With the holiday come and gone, many families are now working on Thanksgiving leftovers. Most Thanksgiving dinners include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, cranberry sauce, and all kinds of different sides depending on the family. For Hilary Duff’s 13-month old daughter Banks, one of her sides included dirt, and probably not the pudding dessert with gummy worms.
Duff posted a cute family selfie with her partner Matthew Koma, son Luca, 7, and Banks, on Instagram over this Thanksgiving weekend. The photo is quite impressive because getting a toddler to stand still and be happy long enough to take a picture is not easy. Banks’ has some brown spots around her mouth, which could easily be crumbs, but Duff was honest and told everyone “Banks just ate dirt”. Many parents have been in Duff’s shoes before and shared a laugh with the Lizzie McGuire star.
Toddlers are notorious for putting everything in their mouths. It is a way for them to process what they are holding and decide if it is edible. This frustrates parents because their toddlers are fine mouthing rocks, sticks, toys, wooden spoons, and iPhones, but will turn their heads and throw actual food on the floor.
However, when it comes to eating dirt, parents can let their toddlers grab a handful and not be worried. Healthy soil that does not contain feces or chemicals, has millions of bacterial cells that can help boost a toddler’s immune system.
Dr. Jack Gilbert who coauthored the book Dirt Is Good, said, “Your kid will benefit from increased microbial exposure from animals and plants more than the infinitesimally small chance they’ll get an infection because of that association.” So, it is okay to expose toddlers to dirt and even let them taste it. Parents can get some adorable pictures by letting their toddlers play in the mud as well!
Duff posted a few more pictures to her Instagram story about her family’s thanksgiving, including a picture of Banks in just her diaper. It’s unclear what Banks covered herself in, either more dirt or actual food, but she looked like she was having a fun time with her family. Duff is still busy working on the Lizzie McGuire reboot and her business partnerships, but she always makes sure her kids come first in her life.