To those with “crisp” clean preschoolers...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its very simple.

1) Begin with clean, showered kids each day.

2) Make sure they have pooped at home in the morning, make sure they brush their teeth and scrape out their tongue so that they have clean breath.

3) Make sure they eat breakfast at home so that they can clean their faces at home. This will prevent a kid with bits of food stuck on their person.

3)A neat haircut/ponytail will allow your kids hair not to look like a mess. In the mornings, after the shower, style their hair with a bit of leave-in hair conditioner and blow dry it.

4) Make them wear fresh, clean, pressed clothes that smell great.

5) Make sure that their shoes are clean. You can wash sneakers in the washing machine weekly.

Done. Kids look clean when they are clean to begin with. Many parents wake their kids and dump them in day care in their PJs and in crumpled clothes. So the kids look like shit to begin with.

You blow dry your pre-schoolers hair?! and iron their clothes?! Wow. I give my 4.5 year old a bath every other night and put leave in conditioner in the mornigns after we don't do bath and she has clean clothes and a headband. She has really curly hair though and still looks a little crazy no matter what we do. Blow drying it would be nuts for us, but even with kids with straight hair...

There is no way this person has multiple children or a full-time job.

What? I am a legal immigrant and have a full-time job in a STEM field. My daily commute is almost an hour and half. I am the mom of two kids and will never let my kids go to school without a shower or in shabby clothes. I was raised to have a daily routine and I have instilled this in my kids. And everyone where I came from knew how to sew a button, launder clothes in a machine/by hand, iron their clothes and polish their shoes. Really, this is not rocket science and it take minutes.

Let me break it down for you - we get up in the morning and make our beds. Next we go to the bathroom - poop, brush, shower, blowdry our hair and dress. We eat our breakfast and then go to school or work. As for ironing clothes, you can do it the night before or in the morning but honestly, with a spray starch and a steam iron it just takes a few minutes. The same goes for polishing your shoes if you are wearing leather shoes.

Frankly, I am shocked. These are basic things - showering, brushing your teeth, pooping, wearing clean and ironed clothes, having clean shoes, having a neat hair style, making your beds, eating breakfast. You all seem to be failing in life if you think this is a big deal. And being a WOHM/SAHM Is certainly not an excuse. I pity the poor teachers who have to deal with kids with poor habits, hygiene and grooming daily.

If you do not know how to iron clothes or polish shoes, you can watch youtube videos and learn. Same for finding some neat and quick hairstyles for your kids.

Hours are 10:00 to 4:00 daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't understand how you ensure it happens in the morning. My kid poops daily, usually right before bed. How do you make it be in the morning?? I don't think the time of day has anything to do with how much fiber is in your diet...

As I said before, I am an immigrant. In my country, you made sure that you pooped, showered, dressed, ate breakfast, hydrated etc. before you left home. You can absolutely train your kids to poop in the morning by making them sit on their toilet seat first thing in the morning when they wake up. I used to wake my kids up with a glass of warm milk and make them sit on the potty. The milk triggered their need to poop. Obviously, someone had to sit with them when they are little until they actually pooped, but they get trained very quickly. Most people go to poop in the morning after 10-15 minutes of being up and about, so you can use that time to teach them to make their beds. Also, having a daily morning beverage - milk, coffee, tea triggers your need to go.

Your kid also has a schedule. They are pooping regularly but at night. Most people with healthy gut will poop twice. Try giving them prune juice at night to see if that triggers the need to poop in the morning. It is training, gut bacteria, food habits etc. It is a life long healthy habit.

https://www.prevention.com/health/a20514575/8-things-your-pooping-habits-say-about-you/

If you were my mother, I sure wouldn't tell you if I was pooping at any other time.

In our country, we also make sure we are clean and dressed and have eaten in the morning. The part that has people scratching their heads is trying to control when your kid poops. That is just damn weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its very simple.

1) Begin with clean, showered kids each day.

2) Make sure they have pooped at home in the morning, make sure they brush their teeth and scrape out their tongue so that they have clean breath.

3) Make sure they eat breakfast at home so that they can clean their faces at home. This will prevent a kid with bits of food stuck on their person.

3)A neat haircut/ponytail will allow your kids hair not to look like a mess. In the mornings, after the shower, style their hair with a bit of leave-in hair conditioner and blow dry it.

4) Make them wear fresh, clean, pressed clothes that smell great.

5) Make sure that their shoes are clean. You can wash sneakers in the washing machine weekly.

Done. Kids look clean when they are clean to begin with. Many parents wake their kids and dump them in day care in their PJs and in crumpled clothes. So the kids look like shit to begin with.

This is so amazing. You have a forced poop schedule. Please add 6) Bleach preschool butt holes on a bi-weekly schedule.

You are an ignorant one, aren't you? This is not a forced poop schedule. If your child is healthy and have been instilled good habits their body is trained to poop first thing in the morning. Usually, this goes hand in hand with their potty training. A healthy and fiber rich diet with vegetables, fruits and probiotics is essential for effortless elimination.

Are you one of those adults who is not "regular" and do not eliminate at home but stink up the area you are in with your smelly farts? Bleaching your or your child's anus will not make farts less stinky. You need to parent up. Get yourself and your kids on a morning schedule.

Wow lady. This might go into the DCUM hall of fame. The one with the mom who controls her kids' pooping.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand what the time of day a child poops has to do with how crisp and clean he looks.

Like, if you child poops after lunch or when he comes home from school, how does that impact his overall cleanliness and presentability? Is he pooping ON himself and you need to clean it up before he goes to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't understand how you ensure it happens in the morning. My kid poops daily, usually right before bed. How do you make it be in the morning?? I don't think the time of day has anything to do with how much fiber is in your diet...

As I said before, I am an immigrant. In my country, you made sure that you pooped, showered, dressed, ate breakfast, hydrated etc. before you left home. You can absolutely train your kids to poop in the morning by making them sit on their toilet seat first thing in the morning when they wake up. I used to wake my kids up with a glass of warm milk and make them sit on the potty. The milk triggered their need to poop. Obviously, someone had to sit with them when they are little until they actually pooped, but they get trained very quickly. Most people go to poop in the morning after 10-15 minutes of being up and about, so you can use that time to teach them to make their beds. Also, having a daily morning beverage - milk, coffee, tea triggers your need to go.

Your kid also has a schedule. They are pooping regularly but at night. Most people with healthy gut will poop twice. Try giving them prune juice at night to see if that triggers the need to poop in the morning. It is training, gut bacteria, food habits etc. It is a life long healthy habit.

https://www.prevention.com/health/a20514575/8-things-your-pooping-habits-say-about-you/

definition of "anal retentive" here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids had a bath or shower every night. No exceptions. I really believe that is the main difference. They looked and smelled clean because they were clean. I also ironed their clothes which seems to be a lost art now.

+1.

It is not a biggie to have ironed clothes. It just takes a few minutes.

NP. I can't fathom spending a few of the very limited minutes I have ironing my preschooler's clothes. They are going to be rolling around them almost immediately and I could not care less about having a brief window of "crispness" before that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand what the time of day a child poops has to do with how crisp and clean he looks.

Like, if you child poops after lunch or when he comes home from school, how does that impact his overall cleanliness and presentability? Is he pooping ON himself and you need to clean it up before he goes to school?

This! Why are we even engaging in a debate about poop schedules? How in heck does the content of their bowels impact their outward appearance? This is insanity.

P.S., my kid is an AM pooper and it's awesome. Get it out of the way first thing and carry on with your day. But that's luck. I would never try to change her poop habits if they're otherwise healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its very simple.

1) Begin with clean, showered kids each day.

2) Make sure they have pooped at home in the morning, make sure they brush their teeth and scrape out their tongue so that they have clean breath.

3) Make sure they eat breakfast at home so that they can clean their faces at home. This will prevent a kid with bits of food stuck on their person.

3)A neat haircut/ponytail will allow your kids hair not to look like a mess. In the mornings, after the shower, style their hair with a bit of leave-in hair conditioner and blow dry it.

4) Make them wear fresh, clean, pressed clothes that smell great.

5) Make sure that their shoes are clean. You can wash sneakers in the washing machine weekly.

Done. Kids look clean when they are clean to begin with. Many parents wake their kids and dump them in day care in their PJs and in crumpled clothes. So the kids look like shit to begin with.

This is so amazing. You have a forced poop schedule. Please add 6) Bleach preschool butt holes on a bi-weekly schedule.

You are an ignorant one, aren't you? This is not a forced poop schedule. If your child is healthy and have been instilled good habits their body is trained to poop first thing in the morning. Usually, this goes hand in hand with their potty training. A healthy and fiber rich diet with vegetables, fruits and probiotics is essential for effortless elimination.

Are you one of those adults who is not "regular" and do not eliminate at home but stink up the area you are in with your smelly farts? Bleaching your or your child's anus will not make farts less stinky. You need to parent up. Get yourself and your kids on a morning schedule.

Wow lady. This might go into the DCUM hall of fame. The one with the mom who controls her kids' pooping.

+ 1

I'm never going to forget this. It's al ready a classic in my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its very simple.

1) Begin with clean, showered kids each day.

2) Make sure they have pooped at home in the morning, make sure they brush their teeth and scrape out their tongue so that they have clean breath.

3) Make sure they eat breakfast at home so that they can clean their faces at home. This will prevent a kid with bits of food stuck on their person.

3)A neat haircut/ponytail will allow your kids hair not to look like a mess. In the mornings, after the shower, style their hair with a bit of leave-in hair conditioner and blow dry it.

4) Make them wear fresh, clean, pressed clothes that smell great.

5) Make sure that their shoes are clean. You can wash sneakers in the washing machine weekly.

Done. Kids look clean when they are clean to begin with. Many parents wake their kids and dump them in day care in their PJs and in crumpled clothes. So the kids look like shit to begin with.

This is so amazing. You have a forced poop schedule. Please add 6) Bleach preschool butt holes on a bi-weekly schedule.

You are an ignorant one, aren't you? This is not a forced poop schedule. If your child is healthy and have been instilled good habits their body is trained to poop first thing in the morning. Usually, this goes hand in hand with their potty training. A healthy and fiber rich diet with vegetables, fruits and probiotics is essential for effortless elimination.

Are you one of those adults who is not "regular" and do not eliminate at home but stink up the area you are in with your smelly farts? Bleaching your or your child's anus will not make farts less stinky. You need to parent up. Get yourself and your kids on a morning schedule.

Wow lady. This might go into the DCUM hall of fame. The one with the mom who controls her kids' pooping.

+ 1

I'm never going to forget this. It's al ready a classic in my mind.

+1 NP here. So glad I'm not reading this in the morning or else my computer screen would be covered in snorted coffee. I laughed so hard. Thanks PPs!!

P.S. is "parent up" like "nut up"? lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its very simple.

1) Begin with clean, showered kids each day.

2) Make sure they have pooped at home in the morning, make sure they brush their teeth and scrape out their tongue so that they have clean breath.

3) Make sure they eat breakfast at home so that they can clean their faces at home. This will prevent a kid with bits of food stuck on their person.

3)A neat haircut/ponytail will allow your kids hair not to look like a mess. In the mornings, after the shower, style their hair with a bit of leave-in hair conditioner and blow dry it.

4) Make them wear fresh, clean, pressed clothes that smell great.

5) Make sure that their shoes are clean. You can wash sneakers in the washing machine weekly.

Done. Kids look clean when they are clean to begin with. Many parents wake their kids and dump them in day care in their PJs and in crumpled clothes. So the kids look like shit to begin with.

You blow dry your pre-schoolers hair?! and iron their clothes?! Wow. I give my 4.5 year old a bath every other night and put leave in conditioner in the mornigns after we don't do bath and she has clean clothes and a headband. She has really curly hair though and still looks a little crazy no matter what we do. Blow drying it would be nuts for us, but even with kids with straight hair...

There is no way this person has multiple children or a full-time job.

I'm not the PP but I work full-time, as does my husband, and we have twin girls and we basically do the above. I'm Type A about clothes, so I inspect and treat them all before washing and use lots of stain products. I've also done their hair since they were little because I can't stand kids with hair in their faces so they are used to standing still and getting pony tails, braids, etc. I pull it back tightly, brush it down smooth, and hairspray it into place. It never looks as good at the end of the day, but they definitely look crisp and clean in the mornings. I don't iron their clothes unless necessary (i.e. certain dresses with pleats or something) and they don't wear those clothes except for special occasions anyway. Part of it is probably the kid's personality, although my girls are very different but neither of them has ever left the house looking bedraggled. Part of it is the parents' personality. My husband is less Type A than I am, but we both still make sure our kids are presentable every day. It obviously takes some time and effort, but I find that people just allocate their time differently, and this is something I spend time on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its very simple.

1) Begin with clean, showered kids each day.

2) Make sure they have pooped at home in the morning, make sure they brush their teeth and scrape out their tongue so that they have clean breath.

3) Make sure they eat breakfast at home so that they can clean their faces at home. This will prevent a kid with bits of food stuck on their person.

3)A neat haircut/ponytail will allow your kids hair not to look like a mess. In the mornings, after the shower, style their hair with a bit of leave-in hair conditioner and blow dry it.

4) Make them wear fresh, clean, pressed clothes that smell great.

5) Make sure that their shoes are clean. You can wash sneakers in the washing machine weekly.

Done. Kids look clean when they are clean to begin with. Many parents wake their kids and dump them in day care in their PJs and in crumpled clothes. So the kids look like shit to begin with.

This is so amazing. You have a forced poop schedule. Please add 6) Bleach preschool butt holes on a bi-weekly schedule.

You are an ignorant one, aren't you? This is not a forced poop schedule. If your child is healthy and have been instilled good habits their body is trained to poop first thing in the morning. Usually, this goes hand in hand with their potty training. A healthy and fiber rich diet with vegetables, fruits and probiotics is essential for effortless elimination.

Are you one of those adults who is not "regular" and do not eliminate at home but stink up the area you are in with your smelly farts? Bleaching your or your child's anus will not make farts less stinky. You need to parent up. Get yourself and your kids on a morning schedule.

Wow lady. This might go into the DCUM hall of fame. The one with the mom who controls her kids' pooping.

+ 1

I'm never going to forget this. It's al ready a classic in my mind.

+1 NP here. So glad I'm not reading this in the morning or else my computer screen would be covered in snorted coffee. I laughed so hard. Thanks PPs!!

P.S. is "parent up" like "nut up"? lol

+2

The sheer number of times the word "poop" has been mentioned (in a non-potty training or other relevant context thread, no less) is comedy gold.

[Anonymous]

I iron my sons’ shorts. It takes me 10-15 min while I am on a conference call to iron a stack of shorts for 2 kids.

I try not to buy light colored clothes for my two boys, but I oxyclean soak the ones I do have.

My kids usually eat dinner and popsicles shirtless.

[Anonymous]

Uhh it’s not that hard. She eats food that isn’t that messy for breakfast. DH (who drops her off) puts her hair up and puts clean clothes on her.

How do your kids get so messy so early in the day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its very simple.

1) Begin with clean, showered kids each day.

2) Make sure they have pooped at home in the morning, make sure they brush their teeth and scrape out their tongue so that they have clean breath.

3) Make sure they eat breakfast at home so that they can clean their faces at home. This will prevent a kid with bits of food stuck on their person.

3)A neat haircut/ponytail will allow your kids hair not to look like a mess. In the mornings, after the shower, style their hair with a bit of leave-in hair conditioner and blow dry it.

4) Make them wear fresh, clean, pressed clothes that smell great.

5) Make sure that their shoes are clean. You can wash sneakers in the washing machine weekly.

Done. Kids look clean when they are clean to begin with. Many parents wake their kids and dump them in day care in their PJs and in crumpled clothes. So the kids look like shit to begin with.

This is so amazing. You have a forced poop schedule. Please add 6) Bleach preschool butt holes on a bi-weekly schedule.

You are an ignorant one, aren't you? This is not a forced poop schedule. If your child is healthy and have been instilled good habits their body is trained to poop first thing in the morning. Usually, this goes hand in hand with their potty training. A healthy and fiber rich diet with vegetables, fruits and probiotics is essential for effortless elimination.

Are you one of those adults who is not "regular" and do not eliminate at home but stink up the area you are in with your smelly farts? Bleaching your or your child's anus will not make farts less stinky. You need to parent up. Get yourself and your kids on a morning schedule.

Wow lady. This might go into the DCUM hall of fame. The one with the mom who controls her kids' pooping.

+ 1

I'm never going to forget this. It's al ready a classic in my mind.

+1 NP here. So glad I'm not reading this in the morning or else my computer screen would be covered in snorted coffee. I laughed so hard. Thanks PPs!!

P.S. is "parent up" like "nut up"? lol

+2

The sheer number of times the word "poop" has been mentioned (in a non-potty training or other relevant context thread, no less) is comedy gold.

My grandma used to force my mom to poop in the morning before they left. I didn’t think people did that anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its very simple.

1) Begin with clean, showered kids each day.

2) Make sure they have pooped at home in the morning, make sure they brush their teeth and scrape out their tongue so that they have clean breath.

3) Make sure they eat breakfast at home so that they can clean their faces at home. This will prevent a kid with bits of food stuck on their person.

3)A neat haircut/ponytail will allow your kids hair not to look like a mess. In the mornings, after the shower, style their hair with a bit of leave-in hair conditioner and blow dry it.

4) Make them wear fresh, clean, pressed clothes that smell great.

5) Make sure that their shoes are clean. You can wash sneakers in the washing machine weekly.

Done. Kids look clean when they are clean to begin with. Many parents wake their kids and dump them in day care in their PJs and in crumpled clothes. So the kids look like shit to begin with.

You blow dry your pre-schoolers hair?! and iron their clothes?! Wow. I give my 4.5 year old a bath every other night and put leave in conditioner in the mornigns after we don't do bath and she has clean clothes and a headband. She has really curly hair though and still looks a little crazy no matter what we do. Blow drying it would be nuts for us, but even with kids with straight hair...

There is no way this person has multiple children or a full-time job.

I'm not the PP but I work full-time, as does my husband, and we have twin girls and we basically do the above. I'm Type A about clothes, so I inspect and treat them all before washing and use lots of stain products. I've also done their hair since they were little because I can't stand kids with hair in their faces so they are used to standing still and getting pony tails, braids, etc. I pull it back tightly, brush it down smooth, and hairspray it into place. It never looks as good at the end of the day, but they definitely look crisp and clean in the mornings. I don't iron their clothes unless necessary (i.e. certain dresses with pleats or something) and they don't wear those clothes except for special occasions anyway. Part of it is probably the kid's personality, although my girls are very different but neither of them has ever left the house looking bedraggled. Part of it is the parents' personality. My husband is less Type A than I am, but we both still make sure our kids are presentable every day. It obviously takes some time and effort, but I find that people just allocate their time differently, and this is something I spend time on.

+1

While I probably wouldn't use the same language as the first PP, I have a routine in place with my children for the mornings which includes putting on a clean and matching outfit; neatly doing hair; teeth brushing; breakfast; and wiping dirty faces and hands before we leave the house. My kids look crisp and clean in the mornings and I often get compliments on their appearance. If we have an afternoon event (after nap time), I will often tidy their hair and change their clothes if they are stained. I have no problem with my kids getting dirty or their clothes getting dirty, I just think that they should start out looking neat when they leave the house.

I don't judge other parents whose kids are less tidy-looking than mine - I know that they just don't want to spend the extra time it takes to double-check (and sometimes triple check) my kids and would prefer to spend that time doing other activities with their kids - YMMV.

FWIW, I work FT and our 3 kids under 5 are all in preschool/daycare. And the kids looking neat is entirely driven by me - my DH couldn't care less.