School run ear wax

[Mrmialoat]

Everyday at pick up I see two siblings who have visible ear wax, there is so much of it that it’s easily visible on the outside of the ear and around it. I’ve heard a few kids commenting that it’s gross. Aibu to think the parents should address this and that it’s not normal or nice for their kids. (Primary school aged kids).

You don't know what the parents have or haven't done. They may have sought medical advice and are following it.

Unless there's a backstory here why you've assumed they're being neglectful?

If you have noticed in the fleetingness of the school run then both the parent noticing and not doing anything about it, or the parent not noticing is awful.

What medical advice would state to not clear wax that has accumulated externally on the ear? In the ear canal, sure.

That sounds like some kind of medical
condition. How can anyone has that much ear wax?!

I don’t understand it but it’s odd that both the kids have it

It's clearly unusual and likely a medical thing if it's that visible.

You have no idea what the parents are doing about it - they could be cleaning them in the morning or told to leave it well alone to prevent risk of infection.

Gosh that’s incredibly sad

One of my four children has so much orange ear wax it is always visible. We joke about it being a marmalade factory 🤢

He has perfectly healthy ears, no pain, just makes a lot of ear wax.

He also has a few sensory issues and hates anyone touching his ears/hair. And he is rubbish at cleaning them himself because it needs repeated warm cloth wiping with some pressure to shift it.

We have compromised on my cleaning them with a warm flannel once a week. So once a week he might go to school with clean ears, but the rest of the time they’re visibly waxy.

I am not neglecting him. I have just decided that a smooth morning before school is more important than clean ears. I suspect that vanity will kick in eventually and he’ll decide to clean them daily himself.

YABU. Some children just have naturally more earwax, and the general advice is to leave earwax alone, as it is the ear's self-cleansing mechanism.

Visible earwax might indicate nothing more than the fact that a child with naturally waxy ears is also one that doesn't particularly like to put his head underwater, go swimming or let the shower run into the ear. Given that earwax isn't unhygienic, it would be fine for a parent to allow this preference.

We used to have a weekly bath when I was a kid. Strangely, I grew up ok.

It isn’t necessary to bath a child daily.

I think a discreet word with the parents, on the grounds that other children may bully their child because of it. Bullying is never acceptable of course, but prevention is a reasonable course of action.

You are making assumptions about family structures that may or may not exist.

If they are from a chaotic family they may have little support.

Their teacher will have noticed surely and considered next steps.

No its not if it has a genetic cause.
Also some treatments for psoriasis makes ear wax appear worse.

You should be washing both bums and face daily.

Absolutely!! What does "daily, at least" mean? That ideal is more than once a day?? Bad for their skin, bad for their hair, and probably covering them in toxic junk. But still free to judge other people's parenting as neglectful. Sounds like she lives on privet drive.

When I was a teenager at high school there was a boy in my class who always had earwax flowing out of his ears but at times it was green!
He was such a lovely and gentle young man but I don’t think he had an easy life at home.
Maybe he didn’t notice it but there was so much of it.

I'm obsessive about cleaning my ears everday due to having an ear problem as a kid. I had glue ear and persistent infections, my ears could get mucky each day but my mum and i cleaned them regularly. I've grown out of it, and one of my 3 sons had it for a short while, but i was on it like a hawk.

Even if these kids had an ear issue (which is fairly common, so likely the cause), they obviously need a bit more attention paid to hygene in that area. It should never be as bad as OP describes. I don't think on it's own amounts to neglect, but definately needs to be addressed.

One of my DDs has very waxy ears, and I bought a Tvidler, which is a flexible silicone tipped spiral that scoops the wax out without damaging the ear. I bought a set years ago (it came with loads of replaceable tips), but the Tvidler site is now blocked by my antivirus software, although it still seems to be up. I've found a similar product on Amazon, if anyone's interested.

https://amzn.eu/d/0bkVMuEe

Or if you don't fancy clicking the link. google "Tvidler" and copycat products will come up (I wouldn't try the official site since my antivirus deems it dangerous!)

I’m an adult.

i have ear issues.

the medical advice (very strongly!!) is not to clean your ears especially with ear buds.

syringing can also be very problematic unless kept clean to medical standards.

i do clean the outside of my ears but cleaning the inside leads to more ear infections which I am prone to and are very unpleasant.

Back in the 80s kids had weekly baths, BUT.. you were exoected to "top & tail" at the sink each morning. Washing hair at the sink midweek was also common for teenagers.

I couldn't do without my daily shower now. The kids shower every other day, unless they've had sports. When i think about all the times i used to wash my hair in the sink, it makes my neck ache!

Grim
People stank in the past and infection was rife

@Mrmialoat
This is terrible, those poor children
Mine were bathed daily no I didnt scrub their skin off hair washed and combed through to check for nits, ears cleaned with a warm flannel

Mornings they had a hands, face and bum wash

Im afraid parents are very busy these days, both working and DC neglected
My SIL is a teacher and childrens hygiene is seen as optional

You are horribly ableist. I don’t wash daily - I live in a cold country and I have an allergy which causes eczema every time I shower. Also showering day strips you skin of essential oils and it’s very bad for skin, especially kids. If the child has a cleft or another issue, they will produce more earwax. They could have sensory issues which prevents their cleaning. You incredibly judgemental and sadly seem to have not taught your kids any manners.

If ear wax is visible it's not on the inside. You're still supposed to clean your ears just not the ear canal.

My youngest son has very waxy ears and needs his ears cleaned with a wipe every morning, so I clean them every morning before school. I mean I've forgotten very, very occasionally but that's just life. You're yanbu.

I would've been this child, I had horrendous ear infections and ear wax as a child. My mum would clean my ears before school, pick me up at lunchtime to clean them again and then they'd need cleaning again after school and before bed.
I hate to think that people thought my mum neglected me!