I read a book once that said there is a real lack of dirt in the average American diet. The author says we need to have a little dirt on our hands so that we get it into our mouths on “accident” (ick), which sends it to our digestive system, keeping us healthy.
If that’s true, I think our family is going to enjoy many years of incredible health…
Talking about dirt reminds me of a Microbiology class I took once, back when I was under the misguided notion that I’d like to be a nurse (body fluids = not). The course was fascinating to me, to realize that there is a world – a moving, living, breathing world – that we cannot see.
For our labwork, we put a drop of water from a pond under the microscope and it was incredible how many creepy, wiggly things can live in a drop of pond water. Ew, thinking of those creepy, wiggly things entering our gut isn’t so appetizing. Gross.
But I’m not telling the kids about that just yet. I kind of like them dirty.
Charlotte Mason, a 19th-century educator, suggested that children get four hours of outdoor time every day. Of course, there weren’t the necessities like X-Box and computers then, so perhaps she’d revise it to 3:47 hours for our modern sakes.
I don’t know if our family meets the recommended 4 hours – or 3:47 hours – but I do manage to lure the children away from the electronic magnets every afternoon and give them free rein to get as dirty as they please.
That’s what water hoses are made for anyway, right?
In British English there is a saying “Eat a peck of dirt before you die”.
For those who don’t know, a ‘peck’ is a unit of volume measuring 554.84 cubic inches, which is a cube about two feet long on all sides – a lot of dirt by anyone’s standards.
And the saying keeps coming up more now there seem to be more children with asthma and allergies.
Behind the narrow meaning of the saying there is, of course, the more general meaning that it is not wise to swaddle or mollycoddle or treat children like precious beings to be kept safe and bundled up at all times.
So kudos to you for letting your child live freely.
Nice pictures, Lori. I especially like the one of your husband sacked out in the tree fort. I too think that Americans are too clean. We use too many cleaning products (and anti-bacterial soaps and lotions which kill the good stuff too). I think I got my “peck of dirt” when we lived in PNG–all those prayer meetings where we sat on the ground and played in the dirt instead of listening. Sadly, there will be no dirt to be found around here until May. We have dust bunnies though. Does that count, I wonder?
I just loved the pictures of the dirt and of your hubby up in the tree fort. He lookes super comfy!! I think I will get some dirt under my fingernails this morning as I want to spread more dirt in the garden before I plant a few things.
Love you
I completely agree, a certain degree of dirt does keep you healthy. It gives your body practice fighting off the bad stuff. So if anyone is lacking their fair share of dirt, we have an abundance. Just sweep it off my floor and you can have it.
Samantha
When thing seems up in the air And everything is so unfair And you stumble and fall Just pick yourself up and sing