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• How Gross Are the Grocery Carts Your Kids Suck On? Um, Pretty Gross.

  Most of us assume that grocery cart handles are pretty germy things. How disgusting are they? Researchers at the University of Arizona found that they contain more saliva, bacteria and fecal matter than most public toilets. Yes, I'm talking about the same shopping cart handle your kid recently wrapped his mouth around like a pacifier. Ewwwwww doesn't even describe it. But as ABC News reports, some grocery stores are trying to make those nasty-ass carts much more sanitary. How? By installing car-wash-like machines that spray them with a sanitizing mist, thereby eliminating 99 percent of germs. It's like giving your shopping cart a Purell shower just before you head to the cereal aisle. Read More... Posted Nov 13 2008, 10:28 AM by Jen Chaney with | with 11 comment(s) Filed under: health, children's health, grocery shopping, cleanliness, abc news, disinfecting, sanitary, grocery carts, cold and flu season

• They Say: The Five-Second Rule is B.S.

  I have based my life on certain principles. That hard work always pays off, in ways sometimes tangible and sometimes intangible. That you should treat others with the same respect you expect from them. And that as long as something has been on the floor for five seconds or less, it's not really dirty. Now this article in the Sydney Morning Herald -- courtesy of MomLogic -- says that's not true, although in Australia, they call it the three-second rule. Apparently the Aussies don't have the patience (or low hygiene standards) to take things to the five-second level. Read More... Posted Apr 30 2008, 06:33 PM by Jen Chaney with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: health, nutrition, eating, five second rule, cleanliness, MomLogic, feeding

• Call in the Baby Bath Police

  Are you raising dirty kids? Apparently Kristen, a guest blogger over at MomLogic, is not ashamed to admit that she is. As she says in this post, she doesn't bathe her three-year-old son every day. "Sometimes I give him a bath and sometimes I don't," she writes. "Mostly I don't. After all he's not a car mechanic. He doesn't get that dirty. I do touch up work, wiping his face and hands throughout the day." Read More... Posted Apr 14 2008, 01:32 PM by Jen Chaney with | with 15 comment(s) Filed under: health, hygiene, cleanliness, baths, bathing, MomLogic

• Out Damned Spot: Getting Kids to Wash Their Hands

  Medical experts all agree that one of the best defenses for children against winter colds and flu is for them to wash their hands. I contend the best defense against winter colds and flu is summer, then again I don’t have a sheepskin from Harvard Medical School framed on my wall; but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.  Unfortunately, for most kids washing their hands is not always a top priority. In fact, here’s my 5-year old son’s to-do list for today that I just printed out from his Outlook Task Manager: Due in 15 minutes - Play New V-Smile Spiderman Video Game        Due in 2 Hours Ago - Jam Hands Down Front of Pants                         Due in 1 Hour - Frolic in the Snow Until Hands Go Numb and Lips Turn Blue Due in 4 Hours - Ask No Fewer Than 500 Unanswerable Questions Ongoing Project - Don’t Wash Hands Read More... Posted Jan 02 2008, 08:30 AM by makeitadouble with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: hygiene, cleanliness, medical advice, next to godliness, hand washing

• Kids Are Developing Peanut Allergies Much Younger

  Researchers found peanut allergies are showing up in younger kids than before, and they don't know why. In a study of 40 kids, the median age of first allergic reaction was 14 months for those born between 2000 and 2005, compared to a median age of 22 to 24 months in kids born between 1988 and 1999. Doctors urge parents to avoid exposing susceptible kids to peanuts until they are older, because as one says, "When kids are older, it can be easier to manage bad reactions. They can tell you right away if their mouths feel funny. For that reason alone, it's worth delaying exposing your child to a peanut product, especially if a child is at high risk."  But hold on a minute--could it be that by limiting exposure, we're helping create these allergy problems... Read More... Posted Dec 04 2007, 07:01 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: research study, health risks, allergies, peanuts, health and kids, hygiene, cleanliness

• The Places You Go And Things You Use Are Filthy and Disease-Ridden

  Oh, I so love a germy story. You know, where they tell you all the nastiness that lurks in your house and on your body and how you swallow bacteria and foulness every minute just by functioning in the world... So here's a story on the twelve germiest places you know. And yeah, your purse is one of them. And guys, I think man-purses are included in that. By the way, I cleaned out mine yesterday and found an old cheese stick. Life with kids is like swimming in a nasty petrie dish daily.  Other gross places (and do note how many of these impact parents) include...  Read More... Posted Oct 25 2007, 07:02 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: kids, disease, germs, playground safety, hygiene, cleanliness, dirty

• Study Confirms What I've Been Saying For Years: Housework Is Bad For You

  I'm wading through the dust bunnies and the piles of stuffed animals and jackets and assorted crap to tell you that housework might just mess with your health. Scientists even think so. They said exposure to cleaning sprays and air fresheners even just once a week could increase your risk of adult asthma. Which means you might want to leave an extra big tip for your cleaning person if you have one, because he or she is screwed. And let me tell you why else housework is bad: Your clean house just makes some of us feel serious envy. Read More... Posted Oct 15 2007, 02:25 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: research study, asthma, Kelly Mills, hygiene, housecleaning, cleanliness

• With This Your Kids May Never Wash Their Hands Again

  As a parent, I've always cringed to see some of the stuff my kids touch on a regular basis. Was I like that when I was a kid, or did I always have this aversion to dirt? Just last night my two older ones came in the door covered with dirt from head to toe; they had been playing in a big pile of gravel. And the little one routinely throws things into the cat litter box, so you can imagine what all he's not bothered by touching. Read More... Posted Aug 05 2007, 12:25 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: kids, OCD, Gotta Go Mitts, things you don't need, public bathrooms, cleanliness, peeing