When my son was first born, I was a newly sworn officer of the germ police. Forget the five-second rule. Even one second was too long. Now I fully admit to allowing Kellan to eat food that has fallen on the floor. Even after reading the blog post about a study on the five-second rule in the July issue of NG, I still take the fallen food question on a case-by-case basis. Just yesterday, Kellan dropped his popsicle on our deck and picked it up faster than I could say, "Wait, don't eat that!" It would have been more of an ordeal to wrestle it away from him than to just let him eat it, so I did.

Before reading the article, I always assumed my home was cleaner than, say, our favorite park. So I've been more permissive about letting my son eat food that fell on the floor at home than the bark dust at the park. But according to Clemson University food scientist Paul Dawson, my kitchen is actually not the place to dust off a cracker and hand back to my child. In fact, the kitchen is the perfect place for harboring bacteria, like salmonella. I figured a wooden deck was safer than the kitchen counter. Sometimes you just can't get between your kid and his frozen treat. 

For a quick look at the blog post and the fun behind taking the perfect picture to go along with it, check it out here.