Babies, Allergies and the Five-Second Rule

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My sister and I were discussing kids and the rise in allergies over the past 20 years.  We both pretty much gave our kids everything to eat and didn’t pay much attention to the “rules” of limiting certain things in our children’s diets.  I’m sure we were judged by other parents at the time, but it was just easier to give them a variety of foods…whatever was available.  ….and that usually included peanut butter.  Of course, like everything else, a new study has come out that says that…. “Feeding babies snacks made with peanuts before their first birthday appears to prevent that from happening.”   To that we both said, “duh!”

If you think about it, the vaccines we give our children are a form of the actual diseases we are trying to prevent, so it makes sense that feeding kids a variety of foods, including peanut butter, might prevent any allergic reaction they may have later.  Of course, there are real allergies, sometimes life threatening, that children are born with or develop as they get older…and even develop as adults…but why not try to expose your kids to all kinds of foods, and germs, early on in hopes that you can boost their immunity and prevent some illnesses later.

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My kids loved playing in the rain and we encouraged it!  What’s better than sailing make-shift boats in the “river” floating along the curb?  I’d usually had hot-chocolate and warm towels from the dryer waiting for them when they were ready to come in.  I work in the attendance office at a high school and it cracks me up every time there’s a rainy day here in SoCal (which, unfortunately isn’t often enough).  The amount of parents who call and say their student cannot come to school, or will be late, because it’s raining, and it would be too taxing for them to walk in the rain, is hilarious.  When a student walks in late on a rainy day and their excuse is “it’s raining” my response is sometimes sarcastically, “Are you a witch?”…think Wizard of Oz. We all get a good chuckle out of it, including the students.

Dr. Spock was my parenting guru and the five second rule was in full force in my house (not that he condones that.)  My kids weren’t any sicker than anyone else’s…and possibly less so.  I will say that my son had some issues with asthma (which is just a different reaction to an allergy) between the ages of two and 6…and later on in college….but they were possibly inherited from his grandfather, as many allergies are hereditary.

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So, as with everything, the pendulum will swing back and forth…coffee is bad for you, no coffee is good for you….eggs are the root of all cholesterol problems, until they’re not….low fat, high carb is the way to go, NOT ANYMORE!!  It can be frustrating, but just using a little common sense and your gut feeling goes a long way!  I’m glad scientists discovered that wine and dark chocolate are good for you…and I’m going to ignore any new studies that dispute it!

Have a FABULOUS weekend…and don’t sweat the small stuff!

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

3 Comments

  1. Amen to that sister! And my kids would float wine corks in the gutters, their mother likes red wine and dark chocolate too.

  2. Thanks Jeanine!! The paper boat brought back so many memories! And, yes, I fed my kids everything before they were suppose to have it and no allergies. (Also, didn’t breast feed, so go figure:) )

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