There's some obvious reasons not to let you toddler run wild with your cell-phone -- namely, that they might end up calling 9-11 over and over and over until the police show up at your apartment. But even if the phone's batteries are removed, it still might not be a good idea.

A recent report finds that cell phones are dirtier than toilets. Gross.

As noted by Rigel Gregg on our partner blog, That's Fit, "I don't think many of us are surprised to hear that cold and flu viruses are commonly found on cell phones, what about staphylococcus aureus and MRSA? Catching a cold may be inconvenient, but staph and MRSA are heavy duty germs that can pose significant health risks if you become infected."

Which isn't to say that you're giving your child some horrible disease every time they pretend to make a call (or actually use the phone to talk to Grandma and Grandpa, like my toddler does from time to time) -- but it's important to keep it clean. Wipe the phone down with a wipe or cloth, and avoid sharing it. That said, your kid has most-likely just been in contact with some toddler-born, daycare-bred uber-virus, so if you really want to keep yourself healthy, you may want to keep the phone out of his or her prying little hands.