[Teretxu]

I suspected as much - that's why gardening is so gratifying and making mud pies or sand castles with the little ones is one of the things grown ups like best.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6509781.stm

[steffi 001]

Those children who are wrapped in cotton wool,never allowed to get their hands dirty or their clothes absolutely ditched are missing out.Not only on FUN...BIG TIME/..but are so ruddy squeaky clean that as soon as a bug drops their way they go down like a pack of playing cards.

Those of us who played SLOP DOSH with water and earth,those of us who sampled the culinary delights of earthworms...[well look at I`m a celebrity..get me out of here] those of us who fell on our backsides in a stream whilst fishing with a stringed up jar and sweet pea cane,and whose parents laughed til they cried rather than whisked us away for a tb shot and a dousing of Bleach..are the lucky ones.
A GREAT DISCOVERY THERESA. Eating bugs should be compulsory for under 3`s.
x

ps...Am posting like mad cos I won`t get a great deal of chance to do so in the next couple of weeks.My excuse.
DO NOT THROW A PARTY

Love
Steffi
x

[BEMM]

Not only was I allowed to wallow in dirt and mud as a child, I grew up to become a potter, which meant that I continued to play with mud for years. It now seems that not only is it fun to make pots, it's healthy. Maybe it's because of so much playing with mud that I don't get bad moods. I'm in a good mood 99 3/4 % of the time. I'm "As jolly as a Potter".

[steffi 001]

CRIKEY BIRTE !
If I tried to throw a pot now,what with all my shakes and all that...the walls would get pebble dashed.As for a pot? I think not.
You clever clever thing you.
x

[wendy s]

My kids used to love to fill up their sandbox with water, and wallow in the resulting mud. The deal was I didn't care how dirty they got, but they had to let me hose them down before they came in the house!

If you want dirt, try having a blacksmith in the family. My son is beyond dirty when he comes home from an afternoon working in his blacksmith shop. Or maybe soot doesn't count as dirt?! Someone asked him once why he was interested in such an old craft, and he replied "why wouldn't I like it, I get to bang on things and play with fire!"

[paula_w]

i just got back from the playground with Nathan [he'll be 4 in June]. The playground was closed as they are constructing bathrooms and pavillon. A baseball scrimmage [kids were young] was taking place on the adjoining huge field, and there beside the construction were these big mounds of dirt.

I let him go, thinking of this post. I passed the info on to hesitant parents that dirt makes people happy and builds immunity in kids. One mother who was letting her son play in it, pointed out that the doctor blames viruses in the dirt for her sons warts. lol....but the kids were having a ball -

So today I learned something and then had a hands on experience with dirt. Guess it's a good thing because I forgot to pick up my Prozac on the way back and haven't had an anti-depressant today.

one day at a time,
paula

[Teretxu]

Originally Posted by wendy s

My kids used to love to fill up their sandbox with water, and wallow in the resulting mud. The deal was I didn't care how dirty they got, but they had to let me hose them down before they came in the house!

If you want dirt, try having a blacksmith in the family. My son is beyond dirty when he comes home from an afternoon working in his blacksmith shop. Or maybe soot doesn't count as dirt?! Someone asked him once why he was interested in such an old craft, and he replied "why wouldn't I like it, I get to bang on things and play with fire!"

A blacksmith, Vicky? That sounds so good, it's like he's found his dream job. Now that you mention it... I wonder if coaldust qualifies as a merry-making substance, too. My grandfather and uncles were coalminers and they were the jolliest, "singingest", best humoured men I have known in my entire life.

[Teretxu]

Originally Posted by paula_w

i just got back from the playground with Nathan [he'll be 4 in June]. The playground was closed as they are constructing bathrooms and pavillon. A baseball scrimmage [kids were young] was taking place on the adjoining huge field, and there beside the construction were these big mounds of dirt.

I let him go, thinking of this post. I passed the info on to hesitant parents that dirt makes people happy and builds immunity in kids. One mother who was letting her son play in it, pointed out that the doctor blames viruses in the dirt for her sons warts. lol....but the kids were having a ball -

So today I learned something and then had a hands on experience with dirt. Guess it's a good thing because I forgot to pick up my Prozac on the way back and haven't had an anti-depressant today.

one day at a time,
paula

Paula, some people are frightened out of their wits from all they hear about viruses and bacteria. Since they exist and are a part of our environment, we cannot avoid them, try as we might. What's a little wart in comparison to playing in the sand every day? As long as the kids don't get "Foot-and-Mouth Disease"...
By the way, kids raised on farms in close contact with livestock grow up healthier and have no allergies whatsoever, and everybody knows that stables are like the Walmarts of bacteria. So, like Steffi says, worms should be on every toddler's diet .