Science Confirms: Kids playing in the mud and dirt are healthier

Jack Gilbert, a research scientist from the University of Chicago and co-author of “Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child’s Developing Immune System,” recently told NPR that what parents have always been told about kids and dirt is just plain wrong.

A little dirt has not harmed anyone, but today's "modern" parents always fear that something will happen to their children, so they overprotect them and do not allow them to play outside properly. Parents are worried that their children will get sick so they constantly clean and bath them in antibacterial solutions, but this is the worst thing you can do to your young child. You need to take care of baby hygiene, but world doctors have found that young children need to be in contact with microorganisms in order for their immune system to develop properly.

Organisms living in the sand and mud have been found to positively influence antibodies in the body of children and actually make them stronger. When children are young, their immune systems are very weak. That is why it is important for them to strengthen themselves and to prepare for bigger and more serious threats. The immune system becomes stronger when exposed to tiny microorganisms that it later becomes completely resistant to.

Because of this, children playing outside, especially in mud and sand, are far healthier than children who spend time in cleaner and indoor environments. Children who are there simply do not have contact with different microorganisms, so their immune system does not have the opportunity to get used to them. That is why such children later become ill and often grow up in people struggling with asthma and other allergies.

So, just let the kids be kids, play and get dirty occasionally, because it's healthy for them.