Yep, you read that right. I play with my boats in the toilet. Well, I don’t (at least not in the last couple years), but some kids on television do. I was watching TV last night and a real cute ad came on with kids whispering things to each other. Two of the things they said were “I play with my boats in the toilet” and “I don’t wash my hands”…it was a damn cute ad. We were getting into it, laughing really hard as each kid told his secret. Then it dawned on me; I knew where this was going. And sure enough, it was another ad for BLEACH! Seems that because kids tell secrets to each other about being covered in germs, that you as a parent should be dousing your child’s toys in buckets of bleach to protect them. Well let me tell you something…

Kids actually get sick LESS once they start going to school and are around other “non-handwashing” kids more often. They come in contact with germs on the playground, at lunch, in the bathroom…really, where aren’t there germs at school? With 30 or 40 other kids, you would think that they all would be coming down with Hep C or Tuberculosis..but they aren’t. You know why? Germs are actually good for us humans, they teach our immune system how to fight off disease and how to cope with our environment. Putting bleach and antibacterial soap on everything kills all germs, both good and bad. You know why my wife doesn’t get sick and I do? Cause she is around tons of little kids every day and her immune system is built up. She brings home their germs and I get sick.

Please parents, do NOT fall for these ad campaigns…yes, they are well done and very cute. I mean, “I play with my boats in the toilet”??? It was killing us. But your kids need to be exposed to germs so their immune system can build itself up. Sure, you don’t want your kid playing in the litter box, but you also do not need to wash their toys, their cups, their dishes, their clothes, etc in bleach in order to protect them. Regular old soap will do just fine while at the same time keeping that caustic stuff away from them.

Do not believe the hype…some germs are actually good for your kid and killing all germs in your house will have a detrimental affect on your entire family!

technorati: bleach, dangerous, children

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