Ewww - Germs!
I was talking to a friend of mine about the “dangers” of indoor playgrounds for kids and to be honest, I never really thought of anything bad before this friend starting speaking of things like e Coli and Strep (C and/or G). But, it actually made me laugh out loud as I considered how I handle Reagan and “dirt/germs”.
I don’t take potential illnesses lightly however Reagan has proven to have a really good immune system – having only had one honest to goodness full blown cold in her 21 months. She’s had the occasional fever here and there along with short term malaise from a vaccine reaction or two and fleeting intestinal issues but nothing that required a trip to the doctor. She’s actually only had two sick visits – one when my husband and I both had the flu last year and it wasn’t certain how to handle well family members (she never got it) and the other when she was near the end of her cold and we were about to fly. So I consider her a rather hardy little thing that I let roam the world to explore with all her senses.
I am sure there are moms out there who will gasp at this, but I do let her put dirt in her mouth so she can discover on her own how gross it tastes. I’ve caught her licking the safety railing in front of our seats at Shamu stadium and simply shifted her position to make it less easy for her to reach. She gets roaring with belly laughs as she mimics the dog’s tongue kissing motion as the dog kisses back and mommy says YUCK! She also shares bites of food with said dog. I pretty much don’t insist on obsessively sanitizing her world and as long as there are no visible dangers, I let her go.
As I recounted some of this to my friend, I really started to laugh. I was trying to think if I had ever insisted on immediately washing Reagan after she touched something and all I could remember was the time she dipped her hands into the bucket of bleach water I was using to clean the floor with. THAT was when I panicked and went running for the soap and water. Dirt and germs don’t really scare me but chemical burns sure do. And it was just really funny to me that considering the conversation we were having, it was the antithesis of germs that I freaked over.
So, I hope and pray that Reagan never gets sick from an indoor playground but the slight possibility that she might is not going to stop me from letting her have fun.
I don’t take potential illnesses lightly however Reagan has proven to have a really good immune system – having only had one honest to goodness full blown cold in her 21 months. She’s had the occasional fever here and there along with short term malaise from a vaccine reaction or two and fleeting intestinal issues but nothing that required a trip to the doctor. She’s actually only had two sick visits – one when my husband and I both had the flu last year and it wasn’t certain how to handle well family members (she never got it) and the other when she was near the end of her cold and we were about to fly. So I consider her a rather hardy little thing that I let roam the world to explore with all her senses.
I am sure there are moms out there who will gasp at this, but I do let her put dirt in her mouth so she can discover on her own how gross it tastes. I’ve caught her licking the safety railing in front of our seats at Shamu stadium and simply shifted her position to make it less easy for her to reach. She gets roaring with belly laughs as she mimics the dog’s tongue kissing motion as the dog kisses back and mommy says YUCK! She also shares bites of food with said dog. I pretty much don’t insist on obsessively sanitizing her world and as long as there are no visible dangers, I let her go.
As I recounted some of this to my friend, I really started to laugh. I was trying to think if I had ever insisted on immediately washing Reagan after she touched something and all I could remember was the time she dipped her hands into the bucket of bleach water I was using to clean the floor with. THAT was when I panicked and went running for the soap and water. Dirt and germs don’t really scare me but chemical burns sure do. And it was just really funny to me that considering the conversation we were having, it was the antithesis of germs that I freaked over.
So, I hope and pray that Reagan never gets sick from an indoor playground but the slight possibility that she might is not going to stop me from letting her have fun.
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