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Lots of allergies were unheard of when we were kids. Now we have Troops showing up at summer camp with coolers filled with medications. That's because unlike when we were children, there are groups of parents who feel that they're not good parents unless their homes and their children are spotless and sanitized 24/7, and they compound this by keeping their kid inside that house to play most of the time. Whereas when I came home from school, the first thing I did was change into my play clothes (remember when you wore clothes to school that didn't look like you had just come from a pickup softball game or a dance?) and go outside.

Or, as my wife puts it, "Every kid has to eat their pound of dirt." And now there's science to back this up. My kids spent their childhood playing around outside, digging foxholes in the back yard. They'd come in filthy. Amazingly enough, soap and water took care of them and their clothes. And they don't have any allergies.

My friend took her kid to the doctor, with a low-grade temperature on a school day. The doctor said the kid was fine, and should be in school. My friend said she didn't want to infect the other children, if it was a virus.

The doctor laughed and said, "We call that innoculating the herd!" Unless your child is uncomfortable, send them to school. Because sooner or later they are going to get all of the viruses that are running through the school. Get it over quickly.

I agree, and now send my child to school, unless they have complained of discomfort, and do not have any alarming symptoms.

Children are much more resilient than parents think.

Whereas when I came home from school, the first thing I did was change into my play clothes

What ever happened to play clothes vs. school clothes. I remember having to wear collared shirts and proper shoes to school, 'cept for gym class, (I still remember my 3rd grade gym class locker combination. Freaky, eh?) and then changing into "play clothes" at home. One didn't dare leave the house in "play clothes" unless one was going out to play...never to school, church, or even the store with mom. (Has anybody figured out yet why it is acceptable for moms to use "mom spit" to clean children? That is just sooooo wrong!)

"Every kid has to eat their pound of dirt."

Tastes even better with a little bit of that arts & crafts paste on top.

I find my house stays much neater and cleaner if the kids are OUTSIDE as often as possible.

To some extent I agree with you. However, my twin daughters almost died from a common cold virus (RSV) when they were 6 weeks old. Their first year of life, I tried to keep them away from people with colds. Every time they got one, my daughter had a serious asthma reaction. I was exhausted.

What bothered me was people would get togeher and announce that their kids had a cold and they acted like "It's just a cold". They should have told me beforehand because I would not have seen their kids.

Anyway, it freaks a parent out to almost lose a kid. My daughters would have died if they would have been born 30 years ago (before there were ventilators for infants).

However, our lives were impacted, and I didn't think we should impact anyone else's lives. I avoided public places when I didn't want to get my kids sick.

Thank goodness, my daughters have grown (almost 7) and colds are better now. I've learned not to judge other parents because I don't know what they've been through.

Intense scrutiny of many ailments in young adults can be traced back to single child families. These single child families kept their cherished child spotless. No dirt, worms, letting the dog eat cereal out of their mouth, every cut cleaned, creamed, bandaged, every piece of fruit washed, and so on.........Specifically multiple sclerosis is one of them.

IMHO many of the parents of the kids like peanut boy have some serious mental problems. They are acting out some sort of ritual for reasons only rich white females with no sense of balance in their life can share after thirty years of professional counseling.

Ever wonder why poor children don't have eating disorders, asthma, bedwetting counselors, or see a physician for weekly allergy shots? Because they have better things to do like live life.

I think you have an excellent point. I also believe that people these days are too obsessed with sanitation and as a result, they become less resistant to diseases, allergies, etc. I call it the "Michael Jackson" syndrome. I mean, here is a guy (allegedly) who is so obsessed with cleanliness that he wears a surgical mask in public. Yet he is one of the most unhealthy looking persons I have ever seen. He probably legitimately needs the surgical mask now because he'd probably die from a common cold.

I grew up playing in the dirt too. I can't remember how many times as a kid that I'd be playing in the swamp or handling animals and bugs, etc., and then eating without washing my hands (except those few times when my mother made me).

Result was I rarely got sick. In fact, I think I've had the flu maybe a half-dozen times in the last 40 years. Other than that, the only other time I was sick at all was in 1993 when I had a sinus infection. The prescription I got for antibiotics that time was the only prescription I ever had in my life.

I must also say that I never "bundle up" in the winter time. I'll go outside without a hat and gloves constantly, even when it is 10 degrees out. I pretty much wear a simple windbreaker all winter long. It does seem that those who are always bundled up in scarves and mittens are the ones who end up catching colds.

I am glad your kids don't have allegies but playing in the dirt didn't keep them from developing them. No 2 kids made more mudpies, played in the barn in the cow manure & chicken poop, slept with dogs & cats, & crawled thru drain pipes than my brother & me. We both have allergies because we *inherited the gene* from our parents. We had childhood asthma (non life threatning) & hayfever reactions to pollen. I have more allergies (mostly food & prescription drugs) than he does now but nothing could have been done in our childhood to keep this from happening to either one of us. You just have to learn to live with it like any other physical ailment.