Australian children are to
be banned from blowing out candles on birthday cakes under new hygiene
regulations that have been slammed by the Australian Medical Association as
“bubble-wrapping.”
According to Australia’s Daily
Telegraph, the guidelines, set by Australia
“Children love to blow out their candles while
their friends are singing ‘Happy birthday,’” the document states. “To prevent
the spread of germs when the child blows out the candles, parents should either
provide a separate cupcake, with a candle if they wish, for the birthday child
and enough cupcakes for all the other children.”
Daycare staff should also
be required to clean toys, doorknobs, floors and cushion covers with
germ-killing disinfectant on a daily basis, while youngsters must wash their
hands with alcohol-based sanitizer before and after playing in sandpits, says
the NHMRC.
But Australian doctors say
the guidelines go too far, noting how exposure to bacteria is essential for the
development of a healthy immune system.
“If somebody sneezes on a
cake, I probably don’t want to eat it either — but if you’re blowing out
candles, how many organisms are transferred to a communal cake, for goodness’
sake?” AMA president Steve Hambleton told News Ltd.
“It’s normal and healthy
to be exposed to a certain amount of environmental antigens that build up our
immune systems. If you live in a plastic bubble you’re going to get
infections [later on] that you can’t handle.”
The NHMRC also urged
parents to allow their children to stay at home if feeling unwell in order to
avoid unnecessarily spreading infections to their school classmates. Schools
should ignore doctors’ letters that state a pupil is healthy if teachers
suspect otherwise, said the council.
Thanks: World Time
