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insegnante
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| Posted: April 24 2009 at 11:39am | IP Logged
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Maybe this is an odd question but at what age do you let your babies just sit in the grass? I am thinking of the germ issue and how we should wash our hands after being out in the dirt and how often babies' hands get into their mouths. My 8-month-old is usually happy in the Moby Wrap anyway when we're outside but I wonder if I'm silly not to let her sit on our own lawn, let alone if we were to go to a park or something.
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Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
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Fuzzy
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| Posted: April 24 2009 at 11:43am | IP Logged
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My babies will sit on the grass, but can't stand the feel of it, so they very rarely put their hands in it. My DS is the same age, and he won't move when he gets sat on the grass. I like to let them try it, but I have never thought about the germs or dirt. LOL Maybe I should?
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 Fuzzy
Mom to DS 12, DD 10, DS 7, and DS 4, and DD 1!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 24 2009 at 11:54am | IP Logged
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I don't have a problem with it, but then to me it's no dirtier than any other floor type surface and mine have never been content to remain on a blankie.. once they're big enough to get off the blankie on their own.. that's it.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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RamFam
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| Posted: April 24 2009 at 12:40pm | IP Logged
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I always fear that if I never expose my children to anything that they will never grow immunities. I think it better that they be exposed to little bits of stuff. But that's my very backwoods country experience's two cents.
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Leah
RamFaminNOVA
Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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Mackfam
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| Posted: April 24 2009 at 1:00pm | IP Logged
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Oh, Jodie...that pic is precious!
RamFam wrote:
| I always fear that if I never expose my children to anything that they will never grow immunities. I think it better that they be exposed to little bits of stuff. But that's my very backwoods country experience's two cents. |
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You aren't off the mark here at all, Leah. My dad is an Immunologist/Microbiologist with specialties in Parasitology and Infectious Diseases. He goes to many Infectious Disease conferences around the country with other PhD.s and CDC specialists. We've had this running joke about dirt since I was a little girl - he has a great love for dirt! He would say, "it all comes back to dirt, Jen" or "dirt is delish (short for delicious)" or "dirt is our friend" and "don't be afraid of the dirt". Well, one year he went to a conference and called me afterward to tell me to throw out anti-bacterial soap and let the kids play in the dirt because now he had a scientific study backing him! We had a good laugh over it, but the significance of the studies he discussed was striking!
1. Anti-bacterial soap's active ingredients are major suspects in some serious health concerns and their effectiveness at removing germs and bacteria from the hands can't stand up to good ole' soap and water.
and...
2. Dirt really does build a child's immune system in a healthy way!
So...I let the kids and the baby play outside in the dirt and grass and don't hyperventilate about it and then bring them in and wash their hands in good ole' fashioned soap and water!
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Jen Mackintosh
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insegnante
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| Posted: April 24 2009 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
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Well, I am literally trying to get over OCD -- like in therapy for it and doing well! So I just wanted some input on what other reasonable, conscientious mothers do. Thanks!
Btw in spite of my OCD I've avoided purchasing antibacterial soaps for years!
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Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
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RamFam
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| Posted: April 24 2009 at 1:20pm | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
| 1. Anti-bacterial soap's active ingredients are major suspects in some serious health concerns and their effectiveness at removing germs and bacteria from the hands can't stand up to good ole' soap and water. |
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My microbiology teacher was adamant about our staying away from antibacterials because they cause bacteria to become more resistant and therefore make treating them more difficult.
Now off to eat a mud pie! 
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Leah
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Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 24 2009 at 1:46pm | IP Logged
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Thanks Jennifer, it's a fairly recent pic and I couldn't resist sharing it since it was his first time on the grass.. he'd escaped the blanket and was having a ball.
Theresa, I'm much less inclined to let littles down at the park or such than I am at home. And wearing your baby isn't going to hurt them at all. There are cultures that wear their babies for the first couple of years and have no problems.
So, you could probably try and not work so hard to keep her from the "dirt" but you don't have to go all out and plunk her down in the sandbox at a local park either maybe right after the lawn is "dry" after it's been watered so it's "cleaner". 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Maddie
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| Posted: April 24 2009 at 7:01pm | IP Logged
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I let my little ones play in the dirt as long as they've had their tetanus shot. We live on an old dairy farm, lots of cow stuff in the soil. We've also had Amish in the area actually contract tetanus. Just my own requirements.
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~Maddie~
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: baby question
