Grass and dirt

[JordanKX]

Do you let your LO's eat grass and dirt? Is there a point where too much is... too much?

I allow DS to play with textures, put the grass in his mouth. But most of the time, I'll take it out of his mouth so he doesn't "chew" or swallow it.
Same with dirt, I let him, the first time, pick up dirt and put it in his mouth.
But then I swiped it out.

If we're outside, which we are a lot, not allowing ANY grass/dirt to enter the mouth... that's nearly impossible. I'm just sitting here on my laptop right now watching him in the yard, picking up grass. He's not eating it, at the moment, but he will try again soon.

What do YOU do with your LO's?

[toughcookie]

i let my son (9 months) chew on grass and clover. the purple or white clover flowers are his favorite, and they are edible. i don't let him chew on weeds or grass-wannabees that i don't know what species they are, and i don't put him down anywhere the dog likes to hang out! i don't let him swallow the grass and flowers, i pull them out when they're soggy.

i don't let him put dirt in his mouth at all. too many bacteria and parasites are transmitted through dirt, i just don't like the idea of it.

when i was a baby, my mother let me make and sample mud pies, though, and i'm still around!

[MiracleMama]

Yeah I am pretty careful about this. I was just outside with ds wondering if I am too careful, actually, but we have a lot of weeds in our grass right now so it makes me nervous.

[kismetbaby]

If I didn't let him eat any grass or dirt we'd be trapped indoors all day and that would be awful! Really, my son is very active, loves to be outside, but does sometimes (okay, most times) put things in his mouth--rocks, sand, dirt, sticks, leaves, grass. . .you name it. I try not to let him swallow too much and I try to make sure its not really icky (I try to avoid dog areas etc), and plants that could be poisonous, but I also decided not to be a nervous-nelly about it. He's a spirited boy, eating a little dirt is probably the least of my concerns to come!

[Norasmomma]

I let my kids eat all the grass, dirt, sand they wanted-they get over it and move on. For myself the bigger deal I made of it the more crazy it made me. I do draw the line with anything stick-like or rocks, but dirt, eh....Both my kids have pretty darn good immune systems, so that may be why.

[RiverandJulie]

There is a great book called genome, in which the author discuses dirt. I dont have it in front of me right now, but will post later with it.
Apparently there are microorganisms in dirt that boost our babies immune systems and there are correlations betwen eating dirt and allergies. As in, eat more dirt, get less allergies.
Of course, I would not let my baby eat dirt or grass with pesticides or herbicides.

[elmh23]

I pretty much only take it out when I notice, but since this kid is my third and the second one is a 3-year-old runner who I have to keep eyes on all the time, sometimes he swallows. I don't worry about it, though I will say I try not to set him down on dirt because dirt coming out the other end causes lots of diaper issues (it's mostly just a pain to clean up, but rashes also happen.)

[ErinYay]

I let V eat grass. You just sort of get a sense of when they've had enough.

I'm a big believer in the health benefits of dirt.

[Tway]

Thanks for posting this! Over the weekend, we were at a BBQ and DD was all dressed up in her summer dress. I didn't want to put her on the ground for fear she'd dirty herself, eat grass, chew on sticks... whatever.

But by the end of the day, I thought to myself "Yeesh, poor kid. She just wants to explore" so I finally let go and put her down. She loved it! Dirtiest knees ever, but I realized I was holding the poor kid back.

Happy to see other moms so free with the grass and dirt!

[JordanKX]

Originally Posted by RiverandJulie

Of course, I would not let my baby eat dirt or grass with pesticides or herbicides.

This is kind of my take too. We don't use any chemicals on our yard/gardens, so the dirt is okay. And I keep him out of areas the cat likes.

Thanks for the links on the benefits of dirt - this is just what I needed! I'm not really an up-tight kind of person, just curious about what others do. Thanks for the info!

[JordanKX]

Originally Posted by Tway

Thanks for posting this! Over the weekend, we were at a BBQ and DD was all dressed up in her summer dress. I didn't want to put her on the ground for fear she'd dirty herself, eat grass, chew on sticks... whatever.

But by the end of the day, I thought to myself "Yeesh, poor kid. She just wants to explore" so I finally let go and put her down. She loved it! Dirtiest knees ever, but I realized I was holding the poor kid back.

!

Exactly! we spent SO much time outside, whether at the house, the park, or at the River. Lots of At the river. And DS loves rocks. And I"M okay with that, as long as they're big enough that he's just tasting them and not able to put them in his mouth (swallow). So he has to take a few more baths.... alright! :-)

[kismetbaby]

Sometimes we bath a couple times a day, b/c DS has been crawling through dirt/sand/water/leaves. But he loves getting a bath, so its no problem. And on hot days I'll just rinse him off with the hose before we go inside

I have great childhood memories of making mud-messes, I don't want to keep him from that. Although I am looking forward to the day when he stops eating everything. . .when does that happen?

[JordanKX]

Originally Posted by kismetbaby

Although I am looking forward to the day when he stops eating everything. . .when does that happen?

Yeah, seriously.

I'm not encouraged by my God-son, 4yo, who still puts everything in his mouth. granted, he's a little developmentally challenged, and he doesn't EAT anything. But it first always goes in the mouth.

[confustication]

The 'everything in the mouth phase' usually ends by the time they are two- though my 2 yo is just really getting INTO it now as he has some delays.

Honestly, I don't think that a child can graduate from toddlerhood without eating grass and dirt- it's just a part of life for active kids.

[carmel23]

Please have the dirt in your yard tested for lead. Dirt is a huge source of lead exposure for children and babies.
All dirt contains some lead... but some has extremely high levels. Applied knowledge is power.
Many cities and counties have ag. extension offices that will do it for free or very low cost. We had ours tested for like 20 bucks.

[Nicole730]

I try to stop dirt/sand just because it grosses me out. Sand moreso than dirt.

Grass, well apparently so, as we've had a few diapers with grass in them.

I don't make a big deal out of it at all, I just try to redirect. But playing with the grass, pulling it, tasting it is so much fun for her than I don't see it as a big deal.

Good to know on the lead - thanks!

[34me]

Originally Posted by Norasmomma

I let my kids eat all the grass, dirt, sand they wanted-they get over it and move on. For myself the bigger deal I made of it the more crazy it made me. I do draw the line with anything stick-like or rocks, but dirt, eh....Both my kids have pretty darn good immune systems, so that may be why.

My kiddos are way older than babes but we let them all eat dirt and they are all incredibly healthy. They even had to go to school last year when half their school was out with the flu because they were just not sick - ever

[noobmom]

I don't let my kids eat grass or dirt. They're healthy LOL. I would let them eat clover since that's an edible.

[Kmama2]

Originally Posted by kismetbaby

If I didn't let him eat any grass or dirt we'd be trapped indoors all day and that would be awful! Really, my son is very active, loves to be outside, but does sometimes (okay, most times) put things in his mouth--rocks, sand, dirt, sticks, leaves, grass. . .you name it. I try not to let him swallow too much and I try to make sure its not really icky (I try to avoid dog areas etc), and plants that could be poisonous, but I also decided not to be a nervous-nelly about it. He's a spirited boy, eating a little dirt is probably the least of my concerns to come!

Yeah this is me. Ds puts everything in his mouth but I try not to let him swallow much of it. Our grass is animal free... so I don't have to worry about that at least.