sorry for not having specifics, but 2 american college students tested

the five second rule a couple years back and found that if it is a soft object

like cheese, an apple slice, etc. that indeed bacteria should up immediately,

but with a hard object like a m&m's bacteria was apparent up even later than 5 seconds. i still wouldn't eat it or give it to my child, call me crazy. : )

Whatever.  In my house we have the, "If you can find it and put it in your mouth before mom sees you you're golden." rule.  My children will have immune systems of iron!

They tested this on Mythbusters about a year ago.  It doesn't matter how long it's been on the floor, it depends on how clean or dirty the floor is.  And in case anyone is interested, the dirtiest area they tested was the kitchen floor- far worse than the bathroom floor AND the toilet seat.

I'm with MissB!

Christ, as a little kid, I'd use a public bathroom, not wash my hands and then eat with my fingers!!!!!!!!!!

i also stand by the old saying'god made dirt and dirt don't hurt' it's seems to work-26yrs and i'm still alive!

I used to worry about my kid's food being clean. Then one day I saw him try putting a dead bird in his mouth. I FREAKED and called poison control and they said not to worry. So that kind of puts the occasional household dirt into perspective for me!

as a child i CONSTANTLY ate crap off the floor, never washed my hands for anything, and played in dirt all day. I was a filthy child. I have NEVER had a fever, the flu, thrown up (i cant remember before age 3 though) or any other ailments. Well....once i got a cold for a day in a half. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE.

Anyway my immune system is made of the gods.

unless its full of dirt and dust bunnies, i say let the children eat the crap off the floor!

I've never believed in the 5-second rule.  The second something hits any kind of dirty surface, it's dirty.  That said, I KNOW my floor is clean, so I have no problem letting my daughter eat anything off of it.  If we're in a public place, different story.  That said, I have to agree with maeby that unless the child has some sort of immunodeficiency issue, a little dirt won't kill them.  Kids need to be exposed to some germs to build up their little immune systems.  

If you have a dog there is no 2 second or 5 second rule. If it hits the floor in our house its dog food.  Now, about the times the toddler offers food to the dog and then snatches it back out of the dogs mouth and into his own, I'm not sure what rule to apply there.