Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

At what age should a child start ironing?

558 replies

Boogers · 13/04/2016 19:13

H and I had a big argument last night about the things that DS(12) can and can't do. I said DS should be learning how to iron by now, to which H strongly disagreed.

I remember ironing my dad's hankerchiefs when I was about 7 or 8, and when I was about 12 or 13 I was ironing my school uniform on a Sunday evening (in autumn it was 5 shirts, 3 box pleated skirts, 1 blazer, in summer it was 5 dresses and 1 blazer).

DS had no issues with co-ordination or ability to sense hot and cold, there is no reason why he can't learn to use an iron. H says that he and his brother never ironed when they were younger (his brother is 40 and has never ironed in his life; his parents, my in-laws, do it all for him).

Who is being unreasonable here, me or H? Should I encourage DS to learn how to iron?

OP posts:
HeteronormativeHaybales · 14/04/2016 06:55

I am one of the hardly-ever-iron brigade (the odd shirt, dress or blouse that needs it. Dh doesn't wear suits/shirts for work and we are in a non-school-uniform country). I'll no doubt teach my kids to iron a shirt but it will not be at the top of my list of priorities for them. I'd much rather they learned a good solid cooking repertoire (at 8 and 10 the older two can already make bread dough and rustle up a good tomato sauce for pasta) and knew how to shop economically and efficiently and sort laundry.

pearlylum · 14/04/2016 06:57

butteredmuffin- I agree.
I was born in the 1960s, and at that time women were judged on how well they could iron, how shiny their brasses were, how white their whites are, how well their children were presented for school. These things were a mark of pride and judgement.
When I was at school we were ( only the girls) taught how to do laundry, which included starching men's shirts and ironing.
Ironing was considered woman's work, and if you sent your man to work in an unironed shirt you were a slattern. My mother encouraged me to iron for my father in order to practice my future wifely duties.

I wonder if we still have a legacy of these times- both from those who are aghast that some children are walking around in crumpled clothes, and from those (like me) feel a bit of a feminist backlash.

I actually feel a little repulsed by the idea of seeing ironing as a basic need and a weekly chore, but I am aware that I have been influenced by my upbringing.

This subject seems to arouse a little more emotion than one would think for a simple laundry procedure, I wonder if there is a little more to the subject than meets the eye.

MindfulBear · 14/04/2016 07:05

Girl - never
Boy - 15?

I've never learnt to iron. It's a skill I outsourced all my life. At almost 40 I don't plan to learn now!!!

espressotogo · 14/04/2016 07:17

I really don't understand how people don't iron. I iron everything and use spray starch for shirts ! its something I take pride in and get satisfaction from 😊

DerelictMyBalls · 14/04/2016 07:24

I can understand how people enjoy ironing - I did loads of it when I was in the 'nesting' stage of late pregnancy.

Nowadays, I have no idea where DH keeps the iron. He irons his own work shirts sometimes but I do precisely none.

LOL at all the people who are horrified at us crumpled slatterns! Grin

nooka · 14/04/2016 07:26

I understand that some people find ironing theraputic, and others consider freshly ironed clothes a necessity. For our family it's just not something we have to do very often. dh is in IT which is pretty much t-shirts/jeans territory. Our children go to a no uniform school, they are teenagers and if they want to iron their clothes they know whether the iron/board is.ds likes to wear nice shirts and they probably could do with being ironed, but it's not something that bothers him much. dd and me tend to wear quite unstructured stuff, I don't work in a very formal environment so it's not an issue really, and dd tends to look great in all her clothes, however scruffy :)

pearlylum · 14/04/2016 07:35

espresso- I understand that you take pride in ironing, I assume the finished product,

you feel smart and well turned out.
Feeling good about your appearance is something that we all understand- does it apply to other areas too? I Love to feel good about my body, rather than whether my shirt is crumpled. I work hard to stay slim and strong, so I work out 3 times a week and run 3 times a week. Having a strong size 10 figure and a flat stomach feels good to me, and I still feel good in a crumpled shirt.
Do you also keep yourself in shape?

Eminybob · 14/04/2016 07:48

Most of my clothes don't need ironing, but my work skirt might if I don't take it out of the drier straight away so I'll give it a quick once over in the morning if need be. DP irons his work shirts and trousers on the day he needs them. And then we'll do going out clothes as and when we need them.

Life's too short to stand and iron a big pile. And I cannot undrerstand people who iron sheets and duvet covers Confused

coldcanary · 14/04/2016 07:49

Ironing appears to be the MN adult version of putting your children in pink clothes, make up and a tutu - fine if it's for a male, God forbid it should be for a female! Grin

IslaSinga · 14/04/2016 07:55

Dh has to iron his work shirts - what do those that don't iron suggest he does about those? Dd wears blouses to school that I will start teaching her to iron. I agree most other things don't need to be ironed, but I don't know how you can avoid ironing shirts.

wallywobbles · 14/04/2016 08:08

Mine have all had a lesson they were 5, 7, 7, 9 and DP taught them as I'm really shit at it.

DerelictMyBalls · 14/04/2016 08:20

Dh has to iron his work shirts - what do those that don't iron suggest he does about those?

Er... I suggest that he does as he pleases. What an odd question!

MartinaJ · 14/04/2016 08:24

Never ever. I don't iron. DH irons his business shirts. That's it.

JaceLancs · 14/04/2016 08:30

11 - my DC had to do their own ironing from high school age - mainly school shirts
I hate ironing and do as little as possible (probably 5-6 times a year)
Won't buy clothes if they have too much ironing potential - but those of you who say you never iron how do you cope with business shirts?
DS 23 finds even those that say non iron aren't!

DerelictMyBalls · 14/04/2016 08:34

those of you who say you never iron how do you cope with business shirts?

I don't wear business shirts.

Lweji · 14/04/2016 08:39

Non iron stuff may not be creased as such, but don't look sharp enough for business if not ironed. At least the visible parts.
I find it most funny those who don't see the need to iron but send clothes to be ironed. At some point some ironing at home may be required if there's a last minute thing or they run out of ironed clothes.

It's always a useful skill even if don't normally do it. Like me, who, atm, gets the cleaning lady to do it and for a small selection of clothes. But sometimes I have to grab the iron.

Trills · 14/04/2016 08:43

Children should learn how to iron so that in future they can freely choose to iron or not.

Adults who get to choose their clothes also get to choose whether or not to iron them.

Adults who do not get to choose their clothes might find it best to iron, but it is still ultimately their choice.

Ironing is a skill where practise and being shown a sensible way to do it are an advantage over just trying to work it out yourself.

oleoleoleole · 14/04/2016 08:44

I'd say 12 onwards.

pearlylum · 14/04/2016 08:50

trills- but it's not rocket science.
You make out as if its' some hugely arecane complicated procedure. And adult can learn to iron in 15 minutes.
I will teach my kids to iron if they ask me- but I won't be passing on the idea that it is an essential part of life.

Lweji · 14/04/2016 08:54

And adult can learn to iron in 15 minutes.

Sure. So can a teenager. And I see no reason for them to learn and iron their stuff if needed or wanted.
Why wait to adulthood?

pearlylum · 14/04/2016 08:56

I am happy to teach my kids to iron if they ever feel the need. So far they haven't asked me.

They haven't needed or wanted.

It's not a missed opportunity if they wait until adulthood.

AllMyBestFriendsAreMetalheads · 14/04/2016 09:14

DH is the only one who irons in this house, but it will be something I he teaches the kids to do when they're older. I'm awful at ironing. I learnt at brownies and all that but I just end up with more creases than I started with. And they're worse, because they've been ironed.

I've been teaching my 5 year old to make scrambled eggs for a few years now. We add in bacon, peppers and any other things lying round in the fridge at the time so it's a useful one to know. She now cracks and mixes the eggs, and can do some chopping. She also enjoys hoovering, as does the 2 year old.

Actually, I think teaching life skills is less about teaching children that specific skill and more about giving them confidence in their abilities to learn new things and to have a go at something rather than giving up and just getting someone else to do it. I remember being about 13 and the electric tripping at home when my parents were out. All I needed to do was flip the switch but I was oddly pleased with myself that I'd been able to solve this problem myself Grin

merrymouse · 14/04/2016 09:15

Why wait to adulthood?

If you don't have anything to iron.

My dad showed me how to change a tyre when I was about 12, but not ever having needed to change a tyre I couldn't tell you how to do it now. I could however look it up on YouTube. And I have breakdown cover.

Nothing wrong with teaching children to do anything, however you don't need to know how to do everything before you leave home. You can have gaps in your knowledge and be a fully functioning adult - just as long as you don't use incompetence as an excuse.

ShelaghTurner · 14/04/2016 09:16

I've had to skim because....how do none of you iron? I iron every day, clothes look crap if they aren't ironed, even dd1's resistant-to-everything-never-need-to-be-ironed-ever school shirts Confused

merrymouse · 14/04/2016 09:16

Actually, I think teaching life skills is less about teaching children that specific skill and more about giving them confidence in their abilities to learn new things and to have a go at something rather than giving up and just getting someone else to do it.

Agree

Swipe left for the next trending thread