To be annoyed with daughters preschool?

[Pisces90]

First day back and my daughters new jacket has been stained with paint! She wears uniform and i have no issue with that clothes being stained or wrecked. It is preschool afterall. But i didn't think that included her jacket! I tried talking to one of the assistants about it and was fobbed off and asked if i wanted them to take a damp sponge to it. The paint had dried in and it's non washable paint so a damp sponge was pointless imo. I am so pissed off about this. Not sure if to go to the heads office tomorrow or no. Opinions?

If it's a uniform, and they come home with stained uniform from school activities, let them wear stained (but washed) uniform ffs! Who gives a shit? If the school complained about the uniform being stained, THEN I'd take umbrage. DS's school polo shirts have various pen marks on them. I'll replace them when he's grown out of them, not before.

Especially if they insist on an expensive school uniform as well!

I'd give Vanish a go, and send her in wearing the result.

Vanish or any other soap and a cool wash should do it.

I would complain that they use non washable paint in a preschool.

It's inconsiderate to expect parents to just suck it up if clothing or footwear are ruined because of 'art' when there are washable paints available. It's also inconsiderate to expect parents to have an extra jacket or coat just in case something completely avoidable happens, like using non washable paint outdoors.

I sent my DC to preschool in clothes I was happy to bin if they got too mucky or ruined.

The head will mark you as “one of those parents” forever if you complain about a paint stained coat.

@mathanxiety tbh from my experience of working in a nursery, even our washable paints don’t come out completely. We learnt the hard way with lots of complaints

Give over I don't mean a bollocking, being responsible doesn't just happen, they have to learn it through explanations and coming up with solutions. When will they learn if you don't teach them? Watching her mum yell at teachers will have more of a negative impact than talking through what she can do better next time and helping to clean up the mess this time. The next time she might then wear an apron or wipe her coat down on her own to clear up her mess.

We encourage them to clear up their other messes so why not this?

They won't be non-washable paints though.

EmmiJay I applaud you.

Uniform is ridiculous for children so young but that's another thread.

You want to see the head teacher about some paint? I feel sorry for teachers.

Stick it in the machine and use old clothes from now on, including coats and wellies, don't buy new stuff.
Why a uniform at so young? Let her be a toddler, uniform is for school and work.

i doubt it is non washable paint.

if her coat is non washable, then more fool you

I feel like a lot of posters haven't read my post properly so i will try and clarify.
The jacket is from asda. It's not an expensive one but it was new at Christmas so i am gutted this has happened.
There is no rules for uniform. I just do leggings, polo and school colour cardi because after her first year i was sick of all the stained clothes. I don't mind these school clothes being wrecked. Which i already said.
The paint was along the shoulder and over the hood so i don't think it was my daughter that did it to herself.
They do use non washable paint. Inside and out! I have never understood why.
I have already tried washing it and pre treating it and yes it's stained. I knew it would have because i have been dealing with these stains for a year and a half. They come away a bit on cotton but the jacket material is that silky shine stuff so i knew right away it wasn't ever coming off.

Just to reiterate i know nursery clothes will become wrecked but i didn't think it would include her jacket that was just hanging in the cloakroom .

You need to speak to your child about why she has got her coat full of paint. Hold her responsible. In preschools children to have access to all activities both inside and out. Paint will be outside, mud will be outside etc. Give her a consequence for getting paint on her clothes such as helping to clean it so that it will help her to be more careful next time. If it doesn't come off, she will see that it doesn't and again the consequence is that she will then have to wear a coat with paint on until she outgrows it.

Are you serious?!

Thefaceofboe, yes, so-called washable acrylic paint can't be shifted without a washboard or a pressure hose and industrial strength detergent.

In my DCs' school the art teacher asked everyone to have an old t shirt or other smock for art to protect uniforms underneath.

When my DCs got to 9 or 10 it became a fashion to not wear the smock for art. I asked the art teacher to make mine sit out if they wouldn't wear the cover-up that o knew they had in their lockers. Their uniforms shirts cost $40.

Teachers shouldn't blithely assume every family has the means to buy a 'mess' coat purely for school, nor should they assume that every family is on board with the 'fought with a lawnmower and paint machine' look for children. It doesn't always mean they had a great time.

It's possible to have a great time without getting covered with mud or paint, and why should a parent martyr herself dealing with the consequences of some teacher's idea of productive activities?

I would be curious about the learning objective that was served by painting outdoors.
.....
There is no way a 3 or 4 yo child should be allowed to 'wipe' paint from their own clothing. It's not the same as other messes that can always be fixed with a good dose of laundry detergent.

Now I think about it my daughter came home with red paint on her coat that wouldn’t come out last term. Luckily the coat was getting small and it’s multicoloured so you couldn’t really tell, I’ve no idea why she was painting in her coat either? I’ve just bought a lovely new coat (it was half price in the next sale so pretty cheap) but I still don’t want it trashing!!

I wouldn’t complain about it exactly, maybe just have a word with your daughter about taking it off before painting and maybe just ask the staff to remind her to take it off too.

You need to speak to your child about why she has got her coat full of paint. Hold her responsible. In preschools children to have access to all activities both inside and out. Paint will be outside, mud will be outside etc. Give her a consequence for getting paint on her clothes such as helping to clean it so that it will help her to be more careful next time. If it doesn't come off, she will see that it doesn't and again the consequence is that she will then have to wear a coat with paint on until she outgrows it.

Really?? How to stop your child having any fun, kill any creativity and cause all manner of issues in one easy step. I honestly hope you are just saying this and don’t actually have any children. Oh dear.

I find that most stains come out with vanish. I often soak prewash and then stick an extra load in the cycle.

Chocolate - I encourage children to be creative but there are still rules. They paint but if they spill or get messy they own it and tidy it. I teach them about responsibility and the impact on things. They flick mud at someone they help them clear it up. They make snow angels and get their clothes wet, they help to dry them and sweep and mop up the lobby from snow so it is safe. Being responsible for your actions does not mean stopping creativity unless you think creativity means just dicking around doing what you want.

Does anyone really have a preschooler that doesn’t get paint on them?

My daughters nursery puts a reminder in every single newsletter for kids to wear appropriate clothing and that they WILL get messy, if the preschool doesn’t do that then maybe you could ask them to - although it seems like common sense. I wouldn’t send my daughter to nursery in anything I’m not prepared to get wrecked. She always goes to nursery in clean clothes but sometimes they do have old paint stains on them or her boots/trainers are badly scuffed. She’s infamous at the nursery for how filthy she gets when they go outside. Tbh I think you need to adjust your expectations a wee bit - it might be paint this time but it could be grass stains or a rip next time. And don’t give her unexpected ‘consequences’ for having fun.

What paint are they using? Acrylic? Gloss?

I've never known a nursery, pre-school, childminder infant school to use anything other than bog standard washable kids paint unless under strict supervision

If they really are letting 3 year olds go wild with acrylics then definitely raise it with the school.

I work in a school the paint should be washable as most schools order from the same suppliers. What colour is it ? Red can be the hardest to get out x

@mathanxiety uniform is really practical for young children - cheap, washable and saves their nice clothes from getting stained!
All mine have worn uniform to pre-school at age 2 precisely so I don't need to fret about stains.

Worked in a nursery. We always advised parents didn’t send in the ‘nice’ clothes because although aprons etc are worn things will get dirty/marked through daily activities. We did have a few parents over the years send their kids in matching, coordinated stuff from designers you might find in Debenhams but after a few complaints and some assertive words from the nursery manager they went and bought cheap primary stuff for nursery days instead!

My DC were all paint-stained at toddler group and pre-school. They all wore old stuff/hand-me-downs for toddlers. There was a proper uniform for pre-school (including boaters for the girls ), but even then it was all old/second hand, and I expected them to come home painty/muddy. They are very small at that age, and even if you can impose your own rules/consequences at home, you can't expect other children or parents to adhere to the same rules.

FWIW, I used to wear old gardening clothes for toddler group, for precisely the same reason. I wouldn't have been wearing my best Christmas coat, had there been such a thing.