Mumsnet Talk

Please be honest. I don't, but it is the subject of some 'discussion' in the family. She's only 3, so not at school - obviously I will iron her uniform when she does go, but at the moment its not unusual to go through 2-3 outfits in a day, and I really didn't think it mattered a jot that her clothes were not ironed at this age!

I think I dress her pretty nicely, all clean, no stains or holes, not too small etc, but am I a bad parent for not ironing her things?

Also at issue is what she wears...so what do your pre-schoolers wear in winter? I send her out in either trousers (jeans mostly) with a vest, long sleeved t-shirt and jumper, or leggings with a vest and a dress on top with a jumper, and a coat, hat, gloves and boots.

I'd love to hear what others do just so I can see whether I'm in the wrong or not!

I only iron the kids school uniforms and dh's shirts - everything else is put away unironed - I never ironed any of their stuff when they were younger. The outdoor clothing sounds fine too.

I don't iron anything for anyone in this house. My husband irons his work shirts.

My son, who goes to preschool, wears his uniform to school and then jeans and t-shirt after or on weekends.

Dear god, no. I barely iron anything. Layers are good in winter.

I iron everything! Can't help it as my mum always did so don't think about it!
Your winter clothes sounds about right to me. Would also have hat, scarf & gloves obviously.

I iron everything, even underwear and sheets, but i dont actually know anybody who irons that much so doubt its really a big deal. I do think it finishes off an outfut properly though and hate it if any of us go out looking remotely rumpled.

Are you joking? Life is too short to iron.

If my kids want their school uniforms ironed, they're welcome to do it themselves (they are older, in fairness). A 3yo doesn't give a stuff whether her uniform is ironed or not, just hang it out or pull it out of the dryer, give it a good shake, fold it, and away you go.

You need to lower your standards very quickly, that way madness lies.

Phew. Glad there are other parents as slack as me

I was rather shaken by the whole discussion actually, I felt like I was on another planet from the person I was talking to, who seemed to be suggesting that everyone my DD came into contact with was secretly horrified by my lack of ironing.

Do you have tumble driers?

I don't iron any of the children's clothes. Or anything at all, in fact. DH irons his work shirts. DS1's shirts are non-iron, the other three children have polo shirts as uniform which don't need ironing. No one has (so far) made any comments about us being a creased or crumpled-looking family.

a) no. I don't iron anything at all strategic dryingall the way.
b) socks (maybe 2 pairs if really cold) thick trousers, vest + jumper (maybe a t-shirt as well)

all sounds fine - we iron DS1 school uniform as it too crumpled otherwise - but otherwise not any of the DC's clothes

no I dont use a tumble drier as the clothes get hung on 2 clothes airers to dry. I only use the drier bit of my washer/drier when i really have to e.g. puke/pee incidents. Shirts and polo shirts get hung on hangers and are hung from the airer to dry a bit less crumpled.

I iron absolutely nothing. I own an iron, in case of emergencies, but probably use it once a year. Uniforms don't need ironing nowadays and my husband has non iron shirts. If he wanted them ironed he would do them himself. Life's too short.

I don't iron anything apart from shirts or things really crumpled. As long as they are clean and fit properly as soon as they start to wear it the creases drop out anyway! I also dress my dd who is 2.5 exactly as you've said you dress your dd. I find if you dry carefully or use tumble dryer the creases are limited anyway! Hth

for outdoors coat (have nice double layer ones, fleece inside, rainproof outside), hat, scarf, mittens (not always worn, as dc can be stubborn).

first rule of parenting: don't give a rat's arse about what others think/say.

OP, my best tip would be to learn to stop caring what other people think. Unless they are offering to come and do your ironing for you, do they really have any say in the matter? This works for other areas of housekeeping, also parenting and even life in general.

I only iron stuff that looks particularly creased when it is taken out of the drawers in a morning. On average I find I need to switch the iron on for 5 minutes, twice or three times a week at most.

If the way my DDs come down dressed at the moment, suitable clothing for winter includes shorts, thin leggings and t shirts. A frequent refrain in this house is "Go back and put something warm on, it's December!" And it isn't as if they are dressing like that because they are warm as the heating is kept quite low here.

I do iron all of DD's clothes (or my Mum does...)
I can't say I've noticed any children whose parents are derelict enough not to iron - because I don't look that closely at other peoples clothes
As long as said child is warm and reasonably clean thats good enough. Layers are the way in winter. My DD likes to dress in dresses/skirts rather than trousers, so tights/leggings/vests first, then tops, dresses and extras if needed like socks and cardigans. Coats then add hats/gloves etc as weather dictates

I iron only in an emergency, Very Careful Folding is my mantra.
Sometimes my DC do look a bit crumpled, I honestly can't get worked up about it!
DH irons his own shirts with a very bad grace.
2 of my DCs simply do not feel the cold and I struggle to get them to dress as I consider appropriate, the other one would wear woolies and vests all year round.
As long as you know she is comfortable at whatever temperature then I really wouldn't worry.
IMHO those people who iron all the time are wasting valuable MNing time

Thanks for all the comments.
Generally speaking, I don't care about what others think...but this was put to me in such a strong way, by a close family member, that it really shook me up, and I needed a reality check to find out whether what I do is normal.

I'm very glad to see that it does!

I iron nearly all my DC's clothes, but I am well aware that most people think I am totally bonkers for doing so.
I just can't quite bring myself not to do it .

Mine wear tights rather than leggings - I have it in my head that leggings are summer wear, and my DC wear a lot of polo/roll necks under their jumpers, because then they don't need a scarf (scarves not allowed at school because of the strangulation hazard, apparently). Mine also wear knee length socks with trousers in cold weather, they always get cold feet when they are in ankle socks.

In my opinion, giving people unsolicited advice on clothing care (especially if it implies their child isn't presentable enough) is worse than any amount of unironed clothes. Did this family member mean to be so rude?

Yes, 3b1g, I think she did. Probably a whole load of stuff there that I should be posting in Relationships about...

I'm sorry to hear that. It just reflects badly on her though, so try not to let it affect you too much (I do realise this is easier said than done).

I ironed some name tags into DS's school uniform, apart from that I last used the iron in about 2003 (ish). I think DP used it once for a job interview in the intervening years...

Anyone who notices, and cares enough to judge, someone else as crumpled really needs some more hobbies and interests.