To think there should be minimum standards

[Obviouslynamechangedforthisagain]

For parents to keep their home?
Reading threads on here people admit to children being bathed once per week, wearing pjs for weeks on end, changing beds monthly etc.
Obviously not everyone lives in squalor but if there were minimum standards (ie 3 baths pw, bedding changed weekly) it could help an awful lot of neglected children that don't reach SS level of need.
Admittedly it would be almost impossible to police but if it could be done AIBU to think this could be a good idea?

But who would decide what these standards are? Google housekeeping experts timetable and you will see even they have widely differing standards.

Don't be ridiculous.

If the government were to stipulate the amount of baths people had per week then they would need to make water usage free and perhaps subsidise electricity…I think you answered your own question there though. Impossible to police…

Children who are suffering neglect or abuse often don't receive the help they need. There are huge issues with lack of funds and staff. The fact you think interventions should be made because a child gets their bloody sheets washed after 10 days is utterly ridiculous.

What do you mean by keep their home?

Does this just apply to tenants or homeowners too.

There is a lot more to neglect and abuse than not changing the bedding very often.

Once a week baths and bedding changed monthly is normal for some people. I was expecting you to say worse.

Like you said, impossible to police.
Obviously it would be better if the hygiene standards increased, but as long as they’re not physically harming them.

And do you think that losing their home would improve life for these children who don't get regular baths? Don't be silly.

That's not practical and you know it

Though it is shocking the state of some people's houses

Think a lot of the problem is a lot of people just collect clutter

Which just makes routine jobs so much harder

Less stuff often equals an easier day to day life

What do kids actually " need" bathing more than once a week week? It was completely normal not that long ago. As long as you are washed baths are unnecessary. Bet there's quite a few adults on here that never take a bath.

Do children need weekly bed changes though?! If they are going to bed fairly clean, are dry overnight, not at an age where sweat is an issue then I think we can push the sheet change a bit longer surely?! In fact I can't say I do my own weekly! I'll notice when they don't feel as fresh as I like and it goes on my mental to do for over the next couple of days.

Who decides what the standard is?

Who will police it?

Why do you think the government or whoever saying kods must bathe 3 times a week will stop kids already being neglected?

One of my dc physically can't bathe more than once a week, should she be taken off me and I get to keep the others?

Ridiculous idea.

I'd rather have mandatory cuddles and bedtime stories that daily baths.

Speaking from experience.

And yes who gets to decide?! If my Fil gets to decide the standards, well then we are all in for a whole lot of cleaning if we plan to keep our kids! You'd better hope I get to, I'm far more relaxed, which pains him greatly 😆

Our daughter doesn’t have baths because the water doesn’t get hot enough to fill a bath. It would be more neglect to force her to sit in baths that aren’t warm enough. She has a shower once a week which is enough.

If you’re a SAHM then sure you have time to do all this cleaning. Both myself and husband work FT so it’s not as easy once you’ve done the basic laundry, kitchen cleaning and vacuuming.

Primary school children do not usually need multiple baths a week, and in fact too many baths can damage sensitive skin.

Surely it is about making sure the essentials are covered, and that is child and age dependent?

Honestly OP, if it was possible to introduce standards and police them, these are NOT the ones I would choose! How about:

Cook healthy food
Make sure your kids get outside frequently and exercise regularly
Read to/with your kids regularly
Talk to and engage with your kids
etc

These are far more important IMO than clean sheets once a week!

When we adopted we were never asked how often we changed the beds!

Neglect is a whole picture, not one item.

And what happens when the 'house keeping police' discover that a child has only bathed once or their bedding hasn't been changed? Are we removing these children from otherwise loving parents? Placing them in care?

I'll tell you what, when you come up with an idea to save children like Star Hobson, Arthur Labonjo Hughes, or the multitude of other children who are actually losing their lives due to their parents then I'll listen.

How would we monitor this?

I used to work in a retirement building. A part of their lease stated they "Had to clean the window ledge at least once a month"

No way you can monitor this. As a month is a lot of dust.

I sort of get what you are saying. However I think we will end up in clutched pearls territory very quickly.

Pwrhaos guidelines for people as they give birth? But again how would you monitor.

On a separate point that lease also stipulated no tap dancing between the house of 11 pm and I am. I SO want the backstory for that rule. (Usually it says dancing but this one had dancing and tap dancing mentioned)

One of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.

@Obviouslynamechangedforthisagain I lived in an immaculate home, I had fabulous clothes, foreign holidays in the 60s, went to brilliant schools and even had a pony. None of those things prevented my mother from being a narcissist and emotionally abusive. Neither did it prevent my parents' serial divorces and marriages which they helped make fashionable before it was a thing.

I like a clean and tidy home by the way.

This is such a naive, ignorant and dumb thread. Honestly.

Jesus Christ. The only thing your post makes a good argument for is a better standard of education.

I feel as if op has deliberately chosen standards that she knows some people on here won’t meet in order to be goady.

But to answer your broader point, the government does get involved in trying to guide people towards more normal standards, through HVs and SS. Where I live there are also poster campaigns encouraging people to spend face to face time with their babies, cuddle them etc rather than looking all day at their phones (I feel there’s a developmental bombshell quietly going off here. If I were a cartoonist I’d do a new Gin Lane except instead of gin, everyone is glued to their phone).

But arbitrary legally enforceable standards about how often you charge the sheets- absolutely not. What sort of authoritarian dystopia would that be, never mind completely impractical.

I think there should be a minimum standard of common sense required before someone is permitted to start a new thread.