Good News! A Little Dirt Is Good for You

Kate likes to put anything and everything in her mouth. This weekend we were playing outside and she was chewing on rocks. I have a picture of this, but decided not to put it up so I wouldn't be judged as a negligent parent :)

I usually scan the headlines of The New York Times when I get to work and this morning I came across an interesting article - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27brod.html?_r=1&ref=health. I thought I'd share a few interesting quotes with you. I am not sure I completely buy this argument, but it makes me feel better about letting Kate play outside.

“What a child is doing when he puts things in his mouth is allowing his immune response to explore his environment,” Mary Ruebush, a microbiology and immunology instructor, wrote in her new book, “Why Dirt Is Good” (Kaplan). “Not only does this allow for ‘practice’ of immune responses, which will be necessary for protection, but it also plays a critical role in teaching the immature immune response what is best ignored.”

“Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat,” he said. He and Dr. Elliott pointed out that children who grow up on farms and are frequently exposed to worms and other organisms from farm animals are much less likely to develop allergies and autoimmune diseases. Also helpful, he said, is to “let kids have two dogs and a cat,” which will expose them to intestinal worms that can promote a healthy immune system.

What do you think about this?