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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Children with filthy nails!

57 replies

Shootingstar1115 · 13/07/2019 11:57

Hi all, please don’t hate me on this one. I have two DC, they get grubby playing outside but with regular bathing, cleaning with a nail brush, hand washing, face washes etc they still look clean and hygienic, most of the time anyway 🤣

So the other day DD went to a party, it was in the garden so a lot of children running around bare foot. I couldn’t help notice some children’s finger and toe nails were absolutely filthy. I’m not just talking about a little bit of dirt here. It was thick dirt around the edges of the nails and some of the children’s feet were black with ground in dirt. There is no way they got that dirty at the party so they arrived like it. My own daughters feet were a bit grubby when we left but nothing extreme.

The children in question had their hands in the party food. Then they sat on a blanket outside and all their feet where near each other and their plates of food. It made me cringe.

I just think clean hands and feet are just a basic level of hygiene we should teach our kids?

My kids get fed up of me scrubbing their nails with a nail brush every night 🤣

OP posts:

TK1930 · 13/07/2019 12:04

Agreed
Yes it is disgusting
& often children’s nails are long and filthy too
I don’t get it
But no doubt you’ll get the ‘Oh W elle aren’t you perfect/ you can’t impose your high standards on others’ brigade arriving shortly .....

Pinktinker · 13/07/2019 12:06

I bath my DC every other night and am pretty tip top on hand hygiene but there’s usually one of them leaving school with dirt in their nails or paint/pen all over.

It happens, kids are filthy creatures.

Pretendapony · 13/07/2019 12:09

If they play outside barefoot regularly then the dirt on their feet is probably ingrained (I get this in summer because I wear flip flops all the time even though I do scrub my feet every day). I agree about the finger nail thing. My DS is only 13 months and loves playing in the soil and gravel so he is just filthy every day.

Chloe9 · 13/07/2019 12:12

Much harder to keep on top of if you only have a shower, just saying. Feet do not get as clean in the shower no matter how much you try to clean them. There's some dirt only a good soak in a warm bath seems to get rid of entirely.

Iputthescrewinthetuna · 13/07/2019 12:12

So we like nice clean children. Hand washing is big in our house. Clean hands and faces unless painting or playing in garden. They are cleaned up after.
My 5 year old DD has other ideas. This is what she comes out of school like... the journey home it feels like people are thinking we are not the parents to care about appearance.
This was freshly ironed and clean just 7 hours before

Butchyrestingface · 13/07/2019 12:12

I’m an adult. I scrub my nails daily but find it impossible to keep them clean for any length of time. Within the hour, it invariably looks like I’ve been digging in the flower beds.

Deep nails beds. 🤷‍♀️

Nautiloid · 13/07/2019 12:13

My kids are clean with short nails but they can get their fingernails filthy within five minutes of them being spotless in the shower.
I can't get worked up about it.
Real filth is a different matter.

Original poster

Shootingstar1115 · 13/07/2019 12:14

My own children do get filthy. Particularly at school and pre-school. Often DS’s nails are dirty after a day at school BUT with a bath and a scrub he goes to bed clean every night. I’m talking about a large amount of dirt here, dirt that’s more than a days worth of dirt from school or playing outside. One child looked like they hadn’t had a bath in about 3 weeks 🤣

OP posts:

Original poster

Shootingstar1115 · 13/07/2019 12:15

I also have deep nail beds and I constantly have to scrub my nails as I get dirt in them. But I’m not talking about slight dirt here. It was thick black grime in and around the nails!

OP posts:

BiBiBirdie · 13/07/2019 12:16

When we had parties when my two were younger, I always made them all wash their hands before they had food. Especially if they had been in the garden or doing something craft related.
Only one mum ever moaned that her DS had told her he was asked to wash his hands before eating. I was quite surprised at her annoyance of it and thus he was never invited again.
I think it's a throwback with me as every day before lunch at school, we were lined up to go to the loo and wash our hands, then we'd put our coats and winter stuff on if needed. The teacher would check as well that we'd washed them.

serenadoundy · 13/07/2019 12:16

One child looked like they hadn’t had a bath in about 3 weeks 🤣

I'm not sure why you think this is funny. If it's true then it's actually neglect and about as far from funny as it gets.

Oliversmumsarmy · 13/07/2019 12:16

Ds hated having his fingernails and toenails cut.

I would creep into his room at night with a torch and cut them when he was asleep

Despite him bathing every evening in the morning before school or nursery he would run out to get to into the car . But then go and dig his fingers into the soil. Baby wipes just didn’t get the dirt from under his nails.

Butchyrestingface · 13/07/2019 12:17

But I’m not talking about slight dirt here

Neither am I. I am talking chimney sweep levels of crap under my nails within the hour.

Lllot5 · 13/07/2019 12:17

I hate dirty fingernails. No excuse for it. Keep them short and clean. When they’re small it’s just as easy to give them a bath.

hazeyjane · 13/07/2019 12:17

I just think clean hands and feet are just a basic level of hygiene we should teach our kids?

Yes, you are right, but just like teaching anything else, it can be a lot harder for some children.

x2boys · 13/07/2019 12:18

Meh, my son would be in the bath all.day every day if he had his way, he's autistic and won't keep his shoes and socks on so his feet do get grubby kids attract dirt .

FudgeBrownie2019 · 13/07/2019 12:18

There's a world of difference between a days-worth of dirt (which to be honest most DC can coat themselves in between school, activities and bedtime) and the sort of weeks-worth that you see occasionally.

I've worked with a couple of DC over the years who have come to school in truly awful states, and there's no way their parents didn't know, it's just that they weren't functioning well enough to make sure they had clean clothes and bodies. Those children knew enough to be embarrassed, too, and judgment from adults really didn't help them. It's heartbreaking because as much as we can try to put in place at school, we're not able to 'fix' it for them.

Oliversmumsarmy · 13/07/2019 12:20

serenadoundy I think you missed the words looked like and Shootingstar1115
did say they are bathed each evening.

Thefemalekeithrichards · 13/07/2019 12:21

Adults with filthy nails is just as gross 🤮

InTheHeatofLisbon · 13/07/2019 12:22

I'm not sure why you think this is funny. If it's true then it's actually neglect and about as far from funny as it gets.

This.

It's like the threads with faux outrage about a child's diet/clothing/behaviour.

I say faux because it's really just a "aren't I a wonderful parent because....X, Y, Z" thread.

If you'd seen my kids around lunchtime during their summer holiday you'd probably have made such snide assertions about them too.

But that's a snapshot of a day.

Either you know nothing about these children, or you know they're being neglected to the point of abuse and doing nothing about it.

Neither paints you in a good light.

Oh and regular dirt on fingernails shouldn't require nightly scrubbing with a nail brush, it's easy enough to soak off muck in nails.

sheshootssheimplores · 13/07/2019 12:23

One of the best things you can do to help your child not get sick is keep their nails nice and shorts. Stops dirt and germs accumulating underneath and ending up in the mouth.

rideawhiteswan · 13/07/2019 12:31

I used to listen to children read at school, I found that dirty nails generally went with an unwashed smell and grubby looking clothes. It used to break my heart but not a lot I could do.
And I'm certainly not over the top with hygiene my DC did have a nightly bath but their trousers/skirts and sweatshirts would get a weekly wash unless noticeably dirty.

Original poster

Shootingstar1115 · 13/07/2019 12:33

I know the parents of the little boy in question. I know he’s not neglected. It was a joke, calm down. He’s just a bit feral playing out in the mud and hates bath time and he is always really grubby but if was me I couldn’t send him to a birthday party so grubby touching all the food.

My post was about more about my annoyance at grubby nails touching all the food. I’m OCD, and I was just thinking germs, worms etc 🤣

As stated before my own kids get dirty. I’m not judging anyone who’s kids get grubby, far from it because my kids get so grubby themselves. My son has autism. He gets filthy at school but bathes every night! My daughter often comes out of pre-school looking like she needs a hose down too (joke obviously).

OP posts:

serenadoundy · 13/07/2019 12:34

serenadoundy I think you missed the words looked like

I didn't miss anything

OP said...

One child looked like they hadn’t had a bath in about 3 weeks 🤣

You picking up on the use of 'looked like' doesn't justify this vile post laughing at dirty children.

Not even close. It's disgusting.

serenadoundy · 13/07/2019 12:35

I know the parents of the little boy in question. I know he’s not neglected. It was a joke, calm down.

It's not funny.

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