Childhood is either clean or happy? / myLot

Lithuania

December 11, 2019 11:38am CST

Once upon a time, when my daughter was still little, once while hungrily was eating ice cream, a man sitting next to her said, "Childhood is either clean or happy." His words stuck in me. I agree with them. Therefore, I did not shake my head if my children run barefoot, forgot each time to wash her hands, ate berries straight from the bush. Hygiene is necessary, but sterility takes away a lot of happiness and the ability to naturally immunize. After all, there is research showing the damage of excessive sterility! Or not? Photo credit: stevemcvey.com

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7 responses

Kareng

@kareng (59161)

• United States

11 Dec 19

I also agree with that statement. There is a plus in building up those immunities and too much cleanliness just makes little ones more acceptable to the germs when encountered.

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LillyWriter

@lillywriter (1143)

• Lithuania

11 Dec 19

Indeed. You are very true.

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Kareng

@kareng (59161)

• United States

16 Dec 19

@lillywriter

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The Horse

@TheHorse (218839)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 19

Don't forget the cognitive/emotional benefits of truly interacting with your environment.

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msdivkar

@msdivkar (23359)

• India

11 Dec 19

I agee with you fully. It is necessary to develop the immune system of our chidren and that can only be done by exposing them to the nature.

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msdivkar

@msdivkar (23359)

• India

12 Dec 19

@lillywriter Nice of you to learn from other's mistakes.

LillyWriter

@lillywriter (1143)

• Lithuania

11 Dec 19

I monitored how one my friend grew her daughter in a sterile environment and she was so weak, was sick very often and finally got allergy.

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The Horse

@TheHorse (218839)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 19

Agreed.

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Arthur Chappell

@arthurchappell (44998)

• Preston, England

13 Dec 19

@lillywriter I loved getting messed up but my parents always wanted me neat and tidy

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Arthur Chappell

@arthurchappell (44998)

• Preston, England

14 Dec 19

@lillywriter I was quite rebellious

LillyWriter

@lillywriter (1143)

• Lithuania

14 Dec 19

Many parents want their children to look nice, tidy, and neet. Children usually don't think about how they look.

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The Horse

@TheHorse (218839)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 19

"Or yes" I say! I openly say to the younguns I work with, "A dirty child is a happy child." There is some research from Scandanavia suggesting that children who eat their boogers are healthier than those who don't (immunization, as you said). Dirty play is sensory play. Children learn about their environment at (what Piaget calls) a sensorimotor level. I'm all for it.

The Horse

@TheHorse (218839)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 19

@MALUSE Did you study Vygotsky as well?

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The Horse

@TheHorse (218839)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 19

@MALUSE Vygotsky (Russian) and Piaget (Swiss-French) overlap. The main thing I take from both is to know what a kid knows, and to present new information in away that's JUST beyond what they already know. Vygotsky calls it "zone of proximal development." Piaget calls it "assimilation and accomodation."

The Horse

@TheHorse (218839)

• Walnut Creek, California

29 Dec 19

@MALUSE It seems intuitively obvious, but maybe it would not have been, if not for Vygotsky and Piaget.