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Bacterial Children

I've had a very recent experience with bacteria.  One that has left me a little on edge.  Because my children were in contact with someone with a confirmed case of a nasty bacterial infection, the Public Health Department got pulled into protecting the health of my children and the children with whom they have encountered.  I was required to jump through numerous hoops in order to prove that my children were, in fact, well children.  And, while I recognize the potential dangers of spreading bacteria, I have now begun to think to myself - and am now expressing to the handful of people reading this blog - that one of the major Mama Laws out there is the fact that are children are children and; therefore, they are - and will always be - bacterial children.

I make every attempt to keep my children clean.  I wash their hands before and after eating.  They wear bibs when they're too young to keep food from spilling all over them.  Their diapers are changed numerous times throughout the day.  They wear clean clothes, and they often go through numerous outfit changes throughout the day (if only this was for the purpose of keeping them fashionable).  My kids have scheduled bath times throughout the week, and I often them climbing into my own shower time.  They have unscheduled baths when necessary (a.k.a., nearly every day), as well.  In general, I like to consider my kids to be sanitary.  However, they're still kids.

My kids play in dirt, sand, grass, mud, mulch, trees, bushes, and anything else they can find.  I've caught them picking up dog poop and asking what it is (rubbing alcohol might have been used to disinfect after this one).  They pet animals.  They have a desire to learn which often involves touching - which leads to getting dirty.  In essence, my kids (no matter how great of attempt I make for the opposite) get dirty.  They carry bacteria around with them everywhere they go. 


I hope that none of you have to go through a scare with the Public Health Department as I recently have had to do.  But, if you do, the first thing you will need to do is remember this Mama Law: If my child is really a child (and not some rare form of alien), then they will be a bacterial child.  I cannot keep them perfectly clean or they're not experiencing life.

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