“She’s a bad mother. Look how messy that baby is!” It took a moment for me to translate the accusation into English and process the criticism being leveled. On overseas assignment in a developing country, I was eating among locals in a noodle shop, reminding myself of the hygiene hypothesis – exposure to germs early in …
Tag: hygiene hypothesis
How Clean is Too Clean?
My one year old daughter, M, toddles toward a litter of kittens, who are fresh from a party in the litter-box and shakes her little butt as if to pounce. “No!” my mother exclaims and reaches down to grab M. “Let her play with them,” I say and grab her hand. “What if she gets …