I was dropping my daughter off at day care the other day when I ran into one of the other moms. She set her child’s carrier next to my daughter’s, unfastened her daughter and proceeded to put away all of her things. A few moments later as I am kissing my daughter good-bye I notice the other mom sanitizing her daughter’s hands. Apparently she had crawled around for a few minutes and now it was time to put her in her high chair to have some finger foods. I honestly felt like blurting out “you know, we let our kids eat off the floor…”
It took every ounce of self control not to start laughing. I wonder how this woman thinks her daughter’s body will be able to take care of itself if she continues to sanitize everything. I can only imagine the sterility that child lives in at home.
Of course I am not judging her solely on this incident. I have witnessed her depleting her daughter’s immune system on multiple occasions over the past couple of months. Sadly, she is not the only one. I know several parents who do this, and unfortunately I am the product of such behavior.
Growing up almost entirely unexposed to the elements I did not stand a chance once I started kindergarten. If a kid sneezed within a hundred yards of me I would be in bed feverish and miserable for weeks on end. Bronchitis could be scheduled with the seasons each year.
Cleanliness is one thing, but living in a sterilized bubble is completely different. It makes me wonder, when did we become such a sanitary society?