Last weekend we were at a Christmas party and the boys were given little containers of skittles and m&ms. Levi dropped a couple, as toddlers do and I picked them up and put them back in his container. *GASP* Honestly, I didn’t really think anything of it. 5 second rule, blah blahs blah…. But I did get the sense that I had just done something horribly wrong given the vibe in the air from the nearby friends. A few minutes later, Levi dropped a few more candies and the ladies who were nearby quickly scooped them up saying to Levi “These fell on the floor. They’re dirty! I’ll throw them away.”
Ok, let’s get one thing straight here. I’m completely elated to know that these friends care so much about the health and well-being of my kiddos that they are watching out for them. That actually just makes me really really happy. I’m quite touched!
However, (!!!) I felt like a crumb – like a crumb of a turd, (the type that could be found on the floor perhaps?) for being such a gross parent as to just nonchalantly feed my child floor-candy without even giving thought to it.
Seriously, these boys have eaten way grosser things before I could stop them, unfortunately. As babies/toddlers do. At least mine do. Maybe your unicorn baby never tried to taste sand … or lady bugs. Not that I’m going out of my way to expose them to germs but don’t you have to be exposed to some germs to build your immune system? “God made dirt, dirt don’t hurt.” Anyone?
To be clear here, I’m not at home just throwing down their dinner on the floor “Come an git it boys! Sups on the floor. Jump in there River! Go fer it.” But I kinda might as well… I mean, toddlers are constantly eating questionable crumbs they find – it’s kind of what they do. And if your floor is so clean that your kid never finds a crumb, well, you can just leave! (Napoleon) Get out. Bye!!
Also, just the other day I caught Levi giving River a bite of his dinner roll and proceeding to try to continue eating it himself. Cute, but gross.
And one more thing to clarify. I would never feed my kids something that I wouldn’t eat. I’d gladly eat those m&ms off the floor myself. I guess I’m just gross like that.
*The irony is that Tru threw up the next day but the floor-candy eater stayed healthy.*
I pick food off the floor all the time and hand it back to my kid. Immune systems flourish when they are exposed to dirt and many types of bacteria. Of course I work hard to keep them away from the types of bacteria/viruses that would really harm them, but food falling on a kitchen floor? (A place that is sanitized regularly, etc) – I say it’s no biggie!
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That makes me feel a ton better. If you say it’s ok then I know it’s ok, given your career of taking care of babies. 🙂
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Oh, I am right there with you, sister. Oliver ears some truly disgusting stuff. Sometimes even my husband comments on how gross we are. I agree, dirt don’t hurt. If I’ve said once, I’ve said 5,000x dirts not dirty. No judgement here!
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Thank you. 🙂 I knew I was on to something. Lol! 😉
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Amen sister!
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😀
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The only time I DON’T let Gus has something back that fell on the floor, is if we’re somewhere like the grocery store, etc. and he drops his snack. Otherwise, at home, or at a friends house, it’s all still up for grabs as far as I’m concerned.
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Haha! Thanks for the solidarity here. 🙂
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Meh. I would’ve just wiped them off and given them back. V has taken her chipmunk cheeks nickname very seriously and started stuffed her cheeks with acorns. She’s also put coins in her mouth, and those are one of the top germiest things I can think of. And what exactly would your friends expect you to do if the kid had picked it up and eaten it before you could’ve grabbed it? Because that happens to me allllll the time. The germs or dirt or whatever would already be in their mouth so spitting it out is pointless. Noooooo judgment from me!
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Oh yeah! That’s what I’m saying too. The amount of grossness kids stick in their mouth before mom can stop them is mind boggling compared to a little floor-candy. Just today I looked over at Levi just in time to see him lick the dog’s nose through the slats on the baby gate. Like, just……seriously.
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😂
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Right there with you! I’ve even caught Nora a few times taking a bone from the dogs and chewing on it.
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Oh yes. I’ve given up on separating the dog’s stuffed toys from the kids toys. They are constantly grabbing his toys to play with. DH is constantly telling me some “fact” about dog’s mouths being cleaner than humans…. I’m not fully convinced but it sounds good anyway. 😛
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Oh yeah, I am *that mom* too! Just the other day went to a playdate & BG tossed her orange slices on the floor & I hurriedly picked them up & put them back in the bowl…This lady’s house is spotless & looks like a magazine–FFS she has WHITE couches and she already placed all her wrapped gifts under the tree and there were porcelain Christmas figurines on a coffee table *with two 2 year old running around*–her bathroom is probably cleaner than my kitchen–so I thought nothing of picking up orange slices off her glistening floor. But the look on her face when I put them back on BG’s tray… 😂😂😂 XOXO
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Hahahaha!!! I would have loved to see her face!!! I’ve fully accepted I’ll never have that house but… more power to her, I guess.
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I have also accepted (maybe not fully, but 95%) that I will never have a house like hers. That other 5% is denial. XOXO
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Lol. 😉
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I love this, I pick food up off my floor all the time for myself and my children. On the other hand, I guess we should teach them not to eat off the floor because they will go somewhere else like playground or nasty public places and think it’s OK.
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Yes, I suppose it may be confusing to them if they aren’t allowed to eat food off a gross floor. “But mom! We always eat off the floor!”
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Yes!
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