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).

Could be glue ear or allergies? Both affect my ears badly and I’ve got very waxy ears

sad if it is lack of care though

My boy gets glue ear and produces a lot of wax, and hates having his ears cleaned. I do my best to ensure they are clear, both to be clean and to benefit his hearing. He also has an eye condition that can make them crusty, which we clean as often as medically appropriate. Both of these conditions are hard for him to deal with (painful and affecting hearing and sight). I would love it if other parents taught their children to be kind to others who might be a bit different to them.

Same and kids can see who the dirty kids are. I would be mentioning it to the school, especially as the kids are being bullied for it. It’s clearly gone past just parents in a rush and forgot to clean their child’s ears one day.

(I didn’t actually know this was even a thing as my kids ears are always clean - never seen any visible wax so they must be very unwaxy kids!)😁

My dd's best friend has this. Whenever she comes round to our house, I worry that it's going to fall out. It's really horrible!

Stop looking down on other people, and focus on your own life.

There's going to be a health cause as this isn't standard for ears and the school will be clearly able to observe.

You don't need to waste your energy judging.

Ugh I'm afraid that is just revolting. Kids have cuts and grazes all the time, if a bacteria gets in they could get really ill.

Theres no excuse for not washing your little one daily unless they're babies.

Washing doesn't mean covering them in chemicals, natural products work just as well. But not showering or bathing daily? No. That's setting them up to be that stinking teen, then adult, no one wants to be near.

When I was in my 20s/30s, I sweated, had underarm hair that needed regular shaving etc., so a daily shower was a must.

Now in my 60s, I don't seem to sweat anymore, I have more hair on my chin than my armpits and my skin integrity is changing as well. A shower every other day is perfectly fine, and it keeps my gas bill down.

Don’t do this. You don’t know how the parents would react and you’ll probably get a name for yourself as an annoying, interfering busy body. Obviously the parents know. What parent wouldn’t notice something on their own child that a stranger can see from a distance? It’s either a medical condition and they’re aware or they’re shit parents and they don’t care. If it’s the latter they’ll be other signs of neglect and the school will be dealing with it. I’d keep out of it if I was you. If another parent said that to me about my child I’d be seriously pissed off and probably defensive

My son has waxy ears. It runs out overnight and I have to wet wipe his earlobes every morning. There's nothing wrong with his hearing or anything, it's just the way he's built - GP says it'll improve with age as his ear tubes mature. His sister didn't have visible wax but had clogged tubes which necessitated a hearing aid, and it did improve when she was older. Its just one of those things.

I can see how it can be missed when you're rushing in the morning 🤷

This is ridiculous. Kids do not need daily washing until they reach puberty. Maybe in the summer if they’ve been running around a lot and getting dirty. But a normal winter’s day when they’ve been in school uniform all day, why? My 5 yo has a bath or shower every 2 or 3 days. I wash her face every night though. She never smells, her hair’s never greasy and she never looks unclean. She gets clean tights & t shirt for school every day. Why does she need to have a daily shower? That seems excessive

When I was a child in the 1970s, I had daily or almost daily baths and had clean, well-fitting clothes and shoes and tooth brushing was non-negotiable. However, I had frequent, very nasty ear infections that caused really unpleasant odours. My parents tried to keep my ear as clean as possible but it was impossible. How do you think it made me feel as a little girl, knowing that I had this problem that was visible to others? I had cotton wool in my ear to help keep it at bay. The only thing that worked was a mastoidectomy, which is a major operation, because the infection was at a dangerous level and literally eating away my middle ear. It might be that these children are suffering from frequent infections or it might be that they are not as clean as they should be. Either way, it is not their fault. If your own child mention it again, you could agree with them that, yes, it is rather unpleasant but they can’t help it and you trust them to be kind.

OP if YOU are concerned then YOU should report to Children’s Services. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Don’t expect others to do it - do it yourself.

I used to have a weekly bath and what more I had to use the same bath water as db! We took it in turns to be first!

We're all pretty waxy I'm our family to be honest. I was advised by an audiologist to use Earol (olive oil spray) as DS's ears were getting blocked. Other than that we clean up with a wet wipe. I'm sure the kids will be talking to their parents about it themselves at some point, the other kids in their class are bound to make comments

One of my DC used to get really excessive ear wax before being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition. Now that the illness is being treated the extra earwax has stopped.
We used an ear bud dipped in coconut oil every night before the shower to clean all the whorls of the ear and the opening. Sometimes I'd redo it quickly in the morning.
You don't have to go into the ear or spend ages to keep it looking clean! I feel so sorry for these kids.
IMO it's abusive to let them be the "smelly kids".

This exactly!

The amount of ear wax that individuals generate varies wildly. It is of course totally unacceptable to let your child walk around with filthy ears, however much ear wax he or she makes. Ears need to be washed every day with soap and water and rinsed thoroughly.

You're not entitled to a childs medical info, nor are medical conditions you feel are unsightly an excuse for them to be harassed. Mind your business.

I had 2DSs. The difference in the rate at which they produce(d) earwax was astonishingly. DSs1's ears were always presentable with a little wipe at hairwash time.

DS2 could be full of visible wax again by next morning. As an adult, I still often point out he needs to go and wipe his ears before leaving the house, even though I'm sure he's doing it everyday in the shower and is really selfconcous about it.

But keep judging others. I'm sure you're just perfect in every way.

I'm picturing staff reactions in the children's services office after a phone call in which someone reports waxy ears as a potential safeguarding issue. 😂

I recall many years ago when one of our children was little that there was a child in their class whose hygiene was pretty grim. It took only a few mothers (in concertation) making an appointment with the head to point this out for the school to take action

Everyone I knew as a kid in the 80s had nightly baths. Where on earth did you live?

My son has very waxy ears (my daughter doesn't). I give them a quick clean in the bath (never use cotton ear buds) but there are days when we are in a rush and it goes unnoticed. Waxy ears are healthy ears so the doctor told me. Ears are self cleaning.

This!

I’m a teacher and the amount of children from
reception up who have no idea how to wipe their nose just baffles me. Why don’t parents teach their children how to do this?