families in the study permitted.
I have not read the full study yet but I think what they were getting at is that we are a very clean society. I do support infections as a natural part of life but I do not think that I would go so far as intentionally permitting my son to inoculate himself. With 2 nasty (rear licking, feces eating and playing with) dogs running around our home, I am not sure that I would allow him to eat off the floor or play with them while he is eating. My fear is not so much with bacteria and virus as is with parasites. . .have you ever seen that show called Monsters Inside Me. All I can say is ewww! And microbiology is my field of expertise.
But anyways back to the article. . .I think the take home message is that we clean too much (hand sanitizes, disinfectants are all overload). And that the immune system needs to stimulated in order for it to be efficient.
Call me crazy, but I thought that was kind of common knowledge.
Nope.
Back when I teaching, antibac hand santizer was the big thing & very few reports out that oversanitizing was actually detrimental was making news. But I had heard from the get go (from my mom ) that many germs are good & creating issues by not allowing your body to fight them off. Anyway, "glitter" hand sanitizer was making the 6th grade girls circuit & they applied that stuff 24/7. I was NOT allowed to ban hand sanitizer from my classroom. Forbidden and a few parents went nuts about it even when I tried to explain that applying it nonstop was not good. We washed desks every week & if their 11yr old wanted to wash their hands at bathroom breaks/before/after lunch, that was on the 11yr old
My husband so overuses hand sanitizer and it drives me nuts. He will not budge that it is ok to use INSTEAD of regular soap/water.
"And with his own child, McDade said he ignores the two-second rule when food drops on the floor.
"I don't hesitate - I tell him to pick it up and eat it," he said."
We went to Panera's & treated my 4yr old to a pasty and of course the moment he got to the table he dropped it. I picked it up, checked it over, and handed it right back to him. A couple next to the table stopped and stared. My reply "5 second rule." They obviously didn't find it funny.
I think the overall intent of the article is what many know, but not all, and that certain germs are just fine & actually vital for our children to be exposed to as they are growing.
Common sense & moderation applies and some go quite overboard & are one extreme or the other.
When you were growing up, think about it & think of how things have changed for our kids b/c of "germs" & some very incorrect information and very smart marketing ploys.
As the OP has many times stated, it takes a lot of digging through the incorrect reports, completely unvalid "scientific research" (anything can be called research), and knowing the correct sources to rely on.
Be your own advocate but also don't live in complete paranoia & fear. That is more harmful to your child than the germ
ps....at this time, no animals are allowed in our home. Not only do I not want to deal w/ the responsibility and cost (the 2 major reasons), but we live on acreage up against a national park & there are lots of things that visit our yard on a daily basis. Don't need the dog bringing that into the home & my kids being exposed to it to some quite harmful bugs and ticks. We get 15-20 deer at a time during the winter under our windows & they carry all sorts of parasites that kids do not need to be exposed to.
Back when I teaching, antibac hand santizer was the big thing & very few reports out that oversanitizing was actually detrimental was making news. But I had heard from the get go (from my mom ) that many germs are good & creating issues by not allowing your body to fight them off. Anyway, "glitter" hand sanitizer was making the 6th grade girls circuit & they applied that stuff 24/7. I was NOT allowed to ban hand sanitizer from my classroom. Forbidden and a few parents went nuts about it even when I tried to explain that applying it nonstop was not good. We washed desks every week & if their 11yr old wanted to wash their hands at bathroom breaks/before/after lunch, that was on the 11yr old
My husband so overuses hand sanitizer and it drives me nuts. He will not budge that it is ok to use INSTEAD of regular soap/water.
"And with his own child, McDade said he ignores the two-second rule when food drops on the floor.
"I don't hesitate - I tell him to pick it up and eat it," he said."
We went to Panera's & treated my 4yr old to a pasty and of course the moment he got to the table he dropped it. I picked it up, checked it over, and handed it right back to him. A couple next to the table stopped and stared. My reply "5 second rule." They obviously didn't find it funny.
I think the overall intent of the article is what many know, but not all, and that certain germs are just fine & actually vital for our children to be exposed to as they are growing.
Common sense & moderation applies and some go quite overboard & are one extreme or the other.
When you were growing up, think about it & think of how things have changed for our kids b/c of "germs" & some very incorrect information and very smart marketing ploys.
As the OP has many times stated, it takes a lot of digging through the incorrect reports, completely unvalid "scientific research" (anything can be called research), and knowing the correct sources to rely on.
Be your own advocate but also don't live in complete paranoia & fear. That is more harmful to your child than the germ
ps....at this time, no animals are allowed in our home. Not only do I not want to deal w/ the responsibility and cost (the 2 major reasons), but we live on acreage up against a national park & there are lots of things that visit our yard on a daily basis. Don't need the dog bringing that into the home & my kids being exposed to it to some quite harmful bugs and ticks. We get 15-20 deer at a time during the winter under our windows & they carry all sorts of parasites that kids do not need to be exposed to.
This is me.
Hand sanitizers and antibacterial are not what they are cracked out to be. Definitely know that antibacterial soap does not work. . .because bugs are resistant to it the antibacterial part. . .so the soap part is One would do better just using some ivory or baby shampoo. And hand sanitizers are definitely not 100% against bugs. . .and I hope that no one things that it is as superiors as soap and water--especially after using the commode .
But in all seriousness, it is taboo in our culture to eat off of the floor or before washing one's hands. Germ phobia has taken control. And I have fallen pray to it at times too. Sometimes I am all over my son when he eats off of the floor. . .but it is definitely because of what I seen my dogs do (like eating deer poo or grooming their rears and sliding across the floor).
Funny that you mentioned the national park thing. . .we actually are living up against a natural area called the Chattahoochee River. And boy do we get lots of deer. My little pup loves, loves, loves to eat deer poop. And he is the initiator of rear-licking. Gosh. . .he is turning me mad. But I will try to do better about my son eating the doggy germs.
But anyways back to the article. . .I think the take home message is that we clean too much (hand sanitizes, disinfectants are all overload). And that the immune system needs to stimulated in order for it to be efficient.
I think that's true. We have 3 dogs and I let my child eat things that fall on the floor, as long as there is no dog hair on them (yuck!). I understand your concern for parasites though, I've seen the show that you are talking about . I've never been into hand sanitizers, mainly because they dry out my skin but I have recently heard things about them possibly causing more harm then good.
There are certain things that really gross me out, such as those mini car grocery carts at the grocery store (especially during flu season) or kids with snot running all over the place sharing toys with my dd, but overall I'm not much of a germaphobe. And I do let my dd ride in those cars because in all honestly, I'm much more afraid of her melting down then I am of germs.
The funny thing is what things people consider "germy" and freak out about and what they don't think about as much.
I'm pretty sure that a Cheerio falling on a dry floor and being eaten by a 2 year old is pretty safe, not even worth worrying about in the least. I'm sure there are plenty more germs on the household phone, keyboard, and remote control than on a floor. And the kinds of germs that are associated with human mouths and fingers are far more likely to cause infection / illness than activities that involve dirt or germs from other species. I'd rather lick a popsicle that has been licked by a dog than one licked by another human! I'd rather be bitten by a dog than a human too.
It makes intuitive sense that if the human immune system expects to be up against germs, and isn't, that it may not develop correctly.
But I also think that we mistake how well we actually "disinfect" our environments as opposed to disgusting-times-past. I've got cats and dogs running all over my house and I doubt that if you swabbed my floor and some clean-freak's floor that there would be substantial differences in what grew in the petri dish. A few minutes after a bleach mop, you're right back where you were before.
ps....at this time, no animals are allowed in our home. Not only do I not want to deal w/ the responsibility and cost (the 2 major reasons), but we live on acreage up against a national park & there are lots of things that visit our yard on a daily basis. Don't need the dog bringing that into the home & my kids being exposed to it to some quite harmful bugs and ticks. We get 15-20 deer at a time during the winter under our windows & they carry all sorts of parasites that kids do not need to be exposed to.
TICKS! Did you know that you have to have a tick bit into you for 48 hours before you can get lymes disease? All it takes are tick checks everyday. For the record, we live in an area loaded with ticks and you are sure to get at least one tick on you just crossing the front lawn anyday of the summer. Our area is especially heavy with ticks with lymes, a pandamic among the ticks on our land, and both DH and DS have contrated lymes because we let our guards down...and well somebody, but I won't say who, didn't check his crack. I caught on to DS's lymes real fast and they didn't even bother testing but treated him right away with some new drug so that they got rid of before it even took hold and will never have lasting effects. All it takes is a little education to lose unnecessary fear and quick reaction on the parents part. We, by the way, have always checked each other over for ticks after coming in from a day outside and haven't had the problem again...with the exception of the crack tick.
Does it occur to anyone that money probably has the most germs out of anything.(BTW I eat stuff off the ground too. If it's been sitting for less than 10 minutes and tastes fine then so be it.I think people freak on soap and hand sanitizer way to much.I'm considered very germy by the few shocked peers that find I take showers every 5 days(pretend I didn't say that) .)
TICKS! Did you know that you have to have a tick bit into you for 48 hours before you can get lymes disease? All it takes are tick checks everyday. For the record, we live in an area loaded with ticks and you are sure to get at least one tick on you just crossing the front lawn anyday of the summer. Our area is especially heavy with ticks with lymes, a pandamic among the ticks on our land, and both DH and DS have contrated lymes because we let our guards down...and well somebody, but I won't say who, didn't check his crack. I caught on to DS's lymes real fast and they didn't even bother testing but treated him right away with some new drug so that they got rid of before it even took hold and will never have lasting effects. All it takes is a little education to lose unnecessary fear and quick reaction on the parents part. We, by the way, have always checked each other over for ticks after coming in from a day outside and haven't had the problem again...with the exception of the crack tick.
Oh my!! Well, not sure if I would have checked either. . .
Considering one of my earlier posts (typos) on this thread, I am not very meticulous either at times.
Well I am happy that he is ok now. . .WOW!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) that many germs are good & creating issues by not allowing your body to fight them off. Anyway, "glitter" hand sanitizer was making the 6th grade girls circuit & they applied that stuff 24/7. I was NOT allowed to ban hand sanitizer from my classroom. Forbidden and a few parents went nuts about it even when I tried to explain that applying it nonstop was not good. We washed desks every week & if their 11yr old wanted to wash their hands at bathroom breaks/before/after lunch, that was on the 11yr old 
This is me. 
.
I caught on to DS's lymes real fast and they didn't even bother testing but treated him right away with some new drug so that they got rid of before it even took hold and will never have lasting effects. All it takes is a little education to lose unnecessary fear and quick reaction on the parents part. We, by the way, have always checked each other over for ticks after coming in from a day outside and haven't had the problem again...with the exception of the crack tick.
