Anonymous wrote:

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 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Amen!!

Oh, stop the excuses! I value my kids “insides” and manage to bathe them, comb their hair and send them to preschool in clean, unstained clothing. I model smelling good to my children among other virtues.

I’m the Preschool teacher from the PP. I agree that bathing your kids and brushing their hair is important, of course. Basic hygiene. But the compulsion to iron their clothes so they’re crisp or insisting on bows for girls when they don’t like them, or having them avoid getting messy during play at home to avoid having to change their clothes for fear of a stain revealed in public...that is where you teach your kids that their outer appearance takes priority on their “insides”—which, in my opinion, is secondary. Basic hygiene aside

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Amen!!

Oh, stop the excuses! I value my kids “insides” and manage to bathe them, comb their hair and send them to preschool in clean, unstained clothing. I model smelling good to my children among other virtues.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Amen!!

Oh, stop the excuses! I value my kids “insides” and manage to bathe them, comb their hair and send them to preschool in clean, unstained clothing. I model smelling good to my children among other virtues.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The morning poop schedule poster is on to something. My 3 year old DD has been on miralax. For a year and suffers from constipstion. She eats lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains but has a withholding habit. Anyways her GI recommended putting her on the potty every morning after breakfast for three minutes and in the evening after dinner. We do the after dinner but mornings are chaotic so we haven’t attempted mornings yet. Apparently having them sit on the potty stimulates their bowels even if they end up doing nothing. It’s called bowel training Don’t see what’s wrong with it. Obviously in addition to having her try to poop after meals we also encourage her to poop whenever she feels the urge.

It simply is not that predictable for unmedicated preschoolers. And pooping before school does not make a kid more clean or crisp unless he/she poops in her pants and no one cleans the kid up.

Anonymous wrote:The morning poop schedule poster is on to something. My 3 year old DD has been on miralax. For a year and suffers from constipstion. She eats lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains but has a withholding habit. Anyways her GI recommended putting her on the potty every morning after breakfast for three minutes and in the evening after dinner. We do the after dinner but mornings are chaotic so we haven’t attempted mornings yet. Apparently having them sit on the potty stimulates their bowels even if they end up doing nothing. It’s called bowel training Don’t see what’s wrong with it. Obviously in addition to having her try to poop after meals we also encourage her to poop whenever she feels the urge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Amen!!

Anonymous wrote:

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 wrote:

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.

I cook dinner almost every night and our house is always clean. But it is BSC to control your kids’ bowels and some of the other nonsense here. No wonder half the population is on anti-anxiety meds.

Anonymous wrote:

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 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.