Immunities

     Mom always said, "You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die."  I heard this every time I dropped a snack on the floor and whined that it was ruined.  Mom just gave it a rinse or dust off and handed it back to me.  As I got older, I complained about the grease spatters on the stove or our less than pristine bathroom.  You see, Mom was not the most fastidious of housekeepers.  A Finnish study just came out suggesting that families who own dogs have babies who suffer less respiratory illness and need fewer antibiotics.  Dirt and allergens, the dog's contribution to the household, seem to stimulate little one's immune systems.  http://news.yahoo.com/babies-dog-owning-families-may-healthier-041915748.html 
     The Finns must have spent a bunch of money on the project.  Why bother studying something that is already an established scientific principle?  Edward Jenner figured out how to vaccinate people against small pox in 1796.  Louis Pasteur expanded our understanding of germ theory in the mid to late 1800's.  Practitioners of homeopathy dispense a little of the problem to effect a cure.  Maybe the guy who set up the study was a dog lover who wanted to prove to young parents that pets won't harm babies.
     All this reminds me of another of my mother's mantras - you'll feel better if you get up and move around.  That was a nicer way of saying, "Suck it up," or "Walk it off."  I got so good at walking off colds, headaches, and menstrual cramps that I got awards for perfect attendance in the eighth through twelfth grades.
     So, don't worry too much if Junior takes a bite out of a mud pie.  Science has proven that if you grow up dirty, you'll grow up strong.  Geez, Kelly Clarkson even sang a song along those lines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH_dWijufDo