I love this article! It essentially says what I've been thinking and what grandma's have been saying for the past few years...a little dirt is good for you!
I've always contributed my children's good health to 2 things...breastfeeding and eating a little bit of dirt. We do regular hand washing, bleach toilets and counter tops, and such as that to prevent disease, but God love them, my kids have been blessed with incredible immune systems. Isaac was nearly a year old before he had a real cold, and Mara was nearly as lucky. Even now, they'll go 4-6 months without a cold. And this is not something I've taken lightly; it's a real true blessing to have healthy kids.
Both kids were nursed exclusively for 4 months, and weaned around 9-10 months, basically when they weaned themselves. They both received ample amounts of mom's immune properties. And both kids have been given ample space to explore, touch, snort, and gum whatever they could reach. And let me tell you, gum they did. In fact, it's still something we're handling with Mara. While we're a little more diligent during flu season, Jeff and I have never been hyper about the kids and hand washing, sanitizing, etc. We wash up before we eat. We wash up after going potty. And after touching farm animals. But other than that, the kids have been free to be, well, kids. And I'll be snookered if they're not the healthiest 2 kids I've ever known.
So please mothers, do your children a favor; let them eat dirt.
5 comments:
You'd be even better off withouth the bleach. Just use vinegar instead!
I used to use bleach to clean the counters, bathrooms etc. until I started reading about it. Now I stick to plain on vinegar & baking soda. Much less toxic and it actually works better.
I actually do use vinegar for 95% of my cleaning. However with hard water and 2 young, nearly potty trained kids (who strive for distance, not accuracy) bleach is my preference for cleaning toilets LOL
For all my kitchen cleaning and deordorizing, nothing beats vinegar. I like adding a drop or two of tea tree oil to it to give it a nice scent.
or as Mara says....
God made dirt and dirt don't hurt.
I love that you aren't too crazy about germs! There are too many parents that are too worried about it, making their kids wash their hands all the time, using instant hand sanitizer like it's not full of chemicals. Let kids be kids (I ate my fair share of dirt for sure!!!).
I'm actually a big fan of vinegar for the toilets. Nothing gets rid of the grime like it does (with a little baking soda mixed in for fun). I love non-toxic cleaning!
I've never added tea tree oil, although I do love that scent.
there's no such thing as nature deficit disorder when the kids are carrying around a little bit of nature here and there.
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