I have always put my kids in shopping carts and never used those fabric seat covers or even a sanitizing wipe. I am not a germophobe or even dirt-o-phobe. I am not easily grossed out. And they are rarely sick. Maybe had a handful of stomach illnesses in their lifetimes, but nothing serious. I focus more on making sure they eat well, take vitamins, get sleep, and wash their hands often. (See If we stay home, the swines win.) And we use regular soap, not antibacterial. Because I don't want to contribute to the propagation of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Pretty much the only time we use hand sanitizer is when we're at the hospital or have a newborn around.
I've always felt like God didn't plan for our life to be sanitized, he gave us an immune system that learns from and improves with exposure.
So . . . do I put my kids in grocery carts because they have healthy immune systems, or do they have healthy immune systems because I put them in grocery carts? Hmmmm . . . .
From USA Today:
Carts one of dirtiest places in grocery store, study says
Gerba says 72% of the carts had a positive marker for fecal bacteria. When they examined some of the samples, they found Escherichia coli, also known as E. coli, on half of them.
I have to admit, they do have a really good point about washing the reusable shopping bags we are all using these days. (We are all using them, right? Right?)
