I have succumbed to posting on AIBU!

I actively encouraged my children to play in mud, dig holes, splash in puddles etc when they were young. They had their hand washed before eating food but I suspect the one who had a penchant for sucking and licking stones might as well carried on using his mucky mitts! He survived the grime and is alive and kicking and robust 30+ years later.

We've always cleaned. Most of us will wipe down surfaces and mop up spills, and keep floors and loos etc reasonably clean. I agree that advertising propaganda has haad us doubt ourselves and buy into the antibacterial/disinfectant sprays and wipes. They weren't around decades ago but we are all here to tell the tale. Many of us grew up without the luxury of continuous supplies of hot water or daily baths or showers as well.

Handwashing is important and I impress that upon my DGC when they come to stay but other than that if they get dirty when they play I don't feel any harm has been done to them.

I think a lot of the obsession about germs is also to do with endless advertising of antibacterial sprays, antibacterial wipes, antibacterial gels and so on. The "back story" is that the five plagues are imminently going to descend on your house – you pathetic and uncaring mother – and kill your children unless your kitchen and bathroom are always as clean as an operating theatre, you can eat off the toilet and everywhere else is constantly sprayed and wiped.

Agree with you phoenix - I think a lot of people’s fear and obsession about germs is because they can’t see them. I’m a retired microbiologist, as is my OH and our attitude to hygiene is the opposite to what you might expect. Our fridge usually has a number of out of date items, we eat all our leftovers, eventually- if heated thoroughly and don’t smell bad.

We would be careful about raw meat coming in contact with anything not going to be cooked, via knives, chopping boards, cloths etc. But best method of cleaning is hot water and detergent, not antibacterial sprays.

I’m not obsessive about hand washing either. Having done lots of experiments when teaching students, there were often more bacteria found on hands after washing than before, especially if dried with hot air dryers. If hands are damp, they’ll pick up bugs from door handles etc, more easily. The hand gels are good, but over use is not good for skin.

People who are immunosuppressed obviously need to be careful, but for most, the stress caused by worrying about germs is likely to be more harmful than the millions that we’re exposed to all the time. ?

I worry for this term obsessed generation. How are they ever going to build up immunity to anything without coming into contact with bacteria. I quite agree with you phoenix, a good hand washing regime is all that is needed.
A healthy immune system should be able to cope with everyday germs.

I stroked a dog and then ate a biscuit forgetting I had stroked him.....more germs but I will survive.Yes, there is too much worrying about germs, in fact too much worrying about everything!

Beau

I agree with you phoenix - SIL recently cleaned DGS hands with a Flash antibacterial wipe because he touched the sole of a shoe ?
To me, putting antibacterial chemicals in his mouth (he's 22 months old) is worse than the germs on a shoe - we had words.
And yes, I know e-coli has been found on the soles of shoes but this obsession with germs is so exhausting.
Obviously I didn't tell SIL that DGS did a big poo in his bath tonight - he might die of horror ?