It might sound really bad, but I think that is all unnecessary. (Although, my all time favorite phrase for almost every facet of life is, "To each their own.") Those moms are going to cringe when I say this...imagine like a 5 year old with their fingers in their ears screaming "la, la, la, la, la..." so they don't have to hear what I'm about to say.
I let Kayla put a large variety of things in her mouth, like large. My iPhone, sure she loves phones. The remote control, hey why not. Oh, you like the sound of my keys, sure you can put them in your mouth. Hi, friend playing with Kayla...oh she wants to put your toes in her mouth, eh fine with me just be careful, she'll probably bite them. And the piece de resistance, "No Kayla, those are Samson's toys, not yours." "No Kayla not your toys." "Kayla, no, those are...fine go ahead..." (To be clear I washed off the ONE dog toy that I let Kayla put in her mouth and I put all the other ones away.)
Seriously, she's moving around way too fast and she literally touches something and puts it in her mouth in t-minus .1 seconds. There is absolutely no way I have the energy to keep her away from everything that "they" say shouldn't go in her mouth. It probably would help if I had some baby proofing materials at this point in time, but I don't. And to be honest with you, I don't care that she wants to learn about everything around her using her mouth and tongue. Because you know what, I hear about a lot of babies getting sick within their first six months, even if it's minor, and Kayla has yet to have anywhere NEAR a fever of any sort (knock on wood). (And I vaccinate her like the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, but don't even get me started on that- Like I said "to each their own"- unless our decisions could potentially affect my child.) I must be doing something right. Maybe I'm building up her immunity by letting her "taste" practically everything. :)
A lot of times (and I can't quote numbers) - those fanatical mothers that don't expose their kids to any types of germs wind up with children that develop environmental or contact allergies. You have to be exposed to something before you can develop an allergy to it, so its actually good to have exposure and build up the immune system. That way, when later exposed to the same things, the immune system is tough enough to battle most things. The kids that aren't exposed to anything end up with underdeveloped immune systems and can't fight off really simple things that most of the population can (i.e. allergens... or even more severe infections).
ReplyDeleteYou're a great mom :) I love your blog - you make having a kid not as scary as I tend to think it is!
I was (and am) the exact same way with AJ. She hasn't ever been sick (knock on wood) and she is now almost 17 months old.... I think the moms who are freaks about germs and sanitizing everything are actually doing more harm than good.
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies!
ReplyDeleteHP- it is scary!! :) But pretty great too!