Washing baby's toys before first use?

Notsosharp

I am so relieved to read people don't wash their kids toys; I don't feel like such a bad mother now!

I didn't wash any of my DD's toys, second hand or not and she's now a robust healthy ten year old!

meer53

Never washed toys ! Eating a few germs is good for kids.

Lovelyjoolz

Enigma80 wrote: »

It would be interesting to know how many people wear outdoor footwear in the house?

Surely if you're conscious about outdoor dirt/germs enough to clean a teether, and you wear outdoor shoes indoors, then you should be equally as concerned as those outdoor germs are transferred indoors via your footwear.

What germs live on pavements outside??

onlyroz

Lovelyjoolz wrote: »

What germs live on pavements outside??

Probably less than on your kitchen sponge.

ebaybaby

zcrat41 wrote: »

No one washed the mud pies I made as a child. Or the dog nuts I occassionally stole and ate (weird child I know!). !

Im sorry but I read that as "the dogs nuts"!!!!!! :eek:

Never washed a toy ever, maybe its just me but I could never understand why people wash brand new clothes? I love the feel of new stuff!

p.s what are dog nuts???!!!

cte1111

Enigma80 wrote: »

We routinely wipe his other toys, just as we do our phones, keys, door handles etc....

I've never wiped my keys, never occurred to me. Not sure I wipe the phone or door handles really either. I give my mobile phone a bit of a clean because it gets smeary but the black home phone doesn't get washed down. Maybe the odd dust I guess.

I don't wash toys unless they look dirty. Had to give Barbie a good hair wash after my son got her hair all fun of mud in the garden the other day. Am interested to hear what people do at Xmas too, do you get them out of the boxes then wash them?

rumncoke

I'm another that didn't wash new toys. Now got a nearly 2 year old grandson and if I've picked stuff up from car boot I will wipe it over but never new stuff.

Got a little booster seat at car boot recently so he can sit at table and friend said it will be fine once its been wiped with milton. Sorry but at nearly 2 ordinary washing up liquid will do for me.

Too many anti-bac sprays around now do not do the developing immune system any good at all

mrs_sparrow

Lovelyjoolz wrote: »

What germs live on pavements outside??

Seriously? Someone might have spat on the floor and you have trodden in it also remenants of dog poo, dog wee, cat poo, bird poo etc.... it only washes away of it rains - and even then it might not wash away. When I walk the dogs there are dead birds and frogs on the road outside. I could bring plenty of remenants in.

That being said I am in the 'no' camp. We eat foods past their use before date and if it drops of the floor the kids will pick it up and as long as it is not dusty/hairy it gets eaten. If it is and can be washed, we do that.

*Touches wood* whenever the bugs go around the school mine do not get them, mine are the only ones to have not had a day off sick.

I think you can be too OCD about it, if you think about it, where does it stop? Toilet door handles from people who do not wash after going, door handles of shops, money, food in the supermarket - where has it been....? You cannot wash everything that someone else has touched, you'd be living in airtight plastic bubble with no social contact.

Some germs are good for you.

lolavix

I've never washed any toys...or wiped down door handles, phones etc for that matter.

Kids nowadays are wrapped up in cotton wool too much sometimes, and kept too clean. I used to eat mud pies and god knows what - didn't do me any harm.

There seem to be so many more allergies around now and I can't help thinking that it's because we have this scare culture that all germs are so bad for you, kids aren't given a chance to build up a proper immune system IMO.

Tiddlywinks

Cryztal wrote: »

It wasnt so much to steralise them but having worked in a factory makking plastic childrens toys it was to remove ay residual machine oil/powders etc.

This is why I think that plastic toys for young children (young enough to shove anything in their mouths) should be washed.

I wouldn't fancy sucking anything straight off the floor of a factory in a third world country so why would I expect a child to have to do it.

For me, it's not so much about the germs but about the chemicals / residue from the manufacturing process.