Parenting Under the Stars

Scientists want to rename the hygiene hypothesis because they’re concerned we’ll all simply stop scrubbing our homes, let our children roll around in the mud and handle raw chicken or something. (Dirty homes bug hygiene scientists)

The hygiene hypothesis is that exposure to germs can actually strengthen our immune systems, while being overly sanitized can contribute towards more allergies and health problems.

The gist of it is that when children are exposed to things such as strange foods and germs, their immune system overreacts because it doesn’t have enough previous practice.

It’s sensible to wash before handling food or eating but there does seem to be more hand sanitizing going on than there was in the past. It is coincidental that allergies have increased. Could less dirt mean more allergies?

We now have immunizations for major diseases but the trade off has been an increase of allergies like hay fever, food allergies, asthma and eczema.

Pets boost immune system

Simply having a pet can make your immune system stronger according to a study at Warwick University in Coventry. They tested 138 children and the ones with pets had higher levels of the antibody immunoglobulin A, giving them a stronger immune system.

Other factors that contribute towards a stronger immune system are the size of your family and/or exposure to other children. It makes sense because when they’re exposed to other children and germs, it can help them build up antibodies for bigger things.

Pets will definitely expose you to more germs around the house but maybe that’s a good thing. See BBC News, Pets boost children’s health for more information.

I see these bottles all over the place now and understand how little kids would be tempted to taste the brightly colored gels. They tend to put everything in their mouths so when hand sanitizers are within reach at home or daycare, they can be dangerous.

There are warnings on the bottles to keep them away from children but I don’t think most parents saw them as a danger until more recently. It’s ironic that hand sanitizers are used to protect children but end up harming some of them. The alcohol content is so high on the sanitizers that it doesn’t take much for a small child to get drunk from ingesting it.

There are alcohol free alternatives available now which might be a better choice for parents of young children.

Here’s a video with more information about incidents of poisoning from hand sanitizers.

My son was freaking me out with these piercing pains in his stomach so I took him to the hospital last night. We hung out for a few hours making small talk with several interesting people. A couple guys looked like they cut their hands up good and we saw two pregnant women go in and out.

A professor told us all about the water buffalo and how tough they are. It was actually quite interesting. They do have a lot of wild animals to fight off so no wonder they’re good scrappers.

One little boy was bitten on the face by a dog. He looked like he was only about a year and a half old. He kept bleeding but it wasn’t fizzing on him at all. I think he ended up needing a stitch or two but the dog just missed his eye.

We got there at 8:30pm and didn’t get home until 5:00am. I moved my chair to line up with his cot and had a bit of nap resting my head at the foot of his bed. They looked him over and tested his urine, blood and then finally sent us home when the tests came back normal. We still don’t know what the heck it is but it’s not his appendix and hopefully it will pass soon.

• I meant to give you the heads up on this contest yesterday but you know how mom’s schedules get interrupted. There’s a Super Cool Super Mom Type A One Year Anniversary Contest going on at Type A Mom. Kelby’s giving away some great stuff like flash drives, jewelry, planners and bedding.