Do I really have to iron the school shirts?

[ThirdChildFourthPile]

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?

All these iron saving techniques sound about as effort rich as actually ironing the shirts so I really don't see the point. And I really dislike crumpled shirts, it just looks lazy. If you want that for yourself then that's perfectly fine, but I think it's a bit off to push that on children too.

However, at secondary school age they should be perfectly capable of ironing their own clothes.

As for smelly teens, yes they do stink. Regardless of whether they physically sweat, wear deodorant etc they should be in clean shirts daily. I'd never dream of wearing the same top for 2 days as it's been nestled in my armpit, so regardless of whether I sweat loads, it will not smell fresh.

I shake the creases out, iron lightly whilst damp and then dry them on hangers. It's easier to get the creases out of a damp shirt then a dry shirt.

My brothers used to stink loads until my mum switched from shower gel to traditional soap. Particularly dettol soap for the boys as the bacteria in the sweat/skin caused the smell. Shower gel doesn't clean as effectively as a bar of soap does so something to bear in mind.

Yes, you do need to iron the shirts. I think it is important for the child's self-esteem to be turned out smartly. However, at secondary age you can and should teach your child to iron its own school shirts (and anything else they have that needs ironing).

Vanilla I'm a non-ironer and both my sons have good self-esteem.

I’m not sure that all 11 year olds are tall/strong enough to iron safety.

Safely

No one in my house irons anything. We buy non iron shirts and just cope with the odd crease.

Lol and our self esteem has survived the lack of ironing so far!

Yes 11 year olds are tall and strong enough to iron. We’ve taught DS age 9.
For those disagreeing on stinky teens, there will be a huge variation- how long they walk to school, are they allowed blazers off, do they play sport at lunchtime etc Just the same with adults, my DH would always wear a different shirt each day after cycling to the station, walking to his office and doing the same on the way home. You don’t want to be on the tube next to someone wearing day old clothes but it’s not the same for everyone is it- I drive to work and sit in an air conditioned office. I could probably wear the same clothes for most of the week if it didn’t feel like a weird thing to do.

Threads like these where people seem to think that secondary age kids can't do their own ironing is why there are threads with kids off to uni who don't know how to put in a load of washing.

In our house (3 boys) there are no slaves we all pull together. they all know how to cook, put in a load of washing (and yes there are off to uni threads where kids have never even done that either).

If you want to iron then do so, if you don't then don't. But show your kids what you expect them to do.

I really like ironing, going against the flow here! When my 3 eldest were at school I would iron 15 shirts every Sunday night. I now have 1 starting secondary tomorrow and I've bought him 5 shirts that I'll be ironing. I really like ironed shirts and don't care that they keep their blazer on.

and trousers without a crease.

this really made me laugh as ds would be mortified to go to school in trousers with a crease. Not Cool.

The thing about these debates is that people assume so much.
so - "I feel sorry for kids whose parents don't iron, they look crumpled and it is sad."
well, no actually you see some crumpled kids and assume

1. that they didn't start out in ironed clothes and
2. that all the children who don't look crumpled had an ironed shirt.

Both are wrong. Some kids start out looking smart, then cycle to school and kick a ball around for 10 minutes before school starts, then rush into school shoving their shirt back into their trousers and look a crumpled mess.

On the other hand, once my dcs have their blazer on I really cannot tell if their shirt is ironed or not, unless the collar is crooked.
I rarely iron polycotton shirts, and pretty much never school shirts. I have ironed ds as they are 100% cotton, but on the odd occasion when I have forgotten, he gets dressed, comes down with tie and blazer and I wonder why I bother as you can't tell.

I do think teens need clean shirts, but not younger children, and not all adults.
Many adults choose not to shower daily as it is so drying to their skin and causes problems. I doubt if you could tell who does and doesn't.

In general, no. But that’s assuming they’re cotton. One of mine’s shirts were a weird linen mix, and looked like limp dishrags even after being ironed

We use the M&S ones that don't need ironing at all. They look like a rag when first put on and then are perfect in about 10 minutes.

dont worry about the ironing... just the washing of it.

years ago was talking about state of uniforms with a teaching assistant and she told me staff not bothered about whether they are ironed or not, they only concerned when kids come in school on mondays with uniform which has not been washed from last week, or the week before, or possibly even the week before that, very sad and not nice for that kid to be wearing.

I just always took out of machine the second it finished so it was not crumpled as much, hung the uniform on hangers and either out to dry or hanging next to open window and never ironed a thing. Thing is, once your kids enter the playground and the body heat spreads through the fabric you cant tell whether it was ironed or not.

Put on hangers while wet.

I iron nothing.

Everybody has a clean shirt/blouse a day Winosaurus, even if they don't smell the collars rub against the neck and get dirty - and it shows! Cuffs don't do too well either, never mind anything spilled on the shirts.

Would you or your husband go to work in the same shirt or blouse every day? I think not.

Honestly! We're not back in the 1950s when there was a shortage of hot water, so many had tidemarks round their necks and stank.

Ironing shops are cheap! Approx £1.20 per shirt, cheaper for children's. We shove everything in our local ironing and cleaning shop and they come back pristine.

@Rebecca36 did you read any of my comments?!

A lot of people happy for their kids to attend school with creased clothing and some in dirty clothes.

I hang wet shirts on hangers as soon as I can. It certainly helps with the chore of intoning.

We have 2 day rule for shirts in this house but shirts must be changed out of when home and hung and examined before being worn a second day. If they are dirty or smelly they go in the wash.

Personally our 2-day rule is a good balance between hygiene, environment, cost and storage space. As well as effort.

Definitely a clean shirt every day (helps them stay sparkling white), but defo no ironing. I buy the M&S easy-iron ones and just hang them up as soon as they're dry. By the time the kids have walked to school, the heat of their bodies has made any creases drop out.

Autocorrected! Ironing not intoning.

My DS doesn't smell - using soap rather than shower gel has kept us all fresher.

As yet the collars and cuffs are clean. The shirts actually get messier from the fluff from inside his jumper!

I also make my own laundry powder - so I wonder if that helps? My MIL is always commenting on how white my whites are.

Hang them on hangers to dry and then put in wardrobe. They won't be creased then. I don't even own an iron because I just hang anything that I would worry about being creased. Haven't ironed anything in years.