Are you obssesed about your child’s cleanliness?

Every child is precious for his parents. They take utmost care and give full attention when it comes to their child’s health and hygiene.

Clean, healthy surroundings are loved by all and when it comes to kids it becomes an important entity. There are some parents who are over obsessive about their child’s cleanliness. As a toddler the child is not allowed to sit and play on the floor. They are not allowed to crawl and wander around on their own. Everything around him is washed cautiously and that to with antiseptic solutions. In most extreme cases I have seen parents using antiseptic solution in washing child’s clothes as well. By doing this they feel that they are doing the best thing they can do for their child by protecting him against the germs. However , the reality lies far away.

The hard fact is that early exposure of kids to bacteria enhances their immune system. In other words it increases their body’s capacity to fight against diseases. They develop strong immunity which helps them to fight against a majority of bacteria and allergens and that too for their whole life. This does not mean that we should deliberately leave the child and his surroundings unclean but over protection from dust and outside play should surely be avoided.

Science has proved that babies exposed to bacteria and allergens in their first year of life are less likely to be prone to asthma and allergies .It helps to make their immune system strong and helps to develop strength against all kinds of foreign elements. The immune system also learns to differentiate between foreign unharmful bodies and bad bacteria. It gives response only to those that are harmful and ignores all those that are harmless. This works a long way in preventing development of allergies at any point of life.
Those children who have remained unexposed since childhood can develop reactions to small common things like pollen grains. A small exposure to outside environment can prove lethal and raise unwanted health issues.

If the young immune system is strengthened by exposure to germs, it makes the immune system to learn, adapt and regulate itself. Children who are brought up in open areas develop far better immunity levels when compared to those brought up in closed houses.

One of the major reason now days for underdeveloped immune system is the widespread and liberal use of antibiotics both in case of adults as well as children. The antibiotics reduce the risk of child exposure to microbes; this in turn reduces the ability of immune system to fight against diseases.

Like it is said that practice makes a man perfect. In the same way the more our immune system is exposed to antigens the more it develops the capacity to form antibodies which can provide lifelong protection. So do not be over possessive about cleanliness. A slight here and there will always be helpful in the long run.