Which parenting philosphy is closest to your own?

Question

For parents or soon-to-be parents:

1. God made dirt. Dirt don't hurt. I'm a more laid back parent and proud of it! As long as my baby is clean, fed, and safe, I don't really care. Germs and minor bumps help baby grow up strong!

2. I must, I must, I must disinfect! I'm an OCD parent and proud of it! I am always worried about cleaning my home to make sure my baby is safe from germs. I also have an uber-baby safe home.

just curious ;-)

Answer 1

I think I am a little of both!!!

Answer 2

I'm a mixture of both.

God made dirt so dirt don't hurt---outside. However, I keep a really clean home. I don't want my son crawling around with food stuck to the floor or have a nice house full of ants and cock roaches. I'm OCD in my house because I don't want to be living with insects. In the south, you have to keep a clean home to keep the insects out. The way I feel my baby is safe is when I know he can sleep, play, run, and walk in a clean home. My house isn't uber baby safe. Our chemicals are up in the high cabinets so our home doesn't need bottom cabinet clips. After my son decided to try to put my car keys into an outlet we did put in baby plug things. Germs outside and in public don't bother me. If he gets a bump it's time for him to get back up and walk around again. He's just tough like that.

So, I hope no one is at either extreme. It really bothers me when poor children are left to live in a sty with God knows what else could be living in the mess.

Answer 3

God Made Dirt! I am on my tenth child. All my kids played in dirt, ate dirt and a lot more other stuff they shouldn't. My children was all healthy and only had yearly check ups. My girlfriends all kept their kids clean as a whisle, and their kids lived off anti biotics cause they were always coming down with something. Now they just had a thing on the news that germs build a tolerence to germs. Picture that, I knew it all along. So let those kids play and eat that dirt! We still eat snow cream too!!! And they all all healthy today!

Answer 4

Definitely #1. I'm very laid-back when it comes to my baby tast-testing dirt, rocks, plants, etc. Of course I know which ones are poisonous, so I watch her closely. But I think it's all natural. They are curious. That is how humans learn.

It's also true that asthma and allergies are getting worse every year, and all the over-use of disinfectants and antibacterial hand soaps and wipes are actually lowering our body's capacity to deal with immunity and also making stronger germs!

Answer 5

I'm a type 1 mommy. And at 2 years old my daughter has only had one mild cold in her entire life. I attribute that greatly to breastfeeding, but also to the fact that I dont try to stick her in a bubble and protect her from all germs. I allow her to build her own immunities. Dont get me wrong, my home is very clean. But I dont *sanitize* everything. Just the obvious stuff, like things that had raw food on them, or things that came in contact with the cat, whatever.

Answer 6

I am a "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt" type. Children will bump their heads, fall down, and get bruises. It is all part of growing up. And sometimes when you are outside, they eat things before you realize it. (My little brother ate a cockroach once when he was 2 and it didn't hurt him. It was gross, but he was just fine) Just make sure the house is clean, they can't get into any harmful chemicals or anything like. Make sure gates are up and cabinets are locked and relax and enjoy your children.

Answer 7

I am a mix of both!! When it comes to family time vs. dishes...dishes can wait. BUT, as soon as the kids are in bed I am in there cleaning up. I don't go too over the top until someone turns up sick..then out comes the anitbacterial wipes, the lysol spray and lots of hand washing...I turn into a germ Nazi according to my daughter.

Answer 8

#1..there is no way on God's green earth to remove all germs that a child will come in contact with or stop all minor bumps. Just be there and be aware of what you can control and can't

Answer 9

With my first baby, I sterilized everything in sight!! Every bottle, every nipple, every toy, every EVERYTHING. By the time I got to the third, I washed her bottles out with hot water before I filled them and called it a day. She is still very much alive and well. I find its actually the babies that are super protected that tend to be more sickly because you can never protect them fully and their immune systems adapt much more slowly because of lack of exposure to everyday germs. Relax and enjoy, follow your instincts. They will guide you well.

Answer 10

The weird thing is that I am DEFINITELY #1 on your list BUT my son is a CLEAN FREAK! He is 4 years old and just today he played in the mud for the first time! Everyone in our house was so amazed by it that we got pictures and got it on video! He makes his bed when he gets up every morning (I never taught him this!) He picks up all of his toys every night before bed. He hates getting dirty.

My baby girl is the eact opposite. She plays in the mud as often as possible and getting her to clean up after herself is like pulling teeth.

I believe in letting kids fall and get a bump here and there, it teaches them consequences and prepares them for real life. You can't always be there to save them. I want my kids to be happy and healthy and if they get dirty in the process, that's fine with me!

Answer 11

I'm closer to #1...because if you protect your child from every germ and every bump, lets just say that kid will one day get an infection...imagine how sick they would be with no strong healthy immune system