57
votes
Accepted
Mom too worried with germs and disease
Babies/children build up their immune systems by being exposed to germs and dirt. Keeping them away from germs and dirt actually gives them a weaker immune system. (http://www.webmd.com/parenting/d2n-...
- 4,208
50
votes
Accepted
Should a teenager coming out of quarantine be held responsible to clean up after themself?
I think it's hard to say exactly what would've been the right approach, because we (and you, probably) don't have all of the details, particularly about how the interaction went when your partner ...
- 61.8k
36
votes
Should a teenager coming out of quarantine be held responsible to clean up after themself?
Ok, so I'm 15 too, and this is just gross. I mean yeah we do some dumb stuff, but living in a basement for 10 days with rotting food and all that is just plain gross. He is a 15 year old, almost an ...
- 565
23
votes
Should a teenager coming out of quarantine be held responsible to clean up after themself?
Retaliatory punishment after the fact is a waste of time
It’s happened, and you already had your reaction to it. For better or worse, you decided to let him off “easy”. Then turning around and coming ...
- 339
22
votes
Mom too worried with germs and disease
(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, your doctor or your girlfriend's doctor)
It is possible that your girlfriend is experiencing postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The hormonal changes ...
- 1,391
14
votes
Accepted
How to tell your child she smells without hurting her feelings?
It sounds like either she doesn't believe you (not likely), doesn't care (possibly, depending on her personality), or doesn't know what to do about it (most likely). We aren't born with a natural ...
- 316
13
votes
2 year old won't let us clip toenails
With a two-year-old it may be a bit of a breech of trust but with my eight-month-old we trim his finger and toe nails when he's asleep. He's too squirmy otherwise. When he's asleep, he's calm and ...
- 1,193
12
votes
Accepted
Baby / toddler girls - is it necessary to wear swim pants to prevent infections or inflammations?
Prepubertal girls are more susceptible to vaginal infections due to
Lack of estrogen - leads to thinning of the vaginal mucosa
Lack of pubic hair to protect the area
Lack of labial fat pads
Source: ...
11
votes
Is it ok to play with a 10 months old baby in nature?
Generally speaking anywhere that you can go, your 10-month-old can go too. So really it's about weighing up risk and reward, a task which absolutely lacks black and white distinctions.
Obviously if ...
- 5,102
11
votes
Should a teenager coming out of quarantine be held responsible to clean up after themself?
Cleaning up after yourself isn't a punishment. It's just life.
My teenager desperately wants to be perceived as and treated like an adult. Mostly he thinks that means getting to do what he wants, but ...
- 36k
9
votes
Accepted
How to handle a toddler's infinite cycle of hand washing - getting hands dirty - putting hands in mouth
I think your three year old nephew sounds pretty normal. I also do not like anti-bacterial soaps and cleansers because I think that ultimately, they do more harm than good.Link:WebMD
Recent ...
- 17.5k
8
votes
How a child can tell if his bottom is clean enough?
How can you or I tell if our bottom is clean enough?
Clean enough implies primarily that:
The bottom will not be uncomfortable, as it sometimes is when there is some fecal matter remaining
The ...
- 61.8k
6
votes
How can we confront our pediatrician about not washing his hands?
It's important that your doctor wash their hands, but less important than you might think. As a health care provider, I wash my hands before examining every patient, but it's out of respect for the ...
- 69.8k
6
votes
Accepted
When can a child start using adult's toothpaste?
The difference between kids and adult brands is typically not the fluoride content (which our dentist once paraphrased as „adult teeth need adult fluoride“), but the flavor profile. „Adult“ types ...
- 18.2k
5
votes
Is it ok to play with a 10 months old baby in nature?
I think this is a great idea. Although I'm not near a national park, generally speaking it's not much different than letting them play in the backyard. Doctor's typically recommend a certain amount of ...
- 689
5
votes
Accepted
Hygiene vs Family: My 7 year old little girl refuses to drink from 6 year old sister's bottle
My first thought about
"daughter will not drink from a bottle of water when her sister has had a drink from it first" is that if you let your daughter know that it bothers you and you make a big deal ...
- 17.5k
5
votes
At what age should a boy be able to clean up the toilet after himself?
To put my personal experience here, and to directly answer the question: yes, a six year old can clean up his urine from the toilet and the floor. My children (7 and 5) both are expected to if they ...
- 61.8k
5
votes
Should a teenager coming out of quarantine be held responsible to clean up after themself?
Great question and I am sure many parents struggle with their teenagers on this subject. In my opinion, a 15-year-old is too old to not have the responsibilities of cleaning up after themselves. I ...
- 1,044
4
votes
Keep 6 months old son from touching his dirty genitals
If other suggestions here do not work, I suggest trying to use baby's clothing to gently tie knots to prevent arm movement. This assumes you are not removing baby's clothing completely and you need a ...
4
votes
Mom too worried with germs and disease
Like Martin, I think Dave's answer is the correct one --too sterile an environment has been convincingly shown to be harmful. However, I think it's also important to understand this from your ...
- 6,143
4
votes
Mom too worried with germs and disease
On top of Dave Clarke's answer (which is the answer in my opinion), I would suggest that you and your girlfriend look at other people's kids of different ages and talk to their parents. My wife and I ...
- 987
4
votes
My 5-year-old son freaks over shower time!
You might try getting a long shower hose attachment so that he has more control about where the water goes. That way he will be able to wash his body without water getting on his face. After a while ...
- 8,987
4
votes
Is it ok to play with a 10 months old baby in nature?
We started taking our daughter on hikes when she was about 3 months old.
Seriously, the most danger is the drive to/from the park and sun burn (getting a kid to wear sunglasses is hard, but a very ...
- 41
4
votes
How a child can tell if his bottom is clean enough?
As long as the tissue paper is not clean white, it needs to be wiped again. It helps to have baby wipes (fresh wipes) that are moist and clean the area faster and with less irritation.
- 486
4
votes
Hygiene vs Family: My 7 year old little girl refuses to drink from 6 year old sister's bottle
Your seven year old is technically correct. It's next to impossible to drink from a bottle without "backwash" (getting oral bacteria in the remaining water.)
Two siblings not wanting to drink from ...
- 69.8k
4
votes
How to explain to 4 yrs old hand washing is important?
This is more of a 'parenting hack' than a method of explaining, but I let my little one (almost 3) wash a plastic toy animal with a little extra hand soap. When he isn't the mood to cooperate with a ...
- 7,614
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible