To those with “crisp” clean preschoolers...

[Anonymous]

My toddler stays home but we have multiple changes of clothes with matching bows so she stays clean, extra wipes and a brush. When my oldest went to preschool, she wore dresses just about every day and stayed clean. She hates being dirty even as a tween.

[Anonymous]

If I ever wondered if I was inadequate...

I can never seem to keep up with laundry which ruins everything. My kids are always a mess... my middle class is showing.


I always tried to make myself feel better saying I wasn’t the only one, but it seems like most of you have this down pat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you send a kid to preschool in white shirts and crisp shorts? Do these kids never make a mess? Isn't that part of the point of preschool?

Our school uniform is either a white or navy polo, and navy pants/shorts. The all-navy look was a little depressing for a 3 year old.

Can I just interject and ask how any administrator anywhere thinks it's a good idea to use white shirts as part of a uniform for any child under the age of 10??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you send a kid to preschool in white shirts and crisp shorts? Do these kids never make a mess? Isn't that part of the point of preschool?

Our school uniform is either a white or navy polo, and navy pants/shorts. The all-navy look was a little depressing for a 3 year old.

Can I just interject and ask how any administrator anywhere thinks it's a good idea to use white shirts as part of a uniform for any child under the age of 10??

A lot of schools have white shirt uniforms. In D-k (what they call the year before preK at our school) the kids wear white polo shorts. I am looking to by stock in oxiclean and Clorox for September!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is a crisp toddler?

Apparently the child of an OCD mother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a crisp toddler?

Apparently the child of an OCD mother.

No. Just a clean kid wearing clean and ironed clothes. You know, someone who does not look neglected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a crisp toddler?

Apparently the child of an OCD mother.

No. Just a clean kid wearing clean and ironed clothes. You know, someone who does not look neglected.

+1. I am so tired of the defensive excuses. It is laughable that mothers who bathe their children daily and put them in clean, unstained and unwrinkled clothes have OCD.

[Anonymous]

Top 10 besr DCUM thread of all time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a crisp toddler?

Apparently the child of an OCD mother.

No. Just a clean kid wearing clean and ironed clothes. You know, someone who does not look neglected.

+1. I am so tired of the defensive excuses. It is laughable that mothers who bathe their children daily and put them in clean, unstained and unwrinkled clothes have OCD.

+1 I have noticed that a certain subset of mothers seem to almost take pride in throwing their hands in the air and wear their disorganization and lack of effort as a badge of honor. Y’know, the kind of mother who sharesthose Scary Mommy “My kids have eaten goldfish for dinner four times this week: and here’s why that’s okay” or “I haven’t vacuumed or mopped in ten years because making memories is more important” articles. You know the type.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a crisp toddler?

Apparently the child of an OCD mother.

No. Just a clean kid wearing clean and ironed clothes. You know, someone who does not look neglected.

+1. I am so tired of the defensive excuses. It is laughable that mothers who bathe their children daily and put them in clean, unstained and unwrinkled clothes have OCD.

+1 I have noticed that a certain subset of mothers seem to almost take pride in throwing their hands in the air and wear their disorganization and lack of effort as a badge of honor. Y’know, the kind of mother who sharesthose Scary Mommy “My kids have eaten goldfish for dinner four times this week: and here’s why that’s okay” or “I haven’t vacuumed or mopped in ten years because making memories is more important” articles. You know the type.

-1 I am so tired of the mothers that see their children as an extension of themselves. You know, the mothers I see yelling at their kids for doing normal kid things, like playing in the dirt and eating melting popsicles. Don't dress your preschooler in white and expect them to stay clean. Your poor crisp mother boys will be living in your basement for the next 30 years.

[Anonymous]

My child goes to an outdoor preschool. In a forest.

[Anonymous]

I teach preschool. Some of the kids are terrified of getting messy. We figure out pretty quickly which ones are like that because of nature (anxiety/sensory issues/texture sensitivity) or nurture (Mom/dad are constantly worried about germs and mess and the kid is as a result).

A child who is scared of participating in benign Preschool experiences will miss out in some small way. If they’re afraid to play in the tray of shaving cream they might miss out on a social experience, they might miss a lesson on writing letters in the shaving cream, they might not overcome small anxieties and will thus have a harder time as they get older because problems for kids get bigger when theyre older and environments aren’t quite as controlled for them.

For those of you who worry so much about how your kids look, how clean their clothes are, how crisp their bows are...remember that you’re sending the message to them that they can’t explore with abandon, they can’t be themselves, that they have to be afraid of dirt and slime and paint...and if they can’t handle those challenges at 3 and 4, then how will they stand up to a bully at age 10? Preschool is the time to build social skills, confidence, and resilience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach preschool. Some of the kids are terrified of getting messy. We figure out pretty quickly which ones are like that because of nature (anxiety/sensory issues/texture sensitivity) or nurture (Mom/dad are constantly worried about germs and mess and the kid is as a result).

A child who is scared of participating in benign Preschool experiences will miss out in some small way. If they’re afraid to play in the tray of shaving cream they might miss out on a social experience, they might miss a lesson on writing letters in the shaving cream, they might not overcome small anxieties and will thus have a harder time as they get older because problems for kids get bigger when theyre older and environments aren’t quite as controlled for them.

For those of you who worry so much about how your kids look, how clean their clothes are, how crisp their bows are...remember that you’re sending the message to them that they can’t explore with abandon, they can’t be themselves, that they have to be afraid of dirt and slime and paint...and if they can’t handle those challenges at 3 and 4, then how will they stand up to a bully at age 10? Preschool is the time to build social skills, confidence, and resilience.

Thank you so much for this. I completely agree. Those of us who don't iron our kids' clothes aren't neglecting them, and I don't take pride in feeding my kids goldfish for dinner. I do, however, take pride in valuing their insides more than their outsides, and modeling those values for them. You can take pride in yourself, including your appearance, without being rigid and controlling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My boys are older now, but I never could have bothered with some of these routines. I always sent them to daycare in comfy, pull-on pants and soft tee shirts so they could move around freely. Very little white or pale colors, so no stains. My sister sends her kids with tons of zippers, buttons and snaps and I feel bad for them. Yes, they look cute, but that little oxford shirt and sweater vest just isn't as comfortable as a plain tee. We tease her that they look like little lord fauntleroy.

Showers daily during the summer or when needed, but less often during the winter. My husband is military so our boys get a buzzcut once a month and he irons everybody's dressy clothes on the rare occasion that they need to dress up. They always look presentable and clean, at least at the start of the day.

Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a crisp toddler?

Apparently the child of an OCD mother.

No. Just a clean kid wearing clean and ironed clothes. You know, someone who does not look neglected.

+1. I am so tired of the defensive excuses. It is laughable that mothers who bathe their children daily and put them in clean, unstained and unwrinkled clothes have OCD.

My kids bathe daily and wear clean cute that are cute. But I wouldn’t describe them as crisp. This thread is really weird.