To eat or not to eat?

For Not Me! Monday (a blog carnival created by MckMama; you can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing - but really have!) I thought I'd confess something about my parenting:

I do NOT occasionally allow my children to eat off the floor (or ground).

My rules around this are NOT so gray that my older children will drop something and then ask me if they can eat it!

These are NOT some of the guidelines I follow regarding allowing my children to eat dropped food:

• Food dropped on the kitchen floor shortly after it's been mopped -- go ahead and eat it!
• Food dropped on the kitchen floor when it really, really needs to be mopped -- don't eat it!

• Food dropped outside in the grass - yeah, just pick off the grass and eat it.
• Food dropped outside in the dirt or mulch - don't eat it!

• Food dropped in the service station while the car is getting a "15 minute oil change" that has now taken 45 minutes, I am nearly out snacks and the toddler's exhausted the very few things I brought to entertain him - eat the food, that is the least of my worries right now!
• Food dropped anywhere in McDonalds - Gross! Don't eat it!

I had this scenario just last week and discovered a new rule (the one I'm now most proud of)

• Food dropped someplace I deem "clean enough" - eat it!
• Food dropped someplace I deem "clean enough" but I see another adult looking at my kid - "No, don't eat that off the floor! It's dirty!" I say to my child not because I'm really worried about them eating the food but just to avoid being labeled a "bad parent".
  

Happy Monday, everyone!

Find more Mama Guilt Mondays here.