無菌の状態は何をつくるのか

「基礎体力，心の力」と同じ意味合いの天声人語です。ついでにその英訳もご賞味あれ。（UG）
2010年6月11日（金）付
亡くなった多田富雄さんが読売新聞に連載していた「落葉隻語」は、ライバル紙ながら楽しみだった。今度一冊にまとまったのを読み（青土社刊）、また色々と教わった。近ごろの日本人の「過剰な無菌志向」を案じて、こう書いている▼「子供がたまに発熱したり下痢したりするのは、黴菌（ばいきん）との戦い方を習得しているからである。……成長の時期にここで戦い方を学習しないと、雑菌に対する抵抗力が弱くなり、逆にアレルギーを起こしやすい体質になる」と。そして「免疫学者の私が言うのだ。信じていい」▼しかし、無菌志向はますます高じているようだ。たとえば子の遊ぶ砂場も、砂には抗菌加工をし、抗菌用の備長炭を敷いたのが人気だと小紙の記事にあった。ショッピングセンターの有料施設だが、犬猫のふんもなく安心なのだという▼東京の声欄では高校生がそれを嘆いていた。「過剰に気にすると、鳥のふんも不潔と気になるだろう」という、その感覚に一票を投じたい。生きとし生けるもの、「汚さ」なしに命をつなぐことはできないのだから▼ある元大学教授は小紙に、「そのうち犬や猫にも触れなくなってしまうのではないか」と感想を寄せていた。加えて「危ない」やら「騒がしい」やらで近年、遊ぶ場所はとみにインドア化していると聞く。幼い日常がやせ細ってはいないか心配になる▼五感を働かせてのびのび遊ぶ経験は将来、親が思う以上に生きる力を生むそうだ。過保護で芽を摘むことなかれ。多田さんの一節を、子育て全般への貴重な教訓と読む。

Germ-free obsession makes us susceptible
Tomio Tada, an immunologist who died in April, used to write the "Rakuyo Sekigo" column in the vernacular Yomiuri Shimbun.
Even though Yomiuri is our main rival, I was a big fan of Tada's edifying column. Thus, I enjoyed reading it again when Seidosha Inc. published the columns in book form.
Tada was concerned about the recent Japanese obsession with "germ-free" cleanliness.
He wrote: "An occasional bout of fever or diarrhea in a child means the young body is learning to battle germs. ... Unless a child's body learns this during its growth period, it will not develop sufficient resistance against bacteria, which in turn will make the child more susceptible to various allergies."
And he added, "Take it from me. I am an immunologist."
But the obsession with cleanliness Tada warned against seems only to be getting worse.
The Asahi Shimbun recently ran a story about a children's sandbox lined with an anti-bacterial charcoal, called Binchotan, and then filled with sterilized sand.
The sandbox is installed in a shopping mall and users must pay a fee to enter. Still, it is popular because it is free of dog and cat excrement, according to the story.
The Koe (Voice) section of the Asahi Shimbun's Tokyo edition printed a letter from a senior high school student complaining about this phenomenon. "To anyone who is obsessed (with cleanliness), even bird droppings can be offensively unclean," the writer said.
I agree with this teenager. No living being can survive in a completely antiseptic, squeaky-clean environment. Life is essentially "unclean," if you will.
The paper also quoted a retired university professor as saying, "Our society could be turning out a whole new generation of people who will never touch a cat or a dog in their lives."
And with grown-ups constantly warning children to "stay away from danger" or "keep the noise down," I understand that more youngsters today are staying indoors to play.
It worries me that they may be missing out on something very important in their young lives.
Using all five senses while being totally absorbed in play is a childhood experience that is said to ensure far greater vitality in adult life than modern parents think.
Adults must not nip that potential in the bud by overprotecting their children.
This pretty much sums up Tada's argument, and I view it as valuable advice on all aspects of parenting. (June 11)