The Gemini Diaries

LeeAnn does a great job keeping tabs on the all the toy and food recalls out in the news and wanted to be sure to alert you to one that surprised us both. Here's a snippet from the press release with all the relevant information:

"CDC Alert Issued for "Playgroup" Entertainment Venue"
Atlanta, GA (Baby Science Monitor) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is alerting parents and health care providers to new evidence indicating a marked increase in incidences of sickness in children exposed to the entertainment venue known as Playgroup.

Playgroup is a naturally occurring social event generally sponsored by at least two but as many as ten mothers (and rarely fathers - 5.3% incidence) during which time children converge on the playgroup "scene", engage in the communal sharing of toys and food, engage in boisterous play, occasionally listen to educational music and then quickly dissipate for evening rituals such as dinner and bath time. Infection of consenting playmates is often unintentional and wholly unexpected.

Playgroups are hotbeds of crud (gutteralus scratchicus), the sniffles (septus runnicus incessentae), foot and mouth (OMG nomen maximus malus) and the general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament (Malus Medicus). Detection of infected agents while at playgroup is often difficult, if not impossible. Many children are mere carriers of their own special blend of contagion, having already suffered through the disease they carry. In rare cases, parents bring visibly sick children to the setting but this is highly discouraged by the herd and said introductions of sick persons is widely frowned upon. Nevertheless, reports of sick children being admitted continue to rise. This is often accompanied by statements such as "I think he's fine now, I mean the vomiting stopped this morning." "She's on antibiotics." and "Yea, his nose is running but, I mean, it's not green." (LeeAnn's personal favorite)

Says Tobias Fünke, PhD, Director of CDC’s Center for Childhood Contagion Evaluation and Research, "As a researcher, the scheduled and predictable nature of these playgroups is both encouraging and discouraging to me. The cure for playgroup spread illnesses has been known since the beginning of time: abstinence. But many young parents want to experiment with their children's immune systems. They've heard that in order to be popular, you have to have playgroup with multiple partners, sometimes attending multiple playgroups in a single day. It's the classic case of science versus sociology - while the cure is clear, no amount of science will curb a person's natural desire to be liked and welcomed by his or her peers. Sadly, it's the children that pay the price - and increasingly, the parents too."

I found this article to be arresting because it really hit home, particularly because the entire Smith clan, even LeeAnn (Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!) was brought to its collective knees last weekend (and continuing through the week) by a contagion of unknown origins. After reading this release, I am now suspecting playgroup to be a possible suspect and would urge our friends to be wary of these venues.

If you suspect someone of having playgroup, you are urged to contact the CDC as quickly as possible.