Last week's Cheerios. The remote you couldn't find yesterday. A toy swept under the couch. If it's on the floor, chances are it'll find its way into your baby's mouth.
Grossed out yet? While you shouldn't encourage this behavior, you don't need to take drastic measures to prevent your baby or toddler from eating off the floor — or panic if you're unable to intercept it.
Germs from inside your house are ones that your child has already been exposed to, especially if he does most of his playing on the floor. That means they're usually not harmful and in fact may make his immune system stronger by giving it a little practice.
Even germs that he picks up from the floor of your neighbor's house or at the day-care center can help on this front. So stay calm when you catch your little in the act of eating off the floor (read: no need to launch germ warfare with antibacterial rinses or wipes, even if it's days past the five-second rule).
Instead, save your truly heroic efforts for keeping the very unhealthy and the downright unsafe from reaching his eager mouth. Those include:
- Soggy leftovers. Topping the "very unhealthy" list are damp objects left on the floor — that day-old teething biscuit he sucked on for hours, the pacifier soaking in a puddle of juice, or the glob of sweet potatoes that's been decomposing under the high chair since Sunday — because bacteria multiply rapidly on wet surfaces. These are definite eating-off-the-floor no-nos.
- Outside threats. Also unhealthy (and unsuitable for consumption, five-second rule or not) are objects picked up from the ground outdoors or in public spaces, where less-benign germs (those from dog poop, for instance) make their unwholesome home. Before letting your baby pop a dropped pacifier or bottle back into his mouth when you're outside, rinse it under water (or use a diaper wipe if there's no water around).
- Lead alert. Paint chips may contain lead from hidden paint layers in homes built before 1978 (when lead-based paint was outlawed). Because lead can be toxic to infants even in tiny amounts, one savvy way to detox your home is to check all baseboards and low windowsills for any cracked or peeling paint.
- Bite-sized dangers. While germs and babies shouldn't mix, the "downright unsafe" category also includes objects that pose a choking hazard. You'll need to be extra vigilant to keep such items out of your baby's reach — and out of his mouth. Always do a sweep of the area where your child will be playing before you set him down, and remove any small objects (coins, batteries, pet kibble, buttons and so on) from the floor and low shelves and furniture. Any object that can fit through a toilet-paper tube — whether a toy or a hard piece of food — is a choking hazard. And being the smart parent that you are, make sure you're well-versed in infant CPR.
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