So I chaperoned my first field trip today. When looking to the future and contemplating parenthood, I never imagined myself riding on a schoolbus, with 30 overexcited kindergartners, in the rain, to an apple orchard. I also never imagined that one could spend a few hours at an orchard without going outside, or anywhere near a fruit tree. Who knew you could kill over an hour demonstrating a cider press?
While the noise level on the bus was beyond intense, and that schoolbus smell brought back not-so-pleasant associations, my greater concern was just not wanting to touch anything. All those germs all over every surface from coughing, sneezing, nose-wiping kids. Swine flu has now hit both my kids' schools and a few families we know, and even though my family has all had the H1N1 mist and regular flu shots, there are other flu strains out there to avoid. And these kids were literally sticking their faces into the seats and against the windows. Gross. I just wanted to decontaminate everyone when we got back, including myself.
I'm normally not that fanatic about germs. I prefer to avoid illness, and I get annoyed at people who bring sick kids to my house, and I'm right there with the handwashing, and I hate being in really germy public places. That said, I think some exposure to bacteria is good for the immune system. I don't care if my dogs lick my kids, or vice versa. I never had one of those shopping-cart covers or portable restaurant placemats for my kids when they were smaller. I didn't sterilize bottles and binkies. When things fall on the floor, I'll still eat them as long as nothing is stuck on them. I don't believe in the 20-second rule or whatever it's called, for me or for my kids. I thought hand sanitizer was only for when you had no other alternative, and that frequent deliberate use of hand sanitizer was a little neurotic.
But this fall? Purell is everywhere. My office has it in every bathroom, and the kids' schools seem to have more dispensers than before. We have it in our cars, plus a big bottle on our kitchen counter to use when we get home. DH is like the Purell Butler if we're out somewhere. We get back in the car and he comes around door to door squirting our hands with Purell. I'm using it. I'm getting used to it. I'm even starting to really like the smell. I should have bought stock in the stuff.
And I'm curious about how this intense focus on illness is changing social behavior. A friend of mine was telling me they just don't take their child to many public places, like shopping malls and playgrounds, because of all the germs going around these days. Anecdotally, I'm hearing that such places are less crowded than usual, and that birthday parties have become smaller and fewer. It's not clear whether the low numbers are due to kids being home sick, or due to parents keeping them home pre-emptively.
Speaking as someone who loathes Chuck E. Cheese, kids' entertainment centers, and restaurant playgrounds in general (mostly because once my kids go in, they won't come out), I'm perversely happy to use germs as an excuse to avoid such establishments altogether. It's clear that I'm not the only mean mommy who feels that way. Strength in numbers, people.
While the noise level on the bus was beyond intense, and that schoolbus smell brought back not-so-pleasant associations, my greater concern was just not wanting to touch anything. All those germs all over every surface from coughing, sneezing, nose-wiping kids. Swine flu has now hit both my kids' schools and a few families we know, and even though my family has all had the H1N1 mist and regular flu shots, there are other flu strains out there to avoid. And these kids were literally sticking their faces into the seats and against the windows. Gross. I just wanted to decontaminate everyone when we got back, including myself.
I'm normally not that fanatic about germs. I prefer to avoid illness, and I get annoyed at people who bring sick kids to my house, and I'm right there with the handwashing, and I hate being in really germy public places. That said, I think some exposure to bacteria is good for the immune system. I don't care if my dogs lick my kids, or vice versa. I never had one of those shopping-cart covers or portable restaurant placemats for my kids when they were smaller. I didn't sterilize bottles and binkies. When things fall on the floor, I'll still eat them as long as nothing is stuck on them. I don't believe in the 20-second rule or whatever it's called, for me or for my kids. I thought hand sanitizer was only for when you had no other alternative, and that frequent deliberate use of hand sanitizer was a little neurotic.
But this fall? Purell is everywhere. My office has it in every bathroom, and the kids' schools seem to have more dispensers than before. We have it in our cars, plus a big bottle on our kitchen counter to use when we get home. DH is like the Purell Butler if we're out somewhere. We get back in the car and he comes around door to door squirting our hands with Purell. I'm using it. I'm getting used to it. I'm even starting to really like the smell. I should have bought stock in the stuff.
And I'm curious about how this intense focus on illness is changing social behavior. A friend of mine was telling me they just don't take their child to many public places, like shopping malls and playgrounds, because of all the germs going around these days. Anecdotally, I'm hearing that such places are less crowded than usual, and that birthday parties have become smaller and fewer. It's not clear whether the low numbers are due to kids being home sick, or due to parents keeping them home pre-emptively.
Speaking as someone who loathes Chuck E. Cheese, kids' entertainment centers, and restaurant playgrounds in general (mostly because once my kids go in, they won't come out), I'm perversely happy to use germs as an excuse to avoid such establishments altogether. It's clear that I'm not the only mean mommy who feels that way. Strength in numbers, people.
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