[Zeeva]

For those of you with kids, especially toddlers and babies, do you worry about the [email protected] that ends up in, on and around your mini human because of the pups?

My dogs bring in dirt, leaves, grass, most likely poo and other random stuff that gets caught in their fur and paws. Their hair gets meshed in the carpet--everywhere. And since babies and toddlers spend so much time on the floor...isn't it unhealthy?

I'm all for building a strong immune system for a baby through the exposure to various [email protected]

But how dirty is dangerous for a baby/toddler?

 

[sparra]

Our kids are farm kids so they are never clean. Our city friends are horrified by what our kids get up to in terms of dirt......I am feeding 25 orphaned lambs at the moment and my 2 year old loves to help......Ive caught him sucking on the teats a couple times......oh well......

 

[Ellimaybel]

Our kids are farm kids so they are never clean. Our city friends are horrified by what our kids get up to in terms of dirt......I am feeding 25 orphaned lambs at the moment and my 2 year old loves to help......Ive caught him sucking on the teats a couple times......oh well......

:spittingcoffee:

 

[ozzymama]

Our kids are farm kids so they are never clean. Our city friends are horrified by what our kids get up to in terms of dirt......I am feeding 25 orphaned lambs at the moment and my 2 year old loves to help......Ive caught him sucking on the teats a couple times......oh well......

:thumbup:

I should be more worried about what the kid tracks in. The dogs are investigating something outside, I go look, her no way!

You designate a kid area, keep it clean... You need a way to separate them anyways, taking the kid or the dogs to pee with you every single time - which after a baby is about 3x more than before you had a baby gets old, really quick.

 

[Courtney]

IMO, kids are too darn clean - in bubbles. A antibiotic for everything - a waste.

Get out there - eat some dirt -swallow a few bugs - your immune system will thank you

 

[Shade]

I was raised with the saying "you're supposed to eat a peck of dirt before you die"

It doesn't mean I don't do my best to keep my dogs and my environment clean, but there's only so far you can go without becoming OCD

 

[misslesleedavis1]

Well my guy is 11 in July and hes been around mud, dogs and cats and he survived. A couple in my home town had their child removed from the home because of cleanliness they had alot of unfixed cats that sprayed everywere. Bad scene I worked with her, CAS would not give him back until they removed all the garbage from the home and cleaned. I am for a strong immune system too. My SO tells me a hilarious story all the time about jackson. .he was toddling up the street once, stopped and stuck his tongue in a mud puddle because he was thirsty.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App

 

[Gretchen]

Here's an old English saying:

"We will all eat a peck of dirt before we die."
That was what our grandparents' generation used to say; a phrase which can be taken metaphorically to mean everyone will suffer some indignities and setbacks in their lifetime, but which is usually interpreted literally as meaning "Don't make a fuss about the bit of soil on your potatoes or the caterpillar on your lettuce - they're harmless." Recent studies have suggested that our modern obsessions with cleanliness and our determination not to eat a peck of dirt (or any dirt at all, come to that) could, in fact, be having a detrimental effect on our general health and immunity to disease. Exposure to bacteria and viral organisms is critical to the development of a mature immune system. By constantly cleaning and sterilising our environment, we don't give our defence mechanisms a chance to grow.

My husband's son has developed Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He is OCD about being clean and washing his hands. He was told by his doctor that one of the causes of this was his weak immune system, that he did not develop strong immunity because he was not exposed enough to everyday pathogens.

 

[huntergreen]

ziva, i am sure you keep your home clean, so no there is no issue with having your dogs and a mini human on the floor. now if you ant to be extra careful, use some wipes on the dogs paws before they come back in. the truth is, there is more bacteria, germs, in our mouth than on a dogs paw.

 

[Galathiel]

I guess I don't worry much about that. My son is now 23 and was raised around dogs and cats and all that entails. Heck, I've had pets all my life (as many and as many varieties as possible .. as long as they weren't reptiles or rodents) and I am rarely ever sick .. as in once a year I might get sick. Even now, while my husband and son are ewwing over my pup's slobbering on them occasionally (he has loose lips 'sigh'), I just wipe it off and keep going. I think people have gotten so phobic these days .. hand sanitizer anyone? ... that they are creating some super germs!

 

[McCoy]

A pediatrician told me that infants/babies who grow up w/ dogs in the house get sick much less often because they develop stronger immune systems due to what the dogs drag around.

 

[DutchKarin]

Here is a great article on the subject... talks about what McCoy says above.
Some of My Best Friends Are Germs | Michael Pollan

 

[zyppi]

I'm was the youngest of 6 children in the days when kids climbed trees, made mudpies and ran freely - with two dogs, multiple cats and kittens, turtles, fish, even an alligator..
We caught and played with little lizards and would occasionally sneak in and grab a snack without, horrors, washing hands.

We didn't die. Led a healthy life.

I don't advocate dirt, but I do feel that germaphobes might lack immunity and just add worry to their lives.

One thing we know is that none of us will get out of this life alive, but I'd rather "go" having fun memories. That to me means having animals around.

 

[wolfy dog]

Once my toddler son had a sandwich in his hand when the dog snatched it from him. He grabbed it out of the dog's mouth and ate it before the dog could. Neither one got sick.