To wish the toddler group mums wouldn't spray disinfectant everywhere?

[CailinDana]

I go to a great toddler group on Tuesdays that DS really enjoys. But there are a couple of mums there who regularly get out that dettol aerosol stuff and spray it all over the toys, usually while tidying up, but the children are still around and playing. The toys are often wet with the stuff and the place stinks to high heaven. Sometimes there is so much of it in the air that it makes me cough. I'm not a big fan of disinfectants anyway, I think they're way overused, but AIBU to think that they shouldn't be used while the children are around and if they are then they should be sprayed sparingly and then wiped off?

As a bonus extra, AIBU to think it's not actually necessary to disinfect everything to within an inch of its life, especially as the principle way infections are spread is from child to snotty child?

Cailin tell them he/you have got asthma and you can't be exposed to aerosol spray.

Make up a horrible allergy to Dettol, backed up my fake information printed from t'interweb. Cry to the leader about how you don't want DS singled out so could she not tell people it is DS with the allergy. Job done.

Dammit, x-posted with HolyCameraConfusionBatman

I only use handspray dettol for after a big poo cleanup or anything else particularly germy.

I loathe aerosols of any description as dds and I are asthmatic.

Can you not ask on asthma grounds as lots of children suffer nowadays?

Can't imagine needs dettol every time. Our toy library miltons toys when returned but they are in people's homes for a week or so and some of the children have additional needs so have to be very clean, I guess.

I don't want to use the asthma excuse because I'm becoming friendly with quite a few of the mums and it would backfire. But I might say something about spraying it around the children. I don't think it'll go down well though.

i think these mums sound loony sorry but i do own personal dettol sprays thats not right imo they are weakening their childrens immune system , i do a group where young children go to and yes we wipe tables and take a wipe over high chairs everyweek and the playleaders will wipe dirty toys , I think this is madness to carry spray around with you

In that case I'd go for;

'I think maybe we (we, not you so you're not attacking them) should stop using the aersosol sprays because SIL/friend/someone at work told me .

YANBU. I can't bear the overuse of chemicals, and given the cleanliness of the floors in the rooms where many of these groups are held, disinfecting the toys is probably a futile exercise as they are crawling and rolling in all sorts of dirt.

I have a friend who washes and disinfects her DC's toys every night once they've gone to bed. I scraped a bit of dried biscuit of DS's toys with my fingernail today. That was the extent of my toy cleaning

Ask to see the COSHH data sheet and risk assessment for the dangerous chemical.

(Can't find one though but I bet it says don't swallow and keep out of reach of children)

I've washed Lego when DD knocked sugary juice into the box and the white teddy she sleeps with every night once.

You don't want to know what colour the water was after about 7 years of cuddling.

Very little other toy cleaning except for bath toys. DDs seem to have survived.

I think asking for the COSHH sheet is an excellent idea. It will definitely not recommend coating toddlers in it.

Eh what's the COSHH sheet?

Exposure to bacteria and mixing with the 'flora and fauna' that other children carry has been shown to stimulate and strengthen the immune system and protect children from potentially more serious illnesses later in childhood. These clean fanatics aren't doing their children any favours. As long as you're not letting them suck on raw chicken, there's nothing wrong with a few bugs.

The best things the mums can do is just use plain soap and water on the toys and dry well afterwards. That is all they need.

Why don't you tell them to buy some of those Sainsbos basics antibacterial wipes? If they have to go down the antibac route, wipes are fine and don't effect the atmosphere.

Fwiw I run a toddler group, and have to be out of the hall by midday. I usually begin cleaning up at 11.30, and by 11.35 the majority of parents are falling over themselves trying to get out the door, presumably in case they are asked to help

Prior to me taking over (it is run voluntarily) there was an outbreak of hand foot and mouth, which most of the village blamed on the toys being filthy (they were!) So I have to make sure they stay clean. Whilst I use soap and water, not antibac or sanitiser, it does make me wonder if your group has found itself in a similar position.

I rotate the toys, and wash the ones not in use during the morning so they are clean for the following week...could you suggest doing the same thing? It might just be that they don't have enough help to do it with soap and water, if so and you were to gather some other mum's and all pitch in I can guarantee they'd be thrilled with the help. Running a toddler group is an extremely thankless job most of the time, especially considering it is unpaid!

Hope you get it sorted, and fully agree that disinectant should never be sprayed on small children. Good luck

apparently being to clean can expose children to allergys they wouldnt have , Im not a scientist but its something to do with the body trying to fight of germs and because it has no nasties to fight against it fights the good guys , i hope somebody sciencey can come along and explain it better ,

I'm a microbiologist by trade and deliberately let my DS (11mo) get involved with all the probably-never-cleaned-ever toys at the children's centre simply because I know it is better for his immune system.

The more he's exposed to (within reason, obv - no heads down toilets!) then the more practice he has defending himself and the more likely it is he'll be able to mount a good response to proper nasties (and won't be afflicted with asthma).

I'd personally hate it if someone sprayed antibac around with a gay abandon because I'm sure it doesn't do little lungs (or big ones) any good when present in a flipping cloud! Maybe if they turned up early to spray everything so that it was dry by the time the kids got to it - that would be better IMO.

Apart from when I bring home charity shop toys for DS (i.e. most of them), his toys never get cleaned

CailinDana - COSHH stands for Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.

A COSHH sheet would describe the hazards of a chemical and how it might damage health if breathed in, eaten, splashed on skin etc, and will give information on how the chemical should be handled & stored.

a friend of mine use to spray her carpet with the stuff,at least 5/6 times a day,her dd3 while baby would someimes fall asleep on the floor and ended up with chemical burns on her face.

Datasheet on Australian website:
www.rb-msds.com.au/uploadedFiles/pdf/Dettol%20Disinfectant%20Spray-v3-D0193560.pdf
It appears to be mostly ethanol (alcohol). I wouldn't have thought spraying it in a room full of kids was a particularly good idea.

yanbu.

Hmmmmm, sounds just like the toddler group we go to on Tuesdays lol. Me & the girls I go with find this behaviour a source of great amusement-until they start trying to get our kids to do the anti-bac hand gel thing, I then step in & growl which usually does the trick

this was a syestem used at tidy up time at one of the playgroups I went to:

1. all children and parents help put toys in piles (eg. bricks, dolls, animals etc)
2. childrens centre staff/volunteers sit with bucket of diluted disinfectant and j-cloths and wipe each toy before putting into relevant storage box
3. while this is happening children sit on mat and have songs/story

it worked quite well, you always get some famlies buggering off early just before clean up time, but the majority chipped in and helped.

Yeah maybe we should have a system like that clarice. There's one particular mum who's the "leader" and she's great but I think she would be quite put out if I started suggesting different ways of doing things because she's a bit of a control freak. I don't want her to feel like I'm taking over. I shall have a think.

The next thing to deal with is the overbearing mum does the loud parenting thing while the rest of us are ignoring our children having a nice cup of tea...