One Mom’s Quest to Burst the Sterile Bubble

Somewhere along the way I’ve come to dread and perhaps fear the five-letter word: GERMS. While I am not the tidiest person (my messy home is a testament to this), I noticed that in the past few years hand-sanitizer has become part of my daily regime. When using public restrooms I am the person grabbing a paper towel to avoid touching the door handles.

Maybe it’s the media’s coverage of the recent H1N1 breakout, or the avian flu of years past that has made me afraid of germs. Or maybe I’m just getting soft and paranoid as a parent.

So when I noticed my baby girl licking the floor and coming up with a mouthful of hair (some of which belonged to me and the rest to our ever-shedding black dog), I panicked. I grabbed a towel and attempted to wipe off her tongue and the inside of her mouth.

My husband just laughed and shook his head.

“What’s so funny?” I snapped back.

“A little bit of dirt won’t kill her. And if you’re worried about germs, it’s probably too late, she probably already swallowed a bunch.”

Hmm…Mr. Smug may have a point here. So what did I decide to do here (I mean besides vowing to make more of an effort to sweep up)? I have decided to make a conscious effort to chill the next time my daughter does something I find gross or icky. Unless that gross or icky thing will hurt or make her sick.

I mean, what exactly are we so afraid of anyway? When we were children our parents couldn’t care less if we ate the mud pies we made. Now we are raising a generation of anti-bacterial-soap-using, freshly-scrubbed-and-pressed, I-don’t-wanna-go-outside-and-play kids.

Our kids are growing up in a well-padded—because god-forbid they get a scratch or bump—sterile bubble.

We recently visited our paediatrician, Dr. A., for our daughter’s six month check-up. After peppering him with questions about introducing solid food to her diet, he informed us of a study about when to introduce nuts to kids.

Dr. A. said the earlier we introduce our daughter to nuts, the better (unless of course there is a history of nut allergies in the family). He informed us that in the U.K. the standard practice is to introduce nuts to children’s diets when they are 2 years old. This is to prevent any potentially hazardous nut-allergies from flaring up.

After comparing the number of nut allergies in children from the U.K. to North American children where nuts are introduced earlier, it was found that there is ten times the number of nut allergies in the U.K.

This study is consistent to what a lactation consultant, Dr. G. told me about feeding babies. Dr. G. insisted that it’s a good idea for the baby to eat whatever the parents are eating once she is ready for solids to expose her to as many different foods as possible. This is also one way to prevent a picky-eater-in-the-making. She told us to buy a manual food mill and just grind up anything we are eating—including spicy foods like curry. Not having to prepare two separate meals sounds good to me!

This laissez-faire concept of exposing our babies to as many different foods, experiences, and yes, even dirt is exactly the medicine needed to burst the sterile bubble so many of us place our kids in.

The next time I see my daughter licking the floor, I will remember to breattthhhhhe. And the next time I see a hair ball on the floor I plan on leaving it…for a little while anyway.