Steph Peters Am I the only one noticing more parents freaking out over the smallest amount of dirt on their kids and freaking out over germs? Then they wonder why their kids keep getting sick; maybe it’s because you are hurting their immune system by not allowing them to build one up. Step away from the hand sanitizer for a minute!
I grew up with a cornfield in my backyard and would spend hours outside. Running, basketball, roller blading, gardening, climbing trees, and just playing goofy games with our imagination. My parents would let us just play and wouldn’t come bathe us in hand sanitizer. We would wash our hands before dinner and that was that.
My husband and I finally did that family camping trip we have been putting off for 3 years. We kept making excuses that the kids were too young or would be too challenging to get them to sleep in a tent. I wish we would have done this sooner. Seeing our kids playing in nature and getting dirty was really fun to watch. They were using their imaginations with pine cones, piles of dirt, sticks, and loved burying their toys just to dig them up again.
We went on walks around the campsite looking for different animals, rocks, and sticks. Our 3 year old loved finding sticks for our campfire while our 2 year old loved exploring and eating s’mores. 
Being able to actually SEE the stars in the sky was a beautiful moment right before getting ready for bed.
Are you hesitant to take your little ones camping? Don’t. Of course we had a few frustrating/challenging moments, but overall was a great trip and are already planning the next. Let your kids dig in that dirt, play, use imagination, and ask yourself if you are overusing sanitizer.
