Great Picture

NPR had a story about how a growing body of research has found that children being exposed to lots of germs early in life can be beneficial. This exposure can result in children being less likely to develop allergies, asthma, and autoimmune disorders as they grow up. As a result of gender roles, young girls are often encouraged more to remain clean and keep a higher standard of cleanliness than boys. This discrepancy can be a possible factor in health differences between the genders -- like that women have a higher rate of asthma, are more likely to have allergies, and that autoimmune disorders affect them three times more often than men.

It was an interesting article, but one thing I really loved about the article was the included picture:

I think this photo by Bill Pugliano is so great! I just love this picture of this carefree 7-year-old having a great time. I was totally that kid that loved playing in the mud.