When my youngest children were in preschool, within a minute of entering our house they would immediately “shed.” Socks, shirts, pants, even hair ties from braids would be dropped unceremoniously on the floor right in front of the door as they toddled off to play. Nowadays they’re tweens and, minus socks, the clothes (mostly) stay on until it’s time to bathe at the end of the day. But… were they onto something when they were little? That’s what Dr. Gabriella Dauer, a pediatrician who posts on TikTok as @oncallpeds wanted to know.
“Do you guys change your kids’ clothing when they come home from school?” she asked in a recent post. “I actually thought this would be an old wives tale, but I saw two pediatricians that I actually follow recently posting about this, like ‘One of the ways to keep your kids safe is to change their clothes when they get home.’ I have never done this.”
Obviously, she notes, if her kids are particularly grungey or sweaty or coming home from a strenuous sports practice she’ll have them change, but otherwise they just play in their school uniform until it’s time for a bath and pajamas.
Being a scientist, she wanted to dive into whether there was any truth to the idea that her current practices were putting her kids at risk for illness, so she took a look at the available research… and it’s great news for the less-than-meticulous mamas among us…
“Chances are slim to none,” she concluded. “[It’s] extraordinarily rare that enough staph or enough e. coli are actually going to be living on your clothing for enough time that you’re going to touch that area and then touch your mouth and nose. It’d have to be the perfect storm for you to ever get sick.”
Dauer went on to caution that while it might behoove healthcare workers who are routinely around sick patients to change after work, or for anyone to change if there’s an immunocompromised person in the house. But, generally speaking, you’re fine to let your kiddos wear the same outfit all day long.
“Honestly, I’m really shocked with this myth being passed around,” she marveled.
Despite this information, commenters were largely unconvinced.
“I change my own clothes if I sat in a public place,” reads one comment with more than 350 likes as of press time.
“Yes!” agrees another “Straight in the house, clothes come off & in bath. EVERY.TIME!” (This sentiment was among the most frequently repeated in the comments.)
“I make them wash their hands as soon as they get home,” reads another, more measured response. (And, indeed, doctors and scientists agree this can go a long way toward preventing illness.)
But most don’t think that’s quite good enough.
“No shoes in the house, change clothes, wash hands, and Lysol the lunch boxes and backpacks before they come inside,” replies another commenter.
Personally, I don’t mind clothes from outside coming in, but if people feel better changing or having their kids change, well, that’s their life and their laundry.
