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UK News

Christian child care expert weighs in on 'children eating soil' comment

by Tola Mbakwe

The 68 year old admitted on ITV that he once told a mother to let her son eat soil.

He said: "A lady said to me once 'What do I do about my little boy eating soil?' and I said 'make sure that he gets enough!' "

The Ground Force host believes parents are using antiseptic wipes excessively on their little ones.

"All these antiseptic wipes ... everybody catches everything now ... it's true ... (there are) no antibodies at all," he said.

Rachel Waddilove, a Christian and child care expert told Premier she agreed with the presenter.

"If you take everything away from them then their body doesn't have a chance to build up immunity," she said.

"I think it's like everything, it's getting a balance. I'm not for children sitting in their high chairs, throwing their food around and then scraping it off the floor and then giving it to them.

"What we're talking about is getting way from children being cleaned up all the time. They're not allowed to explore and do things like perhaps children did a generation ago."

Waddilove said parents should be strict on germ exposure when caring for new-borns and infants, but when children reach the toddler age, parents should be more lenient.

She explained: "You're not suddenly going to say ok we won't wash your hands, you can pick up worms out of the garden and eat them.

"It's not that, it's a gradual sort of thing. It's if they're playing outside and they tend to put something in their mouth and you get them to take it out because it might be a stone. It's not really going to hurt them."

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