Eating Crap Off The Floor…….
AdventureDad | June 25I was over at a friends place the other day on a play date and we had a bite to eat. I dropped a piece of food on the floor and before I even moved to pick it up, the mother gave me some funny advice; “Don’t worry, leave the food on the floor, Megan (her 12 month old daughter) will probably crawl over here later on and eat it”. I gave her a smile and continued eating.
The reason why I reacted to this comment is not that I’m afraid of a little dirt or believe my kids will die if they eat food off the floor. It’s just that she was so honest about it. My kids find food on the floor all the time but I try to keep quiet about it.
When my kids drop something on the floor, I have no problem putting it back on the table. Except when it concerns my 10 month old daughter. I don’t have the energy to even bother with her since she’ just learning to shove food into her mouth by herself. 75% of her meals seem to end up below her chair at the moment.
I must admit to being selective depending on what country I’m in. In Sweden, I could pick stuff off the street and eat it. It’s just so ridiculously clean. But when I’m in dirty places, like Mexico City, I’m more careful about germs. Still, I find it very innocent although many parents disagree.
Now, what kind of parent are you? Is food off the floor just fine or does it go straight into the trash? And do you always agree with our partner about what to do? I surely don’t but our relationship is a bit different. The contrast in parenting between a Swede and a Mexican sometimes seems unbelievably large……..
The five second rule applies around here and it’s usually extended much further.
Just my opinion, but I think we’re almost obsessed about sanitation and germs.
We utilize the five second rule here too. Sometimes it’s 10 seconds.
Sometimes it’s 3 days if I didn’t sweep well enough.
Ten second rule. Although my son will deliberately leave food in his high chair seat, concealed from my sight, so that he can go pick up a snack later.
When I was growing up, we had no ten second rule for dropped food. We had no five second rule. Heck, there wasn’t even a one second rule! We had a dog instead. :) You dropped it, you lost it.
When I was a kid, I’ve eaten mud from the garden and goodness know what else - eating apples direct from the trees etc (worms and all).
Haven’t affected me.
I do believe people are too obsessed about being too clean - in fact it’s no wonder that with increasing obsession about cleaniness - we get more asthmas, allegies attacks etc.
A bit of mud never harm and more likley help your kid build up defences against bad crap.
Hmm…maybe it’s time for a mud bath every week…
I will eat food off the floor if no one is looking, especially my daughter (because I don’t allow her to do it!).
When my kid drops or throws things on the floor, he always says “dog”, as in, “this is for the dog.” He even does it at restaurants. He hasn’t quite caught on that they don’t have dogs walking around waiting for the patrons to drop crumbs.
I’m a microbiologist by day and a “go ahead and eat it” kinda mom by night. Without germs, what would our immune systems do with all that spare time???
We find picking up food to be futile as it seems our son has taken lessons from squirrels and packs away food for famine periods. Even though the floor is sparkly clean, he’ll pull a puffed wheat out of his shirt sleeve like an infant David Copperfield. No, our big battle is whether to leave our cats food on the floor after our son does the obligatory morning lift-and-pour. The alternative is picking up millions of tiny pieces of cat food and putting them back in the bowl, only to repeat the next time our back is turned.
Almost like Tony was talking about my house. Here, though, the cats are getting closer and closer to swearing off of cat food altogether. Our 18 month-old says “I’m not real into this meal” by tossing, throwing, and otherwise lobbing all food items directly onto the floor, and there is ALWAYS at least one cat waiting there for it. The broom is getting less and less use. As far as food that the cats don’t get, it’s usually safe in our house, or at least that’s how we do it most of the time. If the floor hasn’t been cleaned in a day or three, sometimes it’s a different story.
Ten second rule applies here too. Nothing to do with kids, but illustrating the 10 second rule properly requires this story: When I first joined the Army we were out in the field and someone was cooking up some Ramen noodles over a small burner. The canteen cup fell over spilling the noodles over the pine needles, grass and such and I’ve never seen anyone scoop something up so fast and put it back in the cup and continue on as if nothing happened in my life. Yes, he ate it. And what’s wrong with that?
That’s because us moms have no remaining dignity. Like it or lump it (just not every night because we’re tired.)
My aunt, who works in food service, told me that she just read a study that found that food was totally fine up to about a minute after hitting the floor. Around the 3 minute mark things start to go south (according to the petri dish), but I’m guessing that depends on how clean your house is. Hell, I’m worried about my son (who drops in September, y’all) eating from our plates. My wife, who likes to read over my shoulder, just chimed in with this gem: “Good thing he’ll be eating out of my boobs for a while.”
I am now disgusted.
The five second rule has some scientific validity.
Check Google News for “five second rule.”
You’re welcome!
Dude, is there a camera hidden in my kitchen? I have totally told a guest that before.
I actually read a scientific report stating that food on the floor cannot pick up bacteria within a 30 second period. So the 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 seconds rules all apply. Unless maybe, you are at a street vendor during a soccer riot in Cairo. (George, thank you for the image)
With my first kid, it was 5 seconds. With the second, probably 30 seconds. Now that I have 3 kids, I’m lucky if I pick it up at all. My kids find food that’s probably been on the floor (or in the car) and eat it. Cheerios have a very long life.
In our house the ten second rule applies, unless Mommy’s around.
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