Monday, February 02, 2009

Kids, Germs,  & Dirt

by Teresa

Most people who know me well are pretty aware of my germ phobia.  I don’t know where it came from, but I do know it’s fairly recent.  It certainly got a boost when I had children.

Anyone who’s been in a public restroom when I’ve taken my kids to use the bathroom has heard me saying, “Don’t touch anything!  Don’t touch anything! DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING!“—in escalating tones of concern and panic—I admit it.

And I’m known for somewhat obsessively using anti-bacterial wipes to clean my keyboard and phone at work (computers here in our newsroom are shared by co-workers); I always carry Purell in my purse.

So several people saw this article in the New York Times and emailed it to me, right away.  I have two comments on this one.  First, I agree that kids do need to be exposed to “dirt.“  I never worried too much about them chewing on leaves in the backyard, or getting sand in their mouths at the beach.  I believe the experts who say it’s good for kids to grow up with animals because being exposed to pet “germs” is good for their immune system development.  It’s really mostly germs from other HUMANS that bother me, not the stuff you find outdoors.  I don’t freak out when they pet the neighbors’ dogs.

But I have to say, this quote from a doctor in the article, “Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat,” kind of made me shudder.  Not wash hands before eating?  Dirty hands on food?  That’s just a bit too much for me to handle.  We’ll stick to using our child-friendly, fruity, foamy soap before meals, thank you very much.