January 16, 2006
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Laundry Part 2
I want to give you another hypothetical. Pretend you went to the same laundry place mentioned in the previous post. Pretend you brought your two year old daughter. Pretend that there was toys there provided by the laundry place. Pretend the toys have probably been played with by several children who had various standards of cleanliness.
Do you allow your two year old child to play with the toys?
Comments (183)
No. Choking is such a high killer these days.
Get one child who has a cold, and it will float between the toddlers.
yeah
No. No need to invite infection.
i don’t think so..
I guess. My parents usally make us wash our hands when we get back from dirty places.
nope
That’s just common sense
No.If I knew I would be there for a while, I’d bring a small bag of toys from home for my two year old to play with.
Yes, and I would supervise the child.
Nicholas
I don’t think so.
Yes. but i’d have handy dandy chlorox sanitizing spray with me to spray on them and kill the germs.
heh.
it’s our “featured item” at work. only $2.99
sure after I wipe them down with disenftant wipes that I actually carry with me.
WIth an inward cringe, yes. I’d make my kid wash their hands though later.
no. i’d have brought something for her to play with.
cold germs are bad enough, but these days it’s worms, and fuckin gonnorreah that’s goin round.
how the FUCK do these kids get gonnoreah, i ask you?
mr. dmv, care to answer that for me?
no, I think I’d bring some toys or little books with us…xoxo Emily
16th!!!!! WHOOOO
If the kids wanted to. But definitely make them wash their hands a soon as the opportunity arose.
honestly though, i actually DO bring sanitized wipes with me to the grocery store, to wipe down the handles on my cart. yes all kids need to be exposed to germs, and i don’t thinkEVERYTHING needs to be antibac these days, shit, that’s just askin for a super bug, (capt. trips, anyone?)
BUT
if i KNOW that there’s some nasty ass shit there, i’ve got my lysol, and my wipes. that shit’ll kill ECOLI, man.
werd.
Yea, if there were nothing else for her to do. If there were no other people in the place I might take out a handi wipe and clean off some of the toys, but I wouldn’t do that if there were people there.
Really though, I wouldn’t want to have my 2 year old at the laundry place if I had any other choice.
yes
If that were really happening, I wouldn’t really care. I mean, tons of kids use the cruddy toys at the library…and at doctors’ offices and things.
What’s the point of saying no? The kid’s just gonna fuss.
Oh hell no.
No way! That’s sharing germs. Ewww!
Never. If I ever have kids they will never play with things I have not inspected or cleaned first.
yes. children will get sick, unfortunately. children will get better, hopefully.
Pfft ……….um no…….. unless I had some handy-dandy maximum power sanitizer. Cuz in this day and age, u never no what kind of germs could be on those toys……….it couldn’t even have remains of feces……..bleh
Eeehheeewww no way!!!
After a cycle in the washer, why not?
yeah, children are always getting dirty
Yes I would. How could you explain to 2 year old the the reason that they can’t. It would be a lot of work and time to keep them away from the toys. Besides there is only a small chance they will ever catch anything from it. Would you keep them out of a stream because various animals crap in it. Would you cover them in bubble wrap when there in the car because you might have an accident. Would you not allow them to walk because they might hit there head on something? You can’t prevent things from happening you may as well enjoy life.
Yeah, sure, why not? Sure theres germs, but I mean come on, protecting them from it will just make it harder for them later. Their imune system won’t be as strong. That, and it’d be lame for a parent to say “Oh my lord, those toys that you absolutely love to play with are covered in possible germs. Sit down over here and be bored out of your little mind.”…I’d be pissed if my parents did that to me.
ZOMG!!!!!! 32nd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
depends. 1) do the toys look clean? 2) is she a “gotta experience everything through taste” kinda kid? 3) what neighborhood is this in? and 4) does she herself have a contagious condition? (not everyting should be shared, you know.)
and 33rd too!!!!!!
Absolutely not! I am a sanitary clean freak at times, and the THOUGHT gives me chills. Think how many dirty little hands have touched those toys. Yikes…
crap………..dang it missiondriven…………… but touche………. ……..well I tried
Probably, it would depend on alot of different factors
Sure, let the kid enjoy themselves. Germs are everywhere…and let’s face it, you’re not going to be able to protect your child forever.
No, I would probably have brought some of her own toys, since I am obviously going to be there for a while, and I wouldn’t plan on the laundy place providing toys. I wouldn’t want to take that risk, a bored kid can be annoying.
And, ugh, laundry places, nasty…
No. Hopefully, I would have thought ahead and brought her own toys to place with.
id bring my own toys cuz if she sees those and has nothing to do she’ll throw a fit
no. because you don’t know what germs are on the toys.
And someone earlier mentioned remains of feces, and I thought I should tell everyone that a friend did a study in one of his classes and they found feces on the handles of shopping carts at Wal-Mart, along with numerous other germs. How nasty is that.
HELL NO. 2 year olds might put their fingers in their mouths or might put the toy in their mouth. you have no idea what kids can get. i’m a teacher and take my word for it.
No, way to many germs.
Amanda
No, I’d usually have the kids play.. look at the spinning laundry..
Heck no! I’d bring my own, clean toys.
Only after I boiled it for 5 minutes, soaked it in Clorox, and exposed it to UV light.
Most likely yes.. comon now who realie thinks right that second ” are those toys clean”
My child went to daycare a couple of days a week from very young. Germs happen. One thing I can tell you – after having “everything” early, she was one of the healthiest kindergarteners. Other kids were all out sick because they were being exposed to germs for the very first time, and those of us that had daycare kids hardly missed any time! Their immunity was good by then…
Ok, your mention in my post is up, lol
yeah, probably. it’ll help build up their immune system or something. Kids run around in the mud and pick their noses and stuff, what’s the difference? I’d probably make them wash their hands afterwards, but it wouldn’t be a big deal.
53rd!!!! ok I promise this is the last one for this post………….
Um…probably NOT…cause…who knows what they might have on them…ew!
If there was nothing else for them to do I probably would, and just use a sanitizer afterwards. Kids are kids and they’ll get sick occasionally, otherwise you may have a screaming or fidgety child on your hands…
Or I would just bring toys from home if I knew we would be there awhile.
of course. Most kids who had been playing with the toys weren’t that sick or else they wouldn’t be playing with the toys because they’re either at home or too sick to play. Plus all part of immunization to common diseases. Yes they mutate really quickly into, at least the flu, but if you protect your child from disease too much when he goes out on his own the first thing that’s going to happen is he’s going to get sick.
GARY
If I hadn’t thought ahead to bring a few of her own toys, I’d probably let her go ahead and play with them.
Hmmm. I’m not sure. One should consider the hygiene hypothesis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis
Consider also this article on Polio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio
“Young children who contract polio may sometimes suffer only mild symptoms, and as a result they may become permanently immune to the disease. Hence inhabitants of areas with better sanitation may actually be more susceptible to polio because fewer people have the disease as young children.”
Hmmm… Are we over-protective in some ways???
yeah, children need to be exposed to a certain amount of germs to build up their immune system, but it is a worthless opinion because I am not a parent
Oh, God no.
eh, it happens. depends on what the toys were.
No freaking way.
No, I’d bring her some toys from home to play with.
Or, I might after I wiped them down with a wet wipe or something.
i would say no, but if they refuse to listen and throw a tantrum, I would make them wash their hands afterwards.
quite doubtful… but i’ll let them play at a public playground… so…
No…absolutely no. We would have brought our own toys anyway….I never let my kids touch the hand rails on escalators…they laugh about that to this day!
Maybe, but then have them wash their hands after they’ve played with them. I think it’s ok, as long as they are clean afterwards. I wouldn’t bring her there often though.
maybe not.
yes. is that horrible? i carry wipes with me and normally clean toys from public places
At first I was going to say No. But I played with toys at the laundry place when I was 2 yrs old, and I haven’t had anything drastic happen to me. Yes, I probably would wash them off first, and not let my kid put anything in their mouth.
hmm i find most of your post pointless and that they do not invite deep thinking. Sorry but the material seems simple and not worthy of being posted beside a picture of the great C.S. Lewis.
my opinion, evan
depends on who else is playing with them.of course color does not matter, its more..how clean they look.
Tell the lady about the dredit, but tell her it’s alright and offer to use another of your quarters, but let her pay for it, she will. If she doesn’t, then she’s a bad person. MAybe not, but she should offer to pay.
Don’t let your kid play with those toys. That’s nasty.
And don’t stand in front of thejet engine when the pilot cranks it up, some guy made that mistake today and it cost him his life.
NO way~~!! I am a nursing major and learn about germs, lol
They might be carrying the bird flu! Or mad cow disease! Arrrrgggghhh!!
EWWWWWWWWWW! No! I always brought my children their own toys to play with, whenever I took them somewhere. Yes, I looked like a bag lady, carrying twins, with a toddler tagging along, and toys, and ‘what nots,’ but I never had to wonder where something that they were playing with had been.
or Pinworms lol
That’s what Clorox Ready Wipes are for.
Erika
No… too much risk involved…
not with what i know now…
when my kids were lil …i let them play with the toys in the dr waiting room….
i would not do that now….
yes, u cant protect them from everything and they could just as easily catch a cold from the door handle that other sick or dirty children have touched……and if they happen to get sick then there is always medicine to help cure colds or the flu……i would much rather my child live sick for 3 days than sheltered from the outside world for 18 years
Jesse
If they look anything like the toys at my local laudromat, absolutely not! The toys at my laundromat were old, scuffed, dirty, and falling apart. I would bring a bag of toys for my two year old to play with in the first place.
why not? your child isnt going to understand the reason you’re not letting her play. she’ll just think that you want to be mean and you dont want her to have fun. i think some people are a bit over-protective.
I don’t know. I think it would depend on the situation and how I felt about the overall cleanliness of stuff.
Feel free to have intellectual conversations on my Xanga.
Tom
are you sure these situations are hypothetical? yes, but id make sure hands got washed soon after, before too much face-touching occured. being exposed to a normal amount of “contamination” keeps the immune system strong (usually)
Probably. Germs are everywhere and kids get them. Have you seen “what about Bob”? Bob is a germ freak.
Tim
yes. please they’re two and everything on this planet is dirty anyway. hands doors everything. it’s not like playing with the toys means they will get sick. and there is always hand washing. believe me, mexico is much dirtier
If my kids are old enough not to put anything in there mouth, then yes. I would have them wash thier hands when they were done.
yeah, but I’d stop him from putting the toys in his mouth. and I’d probably wash/sanitize his hands afterwards
I would have broughts something for her to play with in the first place, so probably no
If she was bored out of her mind, possibly, provided I wash her hands before she eats or nibbles her fingers
In a draconian voice I was commanded, “do not play with the toys, only unclean children many play with the toys”… and thus, most of my pathology is explained. If only I was allowed to play with the toys…. if only….
lol
millions of people have touched the quarter that’s in your pocket
Yeah, last thing I need is a crying baby on my hands. If the kid gets sick…eh…I will throw him on the significant other and go on a vacation.
No; there is no excuse for that kind of carelessness.
Yes, after a coating of Purell which I always have….on the toys before and on the hands after.
Oh..and I agree with whoever said not with a child that still puts things in their mouth. If they’re that young I always packed toys. But my 6 yr. old will play with anything in a waiting room, hence the Purell on hand at all times.
Does a 2 year old ever really give you a choice?
2 yr olds put EVERYTHING in their mouth…its always better to have less germs than they already have
How is this different from the yos used at childcare centers? Or when your 2 yr old plays with other 2 yr olds? lol I’d probably let him/her play with them, especially if s/he’s really interested in themn. Otherwise it’s just torture.
Feel free to have intellectual conversations on my Xanga.
Tom
I probably wouldn’t go with a “little one,” but if I had to, I’d bring a bag of toys and a big blanket. “Don’t touch–that’s yucky!” . . .”Blech” to the community toys . . .
of course. it’ll build up his immune system.
leave a child unsupervised!?! thats absurd, but it might just work. why not! let them play while there young! wait im young, dang lol.
no…too many germs
yes i will, but i will tell them not to touch their mouths, eyes or any part of their face for that matter until after i put some hand sanitizer on them. those toys are filled with germs from previous people. i don’t want to ruin their fun. kids will be kids and want to play. i will let them play and then put sanitizer on their hands to kill the germs. it’s my way of compromising! LOL funny how i answered your question when i am not a mother and i don’t have kids.
Of course!
Geez, these kids are going to grow up with o.c.d
How else do you build up an immunity?
Only after I take the Lysol wipes from the car and clean what the kid wants to play with.
((( GRANDMA HUGS )))
Lori
Yes, can’t protect them from everything even though we try. But in trying we have to balance the protection from the experiences of growing up. Of course I would insist that they wash their hands after. But I used to eat mud pie when I was a child and I’m still alive. J
As to first laundry question…I think I would maybe laugh and say, “Oops, you just took my quarter!” Or something to that effect. I might not make any more of a deal than that…. maybe just let her have it… but mention it for sure….
Second laundry question…. you’re laundry place has toys??? DAMN. The kids inside our laundry mat just race around crashing those little laundry carts into everything…. little bastards…. but luckily I haven’t had to go there in a while.
It’s the same as letting your kids play with the toys they give at a hospital for kids to paly with.
Actually, no it isn’t.
Anyway, I wouldn’t let my kids play with those toys.
I’d probably have toys in the car or in my bag for them to play with.
You know why people like your Xanga so much?
Or at least why I like it so much?
You ask these questions that seem so simple and easy to answer, but when I start writing my response, I keep backspacing because I start to shift my opinions and then I have to sign off of AIM and just sit for a while trying to think of an answer that perfectly encompasses what I think.
I just end up not posting.
You also give off this sense of caring, so people are encouraged to respond.
I’d go on with this but it’s late and I’m exhausted.
Thanks for the great questions.
NO WAY !!!!!
yes. In general other parents have higher standards of cleanliness than me.
Within reason, yes. It depends if the laundry place is clean looking and if the toys are in a container or just scattered around the floor.
I used to let my kids play with toys provided in my doctor’s waiting room, and let’s face it, if you’re going to meet a germ it is guaranteed in a waiting room. My kids never caught anything nasty.
No. A two-year-old will still put things in his/her mouth and could choke on small parts. (not to mention the germ factor) I always took a toy or two along to a place like that (and a snack – Cheerios or crackers and a drink) so that my daughter would have something to occupy her time.
A fair amount of germs is healthy for kids. I’m sure playing with some old played with toys never killed anyone. People are way too paranoid these days. Haven’t you guys tripped outside when you were little and gotten a facefull of mud? Sandboxes anyone? Come on now… let a kid live a little.
RYC: thanks Dan, glad you agree.
– Jen
NO WAY!
no, I have a two yr old I kn ow what they do.
Additionally, I have a story. My little sister was at my grandmother’s house as a two yr old. She picked up a cat toy and put it in her mouth, later she developed a really bad infection in her mouth. I have been very cautious with my daughter around forgien play toys, you just don’t know who or what has touched them.
yes. Kids touch and lick all kinds of things no matter how hard you try to keep them away from it.
But, being the good mother that I will be, I would 1) not take my 2 year old to the laundramat, 2) take toys and books if I had to, and 3) carry around sanatizing wipes.
These situations don’t sound so hypothetical, and yes, she can play with the toys–if you become too much of a neat freak about your child, studies have shown that she could develop ceratin allergies and not develop certain immunities later in life. Besides, you can use this as a key lesson in “OK, this is how we wash our hands very thouroughly…”
I always took a few of my son’s own toys when we went places so he would have his own toys to play with.
I don’t think its the toys at the Laundry you need to worry about! “Germs” are everywhere! The toys you need to worry about are in the doctors waiting room! And by the way, did the Doc and his Nurse wash their hands between each and every patient? And if they did – can you imagine how raw they would be? We are so silly! I’ll bet most of us feel save in our cars!
Yes.
RYC: Haha thanks, it wouldn’t be the same, but I would still be here, waiting for the day when I got famous so I could tell everyone at my concert to go get a Xanga and comment to me, and they would. I would be taking up ALL the featured spots, w00p. lol
NO! No way! Public places are so dirty!
RYC: Actually, the countdown is the amount of time I have left before heading to Basic Training! We don’t have any access to the outside world either accept for letters. I will be in for 9 weeks and then AIT (job training) will be 18 weeks right after that.
Thanks though…I am getting slightly nervous! But I am sure I will be fine
Heck no … with a 2 year old I always had sooooomething that they could play with either in my bag or in the car. No sense in getting the whole household sick.
nope…
yes, kids need to build up their immunity to the germs of the world. i would have them wash their hands aftewards though.
nnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooo chance
Well, I do, but I have different, dare I say, more relaxed standards than a lot. Kids get sick, it’s a fact of life.
I was raised back before car seats and antibacterial everything. Some of these young 20-somethings with kids are pretty paranoid about everything IMO.
for the record, my kids are rarely sick. I do breastfeed them, yes, even when I have a cold, so perhaps they are largely immune anyway.
no i wouldnt because you dont know what was in those toys i already dont take my baby to places like that its so many ways to get sick
NO.
…or unless the two year old is crying. I’ll give him the toys.
Just bring along some Clorox wipes and some Lysol. Disinfect everything and call it good.
No way. I would bring my child his/her own toys. It doesn’t matter if all of the kids were millionaires children, there are too many germs spread.
Kids are going to get sick no matter what you do. If you go around ”handi wiping” everything YOU are just asking for your kid to catch something. Children have to be able to build up immunities to “bugs”.
Obviously if they were covered in human or animal waste then no. But, if they are sitting there and they look fine then yeah, I’d let my kid play with them.
if you’ve ever taken a microbiology class you would say NO too.
Um..no. I wouldnt want my daughter to get a disease or lice or something =/
No there’s no telling what kind of sicknesses the children that previosly played with the toys carried.
If they wanted to play with them I wouldn’t stop them but I would have brought them toys because as every mother knows you don’t take a two year old any where without their favorite toys….
I have taken many courses in microbiology, supervised a clinical microbiology lab, a parasitlogy lab (years ago) and had kids – now in college and graduate school. I really wonder if there is not validity to the hygiene hypothesis. Your kids will all get diseases – the only question is whether they will have a healthy immune system when they do. The first kid we were extremely careful to be clean and protecting from dangers in the envirnoment, etc. – and that kid has had severe alergy-aggravated asthma since 3-4 years of age – and while suffering from asthma and allergies, was much more susceptible to other “germs” in the environment. With the second kid, we followed the silly 5-second rule. The second kid has always been healthy as a horse. Now while this is merely an anecdotal observation, not a statistical study, it does tend to make you go: Hmmmmmm.
I wouldn’t want my children to be afraid to touch things, so I would generally let them. I would also teach them good hygiene/sanitation so that they wouldn’t be foolish. So they’d play and wash. Unless I could see boogers on the toys. No boogers, thanks!
I have always kept my children in sterile environments, wearing bubble suits. It’s very expensive, but it’s best that they be exposed to no germs in their entire lives.
Kids will be kids. Germs are everywhere. Live in fear, or accept the possibilities with inevitabilities and live it up.
No but i dont wanna be one of those parents who are so overprotective they miss out on eveerything. like my fiances mom never let them do ANYTHING bc she was afraid of them catching something, getting hurt,etc. i know they will be spoiled and well taken care of but i cant be like that. it would be the same as in a doctors office almost bc of sick kids playing with the toys so id prob make them wash their hands or soemhtng afterwards. but i wouldnt let my baby or toddler play with any outside toys bc they put them in their mouth and all.
NO to germs
Depends on if the child was old enough to know better than to put it in their mouth, if so, yes. But they’d be using purse-sized hand sanitizer afterward.
is this really theological?
That is a tough one because it may involve a number of other people. Suppose that there are kids there already playing with them? How do you tell your child that she can’t do it because those other kid’s mother obviously doesn’t care if her kids play with dirty toys.
With my grandbaby it would be a major battle to keep her away.
I there were no other kids there, I would try my best to hide them before my kid discovered them. Failing that, (and if I were up to the fight) I would put them somewhere she couldn’t get to them.
If I wasn’t up to it, I would let her play and trust God that she would be all right. Then when we were ready to go, I would try to sieze the opportunity to toss them in the dumpster.
I mean, c’mon, who in their right mind would leave toys for kids in the laundramat?
L,r
is this really Theological in nature?
If it was my first child..never in a million years…but if it were my 12th child…”sure go ahead and play with the toys, lick them if you want to”.
i’d have stuff for them to occupy themselves with on hand
Yes. My parents are always overprotective of me, and look where I am! I’m assuming it’s a hypothetical situation where it’s either play with dirty toys or do nothing. No handiwipes, no other toys, not what you’d normally do, just dirty toys and a kid. So what if they get sick, they will a thousand times over anyway. Not that I’m apathetic, just that i realize children need to experience some hardship too.
That would be really gross, but if you have your kid in day care, the same thing happens.
no…i say bring somethign for your child to play with…those crayola color magic markers and paper are great because they can be left in the car.
at least if you kid plays with the ones in the waiting rooms at the doctors they spray those down nightly with bleach…i doubt the laundromat does the same.
yuck…never!
I wont even allow my daughter to play in those filthy fast food playgrounds. They are distgusting
. I think I am passing my ocd to her. She flushes public toilets with her foot, opens doors with her sleeve..and never turns the sink off without a papertowel…Ive created a monster.
No. I’d have my child’s own toys in my car so I’d get one out for her to play with.
hey if I played with them when I was little, my kids will live.
I’d just make sure they kept their fingers out of their mouths like my mom did with me. Maybe I’d bring disinfectant wipes to wipe their hands with or hand sanitizer gel. *shrugs* A toy is a toy is a toy
Of course I’ll let them play with the toys, but I’ll keep an eye on them still, to make sure they don’t put it in their mouths, or anything. The public toilets at Wal-Mart and some of the little kid books at the public library cannot be any dirtier. When we get home I will make my child take a shower and clean themselves.
nooo
The only toy that hasn’t been played with is new. The mind of a child is simple and they tend to play with simple things ie cardboard boxes.
Oh no! Let’s pretend that we brought our 2 year old daughter AND some toys and snacks…..and enough resolve to keep her from running and/or pushing the baskets all over the place. Afterall you will probably be there 20-45 minutes if all you have to do is dry that comforter….and all those baskets are on wheels……..or bring a happy meal – it has everything you need for a 20 minute project for a 2 year old.
yes if the child was watched. then you’d probably want her to wash her hands immediately after.
Whoever said that millions of people have touched the quarter in your pocket made a good point. You can’t protect them from everything.
Purell is your friend.
Whoever said that millions of people have touched the quarter in your pocket made a good point. You can’t protect them from everything.
Purell is your friend.
personally, no. I would have thought about the possibility of my child’s boredom, therefore thinking first of what I would have wanted to avoid – a screaming child while I’m trying to get laundry done. I would have brought my own toys from home.
using old toys is not bad, just clean them before
depends on how much my child would want to play the toys
YES, yes, I do. Germs, schmerms. Makes ‘em stronger. Well, unless my child had an auto-immune disorder.
heck no ,i would probably have brought toys for them to play with if not probably clean them or something of that sort
no, no, noooooooo.
yes, thats the nature of the world. Playgrounds are dirty, but kids go there too. you cannot disinfect the world. sometimes its a bit messy
Yea there ganna get dirty and sick regardless there kids it better then them screaming and running all over.
Probably not. Although, years ago, we let our first son play with toys in a waiting room. Did not think about the cleanliness thing. I don’t think he ever caught anything, though. God bless and take care.
No, I wouldn’t want my child to get sick. If I knew I was going to be there for a while I would bring along a couple of their toys from home.
no, lil kids dont know any better && they put everything in their mouth.
No I wouldn’t let them play with them.
http://www.maddhat.com/forums/phpBB2/ a cool new forum, sign up and start voicing your opinions!
probably… kids eat stuff off the floor and pick their noses right before asking to hold an adult’s hand… you can’t keep kids from getting dirty, you just have to make sure you get them to wash their hands often.
NO! She can bring and play with her own toys
I think people need to evaluate their “no” answers. Are they saying no because they really think something will happen to their kid that will affect his future– and I mean long-term future– health, or just because it seems ewwy?
As long as I knew my child didn’t put stuff in her mouth, there isn’t any visible grime on the toys, and I could always watch her while she was playing, I’d let her play with the toys. I wouldn’t wipe them down before I let her touch them, either. And I probably wouldn’t make her wash her hands afterwards, unless we were about to eat.