Although practicing good hygiene is a definite must, it's funny how things change as your child grows.
When I was pregnant with my first, I bought hand sanitizer and had it strategically placed around the house so that everyone could sanitize before they touched my precious new baby. Now, years later, my kids have chugged from other kids' sippy cups, eaten food off the floor, and playing in dirt is part of our daily routine. Luckily, for moms like me, there is more evidence that we don't need to be so paranoid about keeping our kids completely germ free.
Environmental Health Perspectives just published an article about a commonly used antimicrobial agent, Triclosan, and its positive association with allergy & hay-fever diagnosis. You can read its report which sums up all of the scientific findings. But, I preferred reading this article by Healthy Day News titled "Too Much Hygiene May affect Immune System, Study Suggests".
For now, I'm going to start phasing out the hand sanitizers, soaps and creams with those antimicrobial agents, and continue to let my kids get dirty. What's your take on this?
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/ Photographer: Clare Bloomfield