In my opinion......yes :-) It has long been my belief that ordinary day-to-day exposure to germs and bacteria starting from a pretty young age provides an increased degree of resistance. Antibacterial this and that and the repeated use of common antibiotics just allows for the creation of 'superbugs' that can be more injurious and harder to control than the everyday encounters with typical dirt and grime and germs.

Obviously there are some caveats to this. I would not necessarily recommend this approach to those with weakened immune systems or with a chronic illness. But I am in great health for my age, seldom ever get colds, have never had the flu (or a flu shot) and have a pretty laissez-faire attitude towards dirt, germs and rampant bacteria. It works for me but fully understand it may not be the approach preferred by everyone!

If the house is clean, safe food handling practiced and hands washed as appropriate, I think that is enough cleanliness for children to grow up healthy and happy.

When I was a kid, we played in the dirt and mud and the creek and handled frogs, lizards and insects as well as the pets and the only time I remember my mom making us wash our hands was before we ate. We took a bath before bed and were good to go until the next night.

These days, between wipes, hand sanitizers , anti-bacterial soaps (no longer in use, I know) and overly vigilant parents many children might as well be growing up in a bubble. I have a friend who constantly hovers over her daughter with wipes and sanitizers, never lets her play outside in the dirt, thinks animals are dirty so no pets and doesn't let her play at friends houses (they have to come to their house) because mom doesn't think they are clean enough. She also has a super strict diet and that kid is always sick. It's sad.

I think as in many things in life a happy medium is best. I see newspaper stories about people who have several feet of garbage and animal feces piled up everywhere, and I just do not think that is a good environment.

I agree with the above. I think you can be too clean....within reason, of course. I also grew up playing outside. Lots of farm animals and lots of pets. My own daughter wasn't an outdoorsy type person, but she was breastfed as a baby and toddler, and I think that helped her also....as was I. My mother was one of the healthiest people I have ever known. I think I inherited my good health from her, but tho she kept a neat house, she wasn't anything like people I see today who fret over every little thing and are such germaphobes.

I'm of the baby-boom generation and my mother said that the physician that cared for me told to not bother with sterilizing my baby bottles. He was also a big proponent on letting children play outside, the more mud-pies the better!

For those constantly using cleaning products on and around their children, research the ingredients, many contain carcinogens.

And let your children play in the damn rain. It's good for them. Gosh, where I live, if our kids didn't play in the rain they wouldn't be outside from October to April.

I remember giving my kids hot dogs for lunch one day and the older one was picking bits off of his bun. I asked him what he was doing and he said that he was picking the blue bits of his bun because he didn't like the taste. Yep, I fed my kids moldy buns. I did give them a new ones from a new bag.

I have never bought into this whole germie thing and I think it is really harmful but I don’t know how much I agree with the concepts the OP has read and mentioned either or maybe it’s just too vague. If something falls on the floor in my own home sure...but if it falls on the floor in the middle of a store or the like, oh heck no. Purposely put a pacifier in your mouth...nope, not hot on that one either, but that’s just me. I think good common sense should be the guide. I like the saying that my home is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.

This is a hard topic to cover with a broad brush.

Young children, especially babies, have immature and often non-functioning immune systems. Being careful with them isn't imprudent. I don't know enough about it, but I would think a thorough washing in hot water and detergent should be enough for items that contact their food. Being blase with them and their things probably isn't very smart.

Anti-bacterial soap is an item that probably shouldn't be sold, it leads to super-bugs. That's long been known. People tend to wash items, especially their hands, too quickly and incompletely. The solution isn't anti-bacterial soap, it's more careful washing of hands and other items with enough soap and hot water and taking enough time to do the job.

The moldy bread buns were likely just culturing penicillin. So unless one has an allergic response to penicillin, it could be all good!!

I have been told I am somewhat fussy but then I guess it's a matter of perspective. I think others are careless. I am a very good hand-washer and extremely careful of food prep. I could not give a baby a pacifier that had been on the floor. I would wash it. We don't wear shoes in our house but many do and the idea of all the dirt from outdoor shoes going in babies' mouths? No.

"I have been told I am somewhat fussy but then I guess it's a matter of perspective. I think others are careless."

Well said.

What amuses me is how people wash hands. You too often see those who turn on the water, squirt soap into their hands, and then put their hands into the running water. Hey folks, you just washed off the soap before using it. Reverse the order - water, then soap, then more water to rinse when done, for a better result.

A little dirt never hurt anyone....even infants!! From John Hopkins:

Newborns Exposed to Dirt, Dander and Germs May Have Lower Allergy and Asthma Risk

To respond to the direct example I think it depends on the floor. A baby who drops a pacifier in a Mall would get a different response from me then in my home. As I read the opinions about germs/exposure I wondered about infants. Back in the day they stayed HOME. Parents were told to limit exposure to who held them, they did't go to the Mall or even church until they were at least a month or more old. That seemed to work well for them. Now babies go everywhere ASAP. Is that working? I didn't read the article mentioned above... 30 years ago when our sons were heading to preschool a friend would catch her son at the door and make him take a bath when returning after preschool. Mine went at 4yr not 3 and when he got home he went out back to the sand box to play. Her's was much sicklier than mine. I don't know what causes what but I do tend to agree some are too hyper vigilant about good ole clean dirt.

And my grandsons lived in metropolitan cities for their first 7 to 10 years. In order to afford the crazy high rents and mortgage payments, both parents worked. Thus kids were sent to school sick, and boy did they share the germs, with classmates, their parents and siblings, and too often us grandparents.

The 5-second rule Not True

gardengal, you were led astray by perhaps a too fast reading of that study. It concerned itself with newborns living in inner city filth that routinely included cat and rodent dander and cockroach droppings. To replicate the result, homes should include these. Is that what you're suggesting? I doubt it, maybe it's another case of not understanding the outcome of an internet search. This effect of poverty on immunity development in children was identified by medical researchers decades ago.

An example - polio had reached epidemic proportions in the early 1950s. Researchers were scrambling to find protection for children. Because of the time urgency, it was decided to hold one of the most massive clinical trials ever conducted to see if the vaccine newly developed would work. More than 1 million US children participated to either receive the new vaccine, or a placebo, or to act as part of the control group, to see if the vaccine was effective.

The amount of available vaccine was limited. They wanted to include a broad sampling of the nation's children. But as the trial was being planned, it was first decided to not "waste" vaccine by including poor black children living in the South. Why? Because the incidence of actual polio cases among this group was very low and it was thought the robust immune systems they needed to live in substandard conditions of poverty played a role. Ultimately, they decided for political reasons they couldn't completely exclude black children and some were included. If you're interested in more about this topic, a most interesting book I read was "Polio, An American Story". It was a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Arcy, Yes, as a baby my mother only took me to the drs. office for regular visits. No restaurants until I could eat like a civilized person and very limited shopping trips at preschool age. Back then that was called common sense. My mother felt that a car rides were too dangerous for babies.

I was an average mom, when my girls (now 44 and 42) were little. I however was shocked seeing a "mom" wipe a pacifier off with a baby wipe. REALLY, you want all that in the babies mouth?

Lots of people are shocked at my behavior while on bicycle tours. Nope, I don't wear flip flops to shower... nope, I don't use a washing machine to wash my clothes... and yes, I do hang them off my bike to let them dry.

Never hurt me yet. ;)

Moni

For some reason, I was an overprotective mother. I was young, in my early 20's and my son never was sick one day in his life until he hit kindergarten. I remember washing down his crib slats with that brown Lysol. He was always dressed warmly and not allowed to play in the neighborhood if I saw kids with colds. When he finally hit germs, he missed many days of kindergarten and first grade. From second grade on, he never missed a school day ever thru 12th. Daughter had perfect attendance too. I was trying to be a good mom with the first but didn't know any better. This kid in his 50's now is a champion mountain biker who beats 20-year-olds and never is ever sick.

"..as a baby my mother only took me to the drs. office for regular visits. No restaurants until I could eat like a civilized person and very limited shopping trips at preschool age.Back then that was called common sense. "

Maybe not. My mother was an RN, trained in a big city. I started preschool three days a week at age 3. She had a very sarcastic/ironic sense of humor. I remember very distinctly from those early years that when I would get sick - cold, flu, ear infections, etc - she'd often say "That's why we send to to Mr. X's preschool, because the sicker you get, the healthier you'll be". It didn't make sense to me at the time and didn't until many years later but I think that's what she had in mind, to develop my immune system through exercise.

I rarely get a cold or sore throat and I almost never get the flu (not once in the last 15 years), Is it because of her proactive efforts to expose me to many diseases? (I didn't mention the time she took me to visit a friend who had chicken pox. Yes, I got chicken pox.)

A couple of my parents sayings were " you have to eat a bushel basket full of dirt before you die" and " what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". Of course my favorite that had nothing to do with hygiene, but I heard very often was "people in hell want ice water too".

An old neighbor protected their daughter from every germ and speck of dirt. She ended up flunking kindergarten because she was constantly off sick.

One thing that bugs me is that restaurants don't use disposable paper place mats anymore. Most germs enters the body through the nose or mouth. One thing that bugs me (and it's probably silly) is that restaurants don't use disposable paper place mats anymore. I don't trust the table is cleaned off as well as it should be or with the proper cleaning agent. I ask for an extra napkin to sit my silverware on.

I know a family who lives on a farm and one of their favorite expressions is, " God made dirt and dirt don't hurt". I am pretty sure it could with livestock run off.

My mother was a germaphobe when I was a child and I hated it. I was far more casual. A pacifier dropped in the house (okay, NOT in the bathroom) was picked up and used. Outside or in a public place? Absolutely not.

When I had my babies, we were not allowed to go up and down stairs for 2 weeks, so the baby was at least that old before being taken out in public. But I did - to the church nursery for church and for Tues Women's Guild. Also the grocery store and other errands.

Yes, they do catch everything, but as my pediatrician (a leading one at Washington U Med school) said, they can either get sick now or when they start Kindergarten or First Grade. He thought missing lots of school due to illness would be a mistake, so now was better. Unfortunately for me, I also caught everything they did and with my respiratory problems, It was not an easy time for me.

Hand washing should take place the minutes one comes inside the house, whether from the back garden, or anywhere else. It should take place again after using the toilet and before eating. Most common respiratory infections can be avoided by simple hand washing. I do the "sing the alphabet song" routine to be sure I wash long enough. Plain old soap does a better job than the hand sanitizers. But I will use that if I'm in the car and buying food on a trip and don't want to try to find a gas station with a restroom that is not filthy.

Hand washing, bathing, keeping a reasonably clean and orderly house (I'm assuming that feces and animal vermin are not in houses lived in by GW members), go a long way in preventing illness. But all this hysteria about no shoes in the house (it's COLD in my house without shoes) and I don't want to wear slippers all day, plus all this running around with hand sanitizer is ridiculous.

I do wear gloves in the winter, both for warmth, and out of fear that sick people no longer stay home, but spread their germs throughout the grocery store etc. Gloves were traditionally worn by ladies, year round for just this reason - dirt.

The world is a dirty place. Get over it.

With my first daughter insanitized everything. She was sick a few times a year, especially when kindergarten started. With my second daughter I wasn’t as fussy, especially once she began crawling I kept catching her drinking the dogs water and eating her kibbles. She was rarely sick. By the time I had my son, the dr said you don’t need to sanitize anything. I didn’t and he was NEVER sick. There is something to the exposure to germs thing.

No antibacterial products used here...one kid is topically allergic to hand sanitizer anyway.. Oh and products with SPF in it.. He gets hives and some swelling.

My younger two didn't have the need for an antibiotic until each was 18..and only for wisdom teeth removal. They've had no broken bones either.. Played 3 sports seasons most of their childhood..

I limited the amount of packaged foods and fast food they ate. I cook and bake from scratch.

Over the years working at schools, you can corelate many sickly kids to their home enviroments. They are not clean, nor fed anything fresh.

I grew up in a very clean home. But we used to play in the mud,in the rain, whatever. The 5 second rule was law. I would catch a cold 4 or 5 times a year. My mother would blame the germs my siblings brought home from school,then when I went to school,it was the germs I picked up there myself.

As an adult,I keep a clean home,though not STERILE. I still get sick at least once a year. I am fighting a cold now. I had a cold over the summer as well.

So it's hard to say. Maybe if disinfected my work area more,maybe I wouldn't get sick. I see dozens of different people at work every night I am here. Someone came in coughing and hacking earlier. I told him if he kept it up he would earn a shot of Lysol to the face.....

I was working in an animal hospital when my son was born 39 years ago. When he was 6 weeks old, I began to bring him to work with me. My employers were very progressive and gave me time for nursing and gave up their office for his naps. He crawled on the floors, was picked up and held by everyone, including many clients, for more than a year before he transitioned to daycare. To this day he is rarely sick and his colds never last more than a few days. Is this because of all the exposure in the beginning? I'll never know and maybe we were just fortunate, but I've known folks who over protected their children from dirt and germs and the children developed multiple allergies.

Breastfeeding gives babies good immunities, so that may be part of your good fortune.

I raised my kid in a clean but not sterile environment, and let her play outside and get dirty all the time. Also breast-fed for most of the first year. Never used anti-bacterial soaps, antibiotics, etc. Health was good. In her teens, she developed seasonal allergies, especially to tree pollen. We were always surrounded by trees, so her immune system had plenty of early exposure, don't know why it suddenly decided trees were a threat.

Many years ago, in a cleaner yet less sanitized, less crowded world, we always played outside, and nobody cared if we got dirty (although someone would hose us off if we were too muddy to be allowed back in the house!), my grandmother used to say, "it's just good clean dirt." She had had 12 children, all of whom made it to adulthood, so I'm a big fan of good clean dirt LOL.

Can't tell you how many people have ask me how to disinfect/sanitize laundry. I always ask why they feel the need to sanitize. Usually it's just because they want things the cleanest and whitest possible but once in awhile it's to eliminate the flu virus that a family member has. Ok fair enough. I know how kids can sneeze their body fluids all over the bedding....but truth is that a good hot wash in detergent is going to reduce the germs enough that there's no worries. Unless someone is dealing with a serious infection or going thru chemo ect..or using kitchen linens around raw poultry there shouldn't be a need to sanitize.

My boys love to play in the rock garden chasing the toads. At the end of a summer day they are filthy. Covered in dirt, grass, popsicle, and unidentifiable soils. I don't see where this will hurt them. They do wash their hands before eating unless I take out popsicles. At the end of the day a good shower restores them to sweet smelling boys.

Ever notice kids that go to school in the winter with no coat, boot, hat are never sick while mine catch everything within a 20 mile radius. I've eased up on some winter gear. Boots are only worn in snow, rain or mud. Hats only if it's below 40 or windy...and shame on me but my 11 yo is now just this year wearing sports shorts twice a week for sports activities at school....course once our temp hit windchill of zero and below he WILL be wearing sweats. ....this morning he was about to walk out the door in sport shorts and a tee...I ask where he thought he was going with no coat or hoodie..lol. it was 58 here than so I agreed he could wear a hoodie. I figure nothing I've done to date has kept him from the viruses so I'm taking a different approach this year. ...

I agree that exposure to germs, normal everyday germs help kids to build a good immunity system. That being said if we're at the er for something I use sanitizing wipes on the bottoms of our shoes before coming into the house even though it's a remove your shoes household..except for guests.

Common sense...it all comes down to common sense. No problem giving a baby a pacifier that fell on the floor at home but wouldn't if it fell out in public.

I saw a toddler the other day with her mouth wrapped around the handle of a shopping cart. Her mother didn't seem concerned and the toddler appeared to be happy and healthy. It did bring to mind the thread about wiping down shopping carts though!

I would never let my kids sit in shopping carts with their mouths on the handle. That grosses me out. My kids didn't use pacifiers...either one, but if it dropped on the floor I would have washed it and putting it in mother's mouth really yucks me out. I don't eat after anyone today...not my kids husband no one.

The earth today is more contaminated than it was when I was a child. Our air is polluted, our water is polluted, and the soul we grow our food from is poisoned with chemicals. Everyday we hear about food recalls. Does it scare me? Yes. Would I wash a dropped pacifier, I am not sure I would use one now. We have done this to ourselves. Sad but true.

My daughter didn't use a pacifier either...I was the pacifier, but if she had, and it dropped on the floor, I would wash it. I cringe at the idea of a child "mouthing" a shopping cart handle. I will eat or drink after my husband, but no one else. I don't wipe shopping cart handles but that would maybe make me reconsider. I do wash my hands...and I know how...and I keep my hands away from my eyes and mouth.

I remember going to the doctor twice when I was a kid. When I was about 4 when I had an earache, and when I was about 8, for a sore throat. I was in the hospital twice before the age of 5 for injuries. But I am sure I was sick, but just didn't go to the doctor because my mother believed I'd get well and, I did. And....horrors...I did not have childhood vaccinations, except I did get the sugar cube with the polio vaccine. Don't bug me about that....I'd say take it up with my mother, but she died sometime back at 97 years old.

Lily316, I had to laugh about the kindergarten germ bonanza. We went through that too. I kept things relatively clean when she was little and DD was never sick until K and 1st, then it was one thing after another for all of us. Now she is in jr. high and has had perfect attendance the last couple of years. I am grateful to have such a healthy kid. I hope she goes on to be like yours.

I guess it all depends on what you see as dirty and clean and where your tolerance is. This morning I moved a heavy piece of furniture that hasn't been moved in a couple of years. It was gross with all the fuzz and dust back there. Guess we get exposure to that sort of thing. Some people I know move their big furniture and clean regularly- that's fine too.

Pets are big for us too. Our pets are as clean as is reasonable for pets, so we are exposed to whatever they bring with them. Dust and dander are part of our lives. It's the gross messy stuff I can't tolerate. In my book, anything that will bring the bugs or involves bodily waste has got to go quickly, but a lot of other things can be dealt with in their own time.

I didn't care if DD dropped her pacifier around the house and popped it back into her mouth. Chances are, wherever she was it was where she was playing and clean enough for her to be on the floor. One time she dropped it on the floor of the lab at the medical center- nope, nope, nope- I think that one got tossed.

Follow the money. Markets would crash if people stopped believing they needed to spend money on protecting their health and being accepable in society. Probiotics are the most recent thing I've seen. Anything you can swallow in a pill form is going to sell!

People didn't know about B.O. until someone came up with a product to 'guard' against it. People didn't know they *might* have bad breath until there was mouth wash to be sold. Advertisers pushed magazines to inform women they needed all those products to have a healthy home. (Sanitize your way to glory while wearing heels and a frilly dress or you'll be shunned.)

Meanwhile, we are allowing the makers of all this trash to pollute our Earth.

In medieval times herbs were used for bad breath and pomanders were used to mask the scent of bad odors. Not recent ideas.

Yes, I do agree about following the money, but don't assume that all product are useless. As for probiotics, you'll need them if you ever have to take antibiotics.

We look back on prior generations and think we are so much smarter than they were, in reality, future generations will laugh about some of the stupid things that are happening today. Think about the poisons that were used in prior times such as arsenic and mercury, how could anyone have taken medicine containing toxins. Then think about what toxins people ingest today such as fluoride and artificial sweeteners.

Oh, probiotics are very useful WHEN I'm on antibiotics. Now, though they are being sold as *maintenace meds* to 'insure' that your gut is healthy. It's ridiculous.

Heck, yoghurt will work when on antibiotics if they give you trouble. Not all people have trouble taking antibiotics.