To send DS into school with unbrushed teeth and unwashed face?

[DryCounty79]

He is refusing to brush his teeth or wash his face. It's been 15 minutes and we have to leave now. He's nearly 7 and quite frankly I've had enough of this battle every ruddy morning.

I would have taken him in late and then told him to explain exactly what he was late to his teacher.

Face yes. Teeth no. If they rot in his head you will have lots of tedious and expensive dental appointments. Get him to brush them when he gets up (which is what dental health bods recommend anyway) and then anything else like washing or dressing or indeed breakfast can come second.

my boy would happily never clean his teeth if it was down to him.hes almost nine and doesn't give a monkeys even when I tell him they will go black,rotten and smelly!
this causes friction most mornings.
on the plus side my nephews were the same but now they are 14 and 18 they are the biggest tarts and take longer in the bathroom than most girls!

My mum sent me to school in my pyjamas, with my waist legnth hair unbrushed and my face covered in marmite when I was a child.

I stood at the gates (she had dropped me off and driven off) crying and a friends mum helped me clean my face with a tissue and brush my hair with the comb in her handbag. Luckily it was the 80s and my legging type pyjamas didn't look too odd.

I never made a fuss about getting ready for school again but it was a hard lesson.

I believe kids have to learn what is "part of life" and should be rewarded for getting it right. Then you hardly need to punish them for getting it wrong as they don't. They learn being good is rewarding and therefore want to be good in general. Carrot rather than stick. Otherwise why be good all the time if the goodness goes ignored? May as well be naughty and get the attention, even if the attention is negative. Plenty of parents make this mistake.

Anyway I only punish for deliberate naughtiness, not omissions/forgetfulness. I regularly don't do things that I'm meant to do as "part of life" or forget or don't feel like doing them when I'm meant to, so I allow the same leeway to the kids. Why am I on Mumsnet now? Couldn't I be doing something more productive? Of course I could! While teaching them that it's actually rather rewarding to do the things that are a bit boring.