Let them eat dirt

At a kids party at a local beach, my son had covered himself with sand.  When the pizza arrived, I meticulously cleaned his hands and face, gave him a slice then went to run his sister to the restroom.  When I returned, both he and the pizza were again covered with sand AND HE WAS EATING IT.  Not one of my finest parenting moments!

But wait it gets worse.  Before I could swing into action, another mother announced to everyone within ear shot, “You son is eating dirt” as if I hadn’t noticed or was somehow condoning the activity.

It turns out, eating dirt helps children develop immunity.  In a recent article, Slate Magazine notes that too much cleanliness can be bad for children and lead to allergies, asthma, and other diseases when they grow up. The idea is that early exposures to germs teach an infant’s immune system to regulate itself. Just as babies’ brains need input, stimulation, and training, so, too, do their immune systems.

So the next time another parent another parent smugly whips out the Purell while giving you the evil eye for your child’s dirty hands or runny nose, you might let them know that a little germiness might actually help kids in the long run.