Kids Too Clean

I do not have a dishwasher and no plans or room for one. Anyway, my mom also handwashed (and so did I) and none of us had issues. I do think there is too much Anti-bacterial this and that. I do not buy any soap that is anti bacterial. There was a study done on it years ago about this stuff making the germs super germs after a while and not getting killed off. As far as I am concerned, using soap and water is enough. I will use gel if I do not have access to soap or a lot of sick people around but that is it.

We are fortunate to be generally fit and healthy. So is our son. We use a dishwasher, and avoid hand gels and anti-bacterial soaps and detergents.

While we encourage handwashing, we know that between the dog, the NYC subway, and pre-K, we get a healthy infusion of germs in our homes.

Everyone is exposed to germs daily. Being well rested, unstressed, and well nourished helps stave off infection.

Hope that helps.
F. B.

Uh...ok. Seems we've gone completely round the horn in a post or two.
I know moms that are FREAKS about the "magic soap"!
I know moms that are FREAKS about not letting their kids get dirty. Or go 2 days between showers/baths.
But still, if I'm at the zoo, away from running water & soap? I'm gonna have the kids use hand sanitizer before they eat.
As with many things--it's the people at the ends of the spectrum that have issue.

I don't think dishwashing method is a causative factor. Corerlation does not equal causation.
Hand sanitizer gels and "antibacterial" products from soap to shoelaces are a big part of why people get sick so much more often than we did as kids.

Kids need to get dirty. Dishwasher theory. Not so sure. They need germs. We have known thst for years. Purcell is a terrible thing most if the time. It does have it's place: hospitals, doctors office. Right before eating when out. That's about it. Let kids go out, plsy in the dirt, get muddy. Next thing for them.

i think dishwashers are great. i went for 10 years without one when i had little boys and i didn't miss it, (and my kids were always in the dirt and pretty healthy) but food-borne illnesses are a real issue and i like having my dishes good and sanitized.
but we've moved away from sanitizing soaps and gels very early on, when the reports about the dangers of prophylactic sanitizing started to come out.
i don't know if we were healthier, but i do think we've created bigger and tougher bugs, just like round-up has spurred the development of bigger and nastier weeds.
somewhere along the line we got cleanliness and disinfecting overly tangled up.
khairete
S.

No, but I have heard for quite a while that not allowing kids to get dirty is not in our benefit long-term. Kids who get around people, to play in dirt and interact with animals tend to have healthier immune systems...but there are limits. My DD has a food allergy and that runs in the family. We've taken her camping since before she could walk and she's had her share of interaction with dirt and bugs and pets. Some things are not because of too much hand sanitizer. I don't think the dishwasher is to blame. I think the US uses too many antibiotics, for one.

Without a doubt!

Not the dishwasher, exactly. It's not any one thing. It's a combination that, in some lives, means too many anti-bacterial products.

Kids need to be allowed to be dirty and be exposed to germs. It's ok for kids to play in the dirt and play in the sandbox and not immediately sanitize their hands. It's ok to go to McDonald's and play in the Play Place and run back to the table to grab a french fry without sanitizing their hands.

I worry less about the dishwasher and more about the GermX. Yes, it's convenient and there are times when I use it, but if it is used ALL THE TIME, it will become a problem of kids not being exposed to enough germs.

I don't know if being too clean is the cause of all the allergies, but it is a reasonable theory.

In my parents generation kids grew up on the farm, doing chores and looking after animals. They only bathed on Saturday nights (the whole family used the same bath water) and they wore the same clothes all week. They used an outhouse, so they didn't even wash hands after using the toilet. Nobody ever heard of allergies then.

I know people who wouldn't dream of not bathing their kids daily and who think clothes need to be washed each time they are worn, whether they are dirty or not. They have kids washing their hands until they bleed and then pour sanitizer on their poor chapped hands. Whether it is the cause of allergies or not we have really become obsessed with cleanliness.

I have a dishwasher and rarely use it (there are only three of us in the house so its a waste). Not everyone has a dishwasher.

I would think our poor quality of food is causing allergies and immune problems. Although using so much hand sanitizer could cause problems too.

I was a healthy kid that rarely got sick and my daughter is the same way. My daughter is 8 and has never had to take antibiotics or any other prescription (even when she was enrolled in school). She never attended daycare but has always been allowed to get dirty. I always have her just wash her hands with regular soap and water, if we are out I keep wipes in my bag (no alcohol or harsh chemicals in them).

Yes, and when kids played outside in the dirt, mud. I'm not so sure about the dishwasher thing. People have been using dishwashers for over 50 years!

This is why kids that go to child care are healthier and don't miss so many days of school those first few years. This is also why so many moms who go back to work and put their kiddos in child care or when they start school have to take off numerous days due to sick kids. They get everything, one right after the other, until they go through all that then they are still going through the stuff the other kids are bringing each day.

They build strong immune systems since they've already gone through all this by the time they get to school. By 2nd or 3rd grade they even out and have all the same immunities as the other kids from what I've read. Some say 3rd or 4th grade but I think it's closer to 2nd.

Of course we keep our kids too clean. They bathe sometimes twice per day and sometimes we don't let them outside to dig in the dirt or play in the mud. It's natural for kids to be filthy and happy. They need to eat dirt and play with worms and have fun with nature. It's how they build that immune system and get strong.

There has been research out there for years, probably over 20 years, that says kids that are kept too clean develop MS as adults. They never build the sheath that goes around their cells to make them strong so their bodies start attacking themselves and they get MS and die young or live a long life with a lot of complications.

Being too clean is bad. BUT I truly thing that you can say anything you want with your statistics. They could just as easily say everyone who has a porch light is inclined to be sicker or those who play with Legos are more inclined to get the flu. This is because everyone has those things, statistically they do. Looking at a Bell Curve there are tiny bits on each side of the bottom that are something like 10% of those counting in the research. If one says "Everyone" that implies everyone that fills the 90% in between the outside bits on a Bell Curve.

So, many many people have dishwashers. Inside that Bell Curve of everyone living in 1st world conditions probably 75% have dishwashers. There would be massive health issues going on if the article stated in your question was accurate.

They wash the dishes using hotter water than a person can stand. They might or might not dry those dishes using hotter air than that person can breathe. THAT KILLS GERMS AND DOES NOT MAKE PEOPLE SICKER. THAT KEEPS THEM FROM GETTING MANY DISEASES.

So I'd say that they were looking to show statistically people who had dishwashers are sicker than those who don't use them. They could also say people with indoor plumbing have the same statistics or people who have refrigerators have the same statistics because most people they are talking about, that they included in their study also have those things in their homes, across the board. So they generalized.

There is NOTHING wrong with washing hands and using an occasional hand sanitizer for prevention of the flu or other communicable diseases though.

Well, my kids are filthy much of the time as is my house so...um, yay for us? ;)

Seriously, I don't think we were healthier really. I think more kids died.