To speak to school about mascot toy

[wheresthel1ght]

Dd has brought the class mascot home for the weekend. I have then had to wash and disinfect it as it was filthy which I expect when it's handed round 30+ kids and dragged to every place over their weekend. However, it absolutely stinks of fag smoke.

Dd is asthmatic, having it so close to her (she has carried it everywhere) has left her coughing and wheezing a lot. I have now out everything including the bag and the Teddy in the washing machine.

Would I be "that parent" if I had a word with the teacher about it?

@QueenDramaLlama and what can the teacher do about that?
Smoking is legal. Smoking in the home with children is legal(as bad as it is). Smoking in an open air area next to a kid is legal. Unless it can be proved that a parent smoked with the kid in a car nothing anyone can do about it.
Adding emotive stuff like "poor kid's lungs" doesn't change anything.

QueenDramaLlama what do you think the school can do about that? It's not illegal to marinate your child in filthy smoke all day and night, unfortunately

Bollocks to this. More likely the wheezing etc. (if true) caused by air pollution rather than a smelly mascot. Quite clear this is yet another anti filthy smokers thread.

There's nothing the teacher can do, but little things add up so they're all worth a mention. Lots of little things can paint a bigger picture. It's everyone's job to keep children safe.

If a parent smokes around a child - as legal as it is - it shows that they have little regard for the child's well being.

I didn't mention "poor kids" in my post.

I don't think you'd be "that parent". I think you'd be doing everyone a favour by saying something.

I hate our mascot. DS hates our mascot. He says it's for babies. But at least it is clean and smoke free.

reginold why exactly are you being so rude? It is a well known medical fact that fag smoke exacerbates asthma.

I know the teacher can't do anything, but I do think they have a responsibility to keep it clean but it also wouldn't hurt maybe to remind parents that it goes home to children with illnesses and that not smoking around it would be appreciated or if it gets dirty could they please wash it.

Anyways, I won't say anything directly but will include some bubbly bath type pics in dds diary.

@QueenDramaLlama it shows nothing.
Besides, if it's that bad, and they do smoke in the house, the teacher probably knows themselves as the kid's clothes would smell too.

If an adult would rather smoke in the house than put their child's well being first, it shows a lot.

I don't think you'd be "that parent". I think you'd be doing everyone a favour by saying something

I think your daughter would never get the class bear every again -

How obvious would it be if your daughter was missed out next time? If it isn't obvious when someone's turn is coming up (so that she doesn't get disappointed about not having it), I wonder if it might be worth asking that she's skipped next time, as you can't guarantee this won't happen again.

This is not something to raise with the teacher because it is not something the teacher cam influence. What is s/he going to do? Not send the best home with the hidden whose parents smoke?!

What about families with shedding pets? Many children are allergic to those. Smoking around kids is far from ideal but some families are far from ideal. such is life!

@wheresthel1ght the thing is , even if the teacher was to send a message about washing, the parents that care probably already wash it, the ones that don't,won't anyways.
When DD gets the thing it doesn't even touch the floor. Straight in the washing machine and once it's clean it can come out and play.

fag smoke plus febreeze is worse for asthma than fag smoke on its own. teaching is a very busy and stressful job. maybe you could voluneteer to wash the bear in between children rather than adding to the teachers workload?

That teacher will have 4 billion more pressing things to worry about than the class bear being a bit minging. It just needed a spin in the washing machine, and you’ve done that. They can’t exactly say to the children ‘well if Daddy smokes then the class bear can’t come home with you!’ Can they?

Why would the child miss out? The mascot is simply cleaned before it does home with anyone with allergies. Either make it their turn after one of the parents have happened to clean it, have it cleaned in the holidays (surely it should be anyway) and send it to the allergy sufferers homes first, or give to the allergy suffere's parent , not the child, to wash before the adventures begin.

Not difficult.

Whilst it didn't smell of smoke, the first thing I did with ours was wash it! It was stinky. And I printed out a photo and stuck it in the diary thing of it being in the washing machine.
I also staged a few naughty photos as well for our own entertainment. Made the whole ordeal a lot more fun

Considering its illegal to smoke in a car with a child in I actually don't think it will be long before they do stop things like this where parents are known to smoke. And I am not sure I wouldn't support it.

However for those having a pop rtft I have said numerous times I am not going to say anything.

@mumpoints that is exactly what I would have thought would happen. Especially as they asked me specifically about it this week about delaying dd having it (before dd was given it) I assumed (wrongly) that they understood it had been to a smoker's house and were having it cleaned before dd had it.

but everyone has different allergies! that wouldn't work! imagine one of the no smoking homes gets it all cat fur or peanut covered?

I know the teacher can't do anything, but I do think they have a responsibility to keep it clean but it also wouldn't hurt maybe to remind parents that it goes home to children with illnesses and that not smoking around it would be appreciated or if it gets dirty could they please wash it.

What about children with allergies against certain laundry detergents and fabric softeners?

How would the teachers go about compiling a list of acceptable ones?

Ummmmgogo I don't think everybody has different allergies. No one in my family has any allergies. I don't know anyone in DS's class with any

I'm the opposite to you - the teacher offered to wash the grubby class mascot before DS brought it home, and I snatched it out of her hands and said I would happily wash it myself, because the smell of her washing powder would have set off allergies in our family! And once you have that long-lasting 'fresh as a daisy' smell it often takes more than another wash to get it out.

Seriously though, Febreeze and washing products with perfume in them are really common irritants - have you thought about doing without them? Or switching to fragrance-free versions? You may not think they are a direct trigger but it might still be helpful. I have allergies to perfumes so don't use those products at all; DH has had asthma since he was a child, and needed his inhaler all the time when I first met him. Although he didn't directly link his attacks to perfumes/cleaning sprays, it is really noticable how much less he needs his inhaler these days, now his clothes/bedsheets/home are fragrance-free.

As you can tell, I'm a bit evangelical about this...

sorry my post wasn't clear. I didn't mean 30 different allergies in the class, I meant that you could think it's clean and then the next child has an allergy to the fabric softener something.

Each time dd had the class bear it enjoyed a lovely 'bath' and 'rest' on the radiator before it got to take part in any activities!

Our class mascot got left in a carrier bag whilst my kids enjoyed their weekends lol. They didn't give a shit (lucky for me).

Balls to washing it. I couldn't be bothered. Plus I'd shrink it or something.