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Original poster

Do I really have to iron the school shirts?

267 replies

ThirdChildFourthPile · 03/09/2018 14:19

DS is going to secondary school so it's proper shirts, ones that appear to need ironing.

I've just ironed 4 of them and I hate it. There must be another way?

I'm crap at it, I don't like doing it, and it makes me really hot.

Is there a magic spray or a trick that means I never have to see the iron again?

OP posts:
steppemum · 03/09/2018 16:31

Winter - the whole thread is about secondary school kids and their shirts....

titchy · 03/09/2018 16:34

erm nothing, no way am I doing a new shirt every single day for all of them!

Then your kids will be known as the stinky ones.

steppemum · 03/09/2018 16:36

I love it, a teenager boy that smells like, well, a teenage boy, must have a skin disease!

As I said, I suspect it is more to do with how they get to school eg cycling/walking v. car, and what they do at lunchtime, eg football, v. sitting round.

But, no, my son doesn't have skin disease!

seriously, only on mn!

titchy · 03/09/2018 16:37

Perhaps they have younger children,

It's a thread about secondary aged kids. And they fucking stink trust me.

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 03/09/2018 16:38

It's not about them being stinky. I've already said that he's not a sweaty lad nor does he smell but even after having a shower every morning the neck and cuffs are dirty. So yes he does need a clean shirt on every day.

No way would I send him to school in a shirt he'd worn the day before. Grim.

CecilyP · 03/09/2018 16:38

Not necessarily; some teens are obviously smellier than others. Don't know how teachers coped when I was young; don't think anyone had clean on everyday in those days. Must have been hell for them!

Winosaurus · 03/09/2018 16:40

I honestly don’t know why people wouldn’t put their kids in clean clothes everyday. I assumed everyone did? It’s basic care imho.
I feel sorry for some of the kids in DD’s class when you see them arriving in dirty clothes. In every class there’s a “smelly kid” Sad Just glad it’s not mine!

Winosaurus · 03/09/2018 16:41

And as PP said, it’s not even about smell necessarily but general grubbiness which occurs around collars and cuffs particularly. You may think they look fine but I guarantee it won’t have gone unnoticed by some other kids / teachers

JuneWhitfieldshandbag · 03/09/2018 16:43

Check the school rules....my kids school won't let them take their blazers off so for,that reason alone I see no point in ironing shirts Wink

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 03/09/2018 16:44

Maybe I am wrong but I thought it was just the norm to wear a clean ironed shirt everyday?

You're not wrong. It should be the norm but obviously as this thread proves it isn't. DH also has a clean shirt on for work every day too. He usually irons his own though Wink

Winosaurus · 03/09/2018 16:45

Do these people who don’t wear clean shirts everyday also wear the same pants a few days in a row? Or tights for girls?

Jamieson90 · 03/09/2018 16:47

In regards to what Winosaurus said, I have worked in schools for years and I can tell you that staff do notice the general appearance of children, and if children are repeatedely sent in wearing dirty clothing this is usually flagged up as it could potentially but not always be a sign of neglect.

Deshasafraisy · 03/09/2018 16:47

Secondary aged dc can iron their own shirts?

steff13 · 03/09/2018 16:48

Do they sell wrinkle release spray there? You spray the clothes then tug on them and the wrinkles fall out. You could try that if you can get it. Or teach him to iron. And everyone in my house wears clean clothes every day.

redsummershoes · 03/09/2018 16:48

yes to wash-low spin-shake-hanger.

if dc doesn't think that's good enough they can iron themselves...

Winosaurus · 03/09/2018 16:52

@Jamieson90 exactly Sad I actually think it is neglectful. Sending kids to school in dirty shirts is neglectful.

MrsChollySawcutt · 03/09/2018 16:57

Ironing is optional is you buy the non-iron shirts. I like a pristine crisp looking shirt so I do iron all DS's shirts even the allegedly non-iron ones.

Wearing a clean shirt every day is not optional. DS starts secondary this year so I have just washed, nametaped and ironed 6 new shirts (Saturday school) for him. I've always put him in a clean one everyday, he is a dirt magnet.

Firesuit · 03/09/2018 17:19

The shirts in question are the same kind adult men wear with their suits, so should be changed at least as often. For clarity: once a day.

I can only assume most people on this site aren't male suit-and-tie wearers, so don't know what's normal.

Or maybe I'm deluded, and a large section of the British public has much lower standards. I can imagine there are some manky men out there.

MadMum101 · 03/09/2018 17:20

DH or I used to iron 15 shirts on a Sunday (including youngest polos which always look shit straight from the dryer IMO no matter how you hang them). Luckily oldest was at college and ironed her own stuff before youngest started school or it would have been 20. Middle two at college now so they iron their own casual stuff as easier to iron than shirts and the straight crease that I insist on in their school trousers.

All 4DC always had a clean shirt everyday. Don't understand why people are so lazy that they cba to make sure their DC look smart at school Hmm.

Always feel a bit sorry for the DC in off colour crumpled shirtsSad and trousers without a crease. There are plenty of them nowadays as basic housekeeping skills like ironing seems to be a thing of the past. No excuse for crumpled kids really. We have more labour saving devices in most other areas than any other generation.

pointythings · 03/09/2018 17:22

I haven't ironed anything in at least 15 years. Not H's shirts, not my stuff, not the DCs'. Life is too short. It's just not necessary. Unless you are a top of the line honcho in financial services, a few creases are not going to influence how well you do at school. DD2 has managed to become a prefect despite her perma-creased shirt.

PickAChew · 03/09/2018 17:24

Gosh, if we all took our less than odour free adolescents to the gp, the NHS would completely give up the ghost.

MadMum101 · 03/09/2018 17:26

I call the adolescent boy smell 'whiff of the wet dog'. I notice it much more than DH. I read it was so biological thing to prevent mothers being attracted to their sonsShock! DSs shower daily, use deodorant, clean clothes daily except jeans, clean sheets weekly and bedroom floor mopped weekly but their room still reeks!

Firesuit · 03/09/2018 17:26

My boarding school specified how much of each item you needed to own. Almost anything other than blazers and ties went into the wash after a single wear. (There was staff to do the ironing though.)

Oldraver · 03/09/2018 17:27

I buy the so called non-iron shirts but still occasionly iron them, especially if they have been dried outside. Can get away with straight out the dryer.

Also DS only wears short sleeve shirts...much easier

TheWinterofOurDiscountTentsMk2 · 03/09/2018 17:32

It's a thread about secondary aged kids. And they fucking stink trust me

Its a thread about shirts. And if your teens "fucking stink" I'd be pretty worried about that.