As most parents in this information rich society we live in, I bought a couple of parenting books when I had my first child. If I couldn’t find the answer I was looking for I would ask mothers that I trusted for some advice.
When any of my children got sick, I went to the doctor.
My 4 year old son suffers from eczema. We were referred to a dermatologist who asked all sorts of questions; do we have carpet, does he wear cotton, is his bed low to the ground, do we have a pet?
The dermatologist informed me that if we have carpet I need to vacuum every 2-3 days to minimize dust. If we have a bunk bed, he should sleep on top. If we have a pet….well that would be tricky. But lucky for us, we don’t; and haven’t had one since before he was born.
Not one week after the appointment with the dermatologist there was a media report saying that dust doesn’t have any affect on children with eczema so vacuuming is essentially a waste of time.
And today I heard a report that says that children that are exposed to dogs in their first year (the child not the dog) are less likely to develop asthma.
My dermatologist said I have to get a handle on my son’s eczema otherwise he may develop asthma, so the fact that we have not had a pet at all was a good thing…or is it?
Advertisers are bombarding us with cleaning products to keep germs at bay and our children safe….while media reports are quoting research that say that the grubbier the child the healthier.
It was reported last week on smh.com.au that Australians have spent $38 million dollars on books about Family, Health and Relationships.
$38 million dollars and still no answers? C’mon!!!
This post was originally posted on my other Mum’s Word blog “$38 Million Worth of Information”
