do put ds on the floor?

[panicpants]

ds is 8months and I've always put him on a blanket to play on, on the floor, which I wash several times a week. But now he can move around on it and wrap himself up in it, it's not safe anymore.

I've just plonked him down on the floor without a blanket and my heart is doing flip flops. I'm quite obsessed with cleanliness and can't bare this.

Is this ok?

My uncle who is a gp totally believes that dirt is good for kids... he refuses to use any disinfectant or anti-bacterial anything and his family are all in good health...

panicpants....you're on my postnatal thread so our little ones are the same age....

i have put ds on the floor for months now without worrying about it and he is fine, very robust and while everyone elses kids at the drop in clinic had a cold that's been going round ds seemed to escape it.
i grew up playing in a cattle market/chicken shed and mum says i was never ill as a child. as others have said on this thread, kiddies need to be exposed to a bit of muck so their immune systems can build up strength.

Commando crawl is hilarious isn't it?

Completely agree with everyone here. I did use a blanket, for comfort though. But beyond about that age, I didn't bother.

I am a slovenly mare and clean the floor (lino) about once a fortnight. And I used soda crystals - no scent, no extra chemicals, no triclosan (have you ever read about it? I don't let it near us!)

My ds (1 tomorrow!) was this week paddling in the cats litter tray and has taken to biting everything including the dog's nose and toys, bark from the kids playground. He keeps escaping through the back door and crawls through all sorts of stuff. Touch wood- he never had a sickness bug (pride my self that it's because my house is so scummy!) - relax what's going to happen if he gets dusty hands and knees? It's better than him growing up with a fear of dirt

Queenrollo ohh I'm glad our lo's are the same age and you're putting yours on the floor.

Commando crawl is hilerious, his feet stay where they are and he goes 360 degrees in a circle, and now is beginning to drag himself along.

This morning I went into his room and found him on his tummy!!!!

Our DD (9 months old) is doing the commando crawl over here too... She is very fast now (has practised the commando since 1 month ago!), I was worried too about mostly our kitchen floor and don't really care anymore, she loves watching us cooking so we make sure that the tiles get moped at least once a week and she is now pulling herself up to stand up(so more places and thinkgs to explore!) So watch out your DS panicpants and don't spend your time cleaning the floors or you will be exausted by the end of the day.
Here is an article I have paste from this web page www.babyworld.co.uk/news/archive/Sept99/220999farmers_asthma.htm

22 September 1999
Farmers’ children have less asthma
Early contact with dirt and bacteria may protect children against developing allergies, say researchers at the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Three separate studies have shown that children raised on farms with livestock are significantly less likely to develop allergies than other children.

In the last 20 years, the incidence of asthma and eczema has increased fourfold in this country, which now has one of the worst records for allergy sufferers anywhere. This may be because our homes are now so clean and dust-free that children don't get the chance to develop their immune systems.

Found ds2 eating ds1's poo when he was around 2. he seemed to think it was chocolate.

oh, i remember that JJ. i was a bit confused at first, as i though it was ds1 eating the poo. lol.

oh no, cleanliness , not a word children understand ime!.

posted this on another thread about dummies, in particular, sterilising them,

'ds crawled out the back door, onto the deck, over to a big plant pot, pulled himself up, took out his newly sterilised dummy, dropped it in the plant pot, and started eating dirt!'

NO ds1 pooed on the sofa, ds2 picked it up and came and found me looking very pleased with himself, licking the top. He may have been a bit younger than 2 (actually he must have been as it was in the summer). Yeeeuch.