Let Them Eat Dirt!

My mom tells me that her grandmother used to say that "babies need a pinch of dirt every day". For some time I have assumed this was said to excuse that lack of cleanliness... or rather to offer a nod to a baby's keen ability to find every speck of dirt in even the most sterile of environments. Granted, the thought of forgiving minimal dirt intake makes me panic less. I do still obviously stay in tune to the soon-to-be-consumed "dirt", speedily removing it from my baby's firm grasp, or prying open her vice-like jaws to fish out the foreign object.

Bear didn't really put articles in his mouth. Then again, he didn't need a bib past 10 months or so. He was all business, all the time. Peach has a preference for paper. Not a whole lot else either. Just paper of all varieties. And it is a very intense craving. And then there's Lambie. Lambie, if there was no dirt to be found, would peel, with her infant fingers, the wrappers off of crayons, eat them, then eat the crayon. She would also meticulously pull individual carpet (what do you call them?) fibers/yarns out and eat those. I was continuously on patrol with her. Sometimes I wasn't fast enough, but she never choked, she never got unusually sick, she never died.

Which I guess is the point.


There are actually articles online declaring that a little dirt, as a child, can make a child smarter, can help ward off illness, and can even help prevent diabetes. So what they are saying is, not only will a little dirt not hurt you, it might help you. And I wonder...is this a "glass of wine per day keeps you healthy" theory? Or, is dirt really, genuinely helpful?

I've decided that as my children have or have not eaten dirt, they have learned what is nasty, what makes them choke, what will hurt if you pull it down and it falls on you, what feels awful. After watching "Babies", the documentary, I have come to realize that we encourage a very sterile environment in our culture. Imagine what the babies throughout the world learn about their dirt... Do they learn the harm of dirt before our babies, or is it personality driven like my own babies?

After pondering letting a child eat dirt, recognizing that I would risk life and limb to save them from the dirt, if need be, I realized God lets us eat dirt. We make the choice, but we can't choose the consequence. God might let us just eat the dirt, knowing we won't die from it. Or he might wrestle it out of our firm grasp. (Standing back and watching, like he did with Job for a while. Poor Job.) The dirt may be hideous, or we may like it, and have to learn that it wasn't actually good for us in the first place.

Whatever the case is, I am smarter from eating a pinch of dirt every day. I know what dirt will kill me. I know what dirt I hate. I am learning to watch out when I'm eating a little dirt here and there without realizing it. And one day I will stop when I have learned enough.

As far as my children, I will relax, and let my children learn. I will let them eat a pinch of dirt from this world they are a part of, with guidance of course; standing close by in case I need to do a frantic finger sweep...