How many times have I come home from work and asked Mary if she had had a good day and heard her say, “Sure, if you call moving dirt fun!” Many years ago she explained that house work is simply moving dirt off of floors, furniture, windows, blinds, dishes, clothes and kids. Of course, she is right!
Now I’m beginning to wonder if that’s such a good idea. Recent studies show that kids born and raised on dairy farms have a lower incidence of asthma than their peers who are raised in cities. Same is true for those who grow up with house pets. It’s also true for the incidence of food allergies; the greater the exposure to dirt, the lower the incidence of food allergy.
Like my peers, we kids pulled carrots out of the rich, black, earth, wiped the heavy soil off on our pants and ate the fresh, delicious, dirty carrot! (My mother moved a lot of dirt). That would horrify today’s kids and their parents.
My grandma used to say, “You have to eat a bushel of dirt before you die.” Many of today’s doctors think a speck of dirt will make you sick and kill your baby. Yet, others are using live bacteria to treat an increasing number of ailments including infantile colic, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, urinary tract infection, and even ADHD. Modern medicine calls these mixtures of live bacteria “Probiotics”; no one calls them bacteria or mold. Who would buy them?
I’m not saying don’t clean anything, but it’s a whole lot better to let your kids play outside, get a little dirty, and enjoy the sun shine than it is to have them sitting on the couch playing video games and watching TV. And it’s a lot better to spend your time reading to your kids or playing games with them – outside if possible – than it is to spend all your time moving dirt!
Dirt will keep, childhood won’t! And who know, a little dirt may be good for them!