Mucky face 3 year old

[ZacSWeed]

My 3 yo recently started full time. Everytime I pick her up, she just looks so scruffy. I dont really mind her clothes getting messy, infact I sent her in pretty expensive boots that shes scuffed already but heyho.

What is upsetting me is when I pick her up she still has her lunch dried on her face, dried runny bogie stain on her nose, hat on back to front, coat undone, no bag given, spare clothes missing. I understand that staff are busy but even giving her a tissue/ wetwipe from her bag to wipe it herself would do. When shes at home shes fine and I will give her a napkin with her food and she will wipe it herself, so I know she can do it.

I work in a school myself and I always make sure the kids have coats and hats on and zipped, during dinners I'll remind them to wipe their mouths and in class I always say if you need a tissue just go and get it or I'll just casually give it to them. They are a lot older than my LO.

How do I say something without being that annoying mum?

I work in early years. The dried lunch is not acceptable. But snot on faces is harder to control as it only takes a second for a child to wipe it round their face and if it happens close to home time I can see why it would be missed in a nursery setting when there are 20 plus children. Obviously if I noticed it I would wipe a face clean but I'm just trying to explain why it might be missed.

As for ruined clothes, that is why most early years settings will ask for a child to be sent in wearing old inexpensive clothes.

You could encourage your child to be more proactive with the face/nose wiping but also keep an eye on the situation particularly with regard to dried food from lunch.

I would raise it politely and see if it improves.

I wouldn’t send into nursery wearing anything expensive.!

I work in Early years and have kids of my own. I'd raise her having her lunch on her face. Maybe do so in a lighthearted way eg I don't need to ask her what she's had for dinner, could her key worker pass her a cloth to wipe her face. Then give them a compliment too - Early Years workers are working through a pandemic, with snotty kiddies who can't social distance, with no PPE. So do give them a heads up about her having her lunch on her face, but do also tell them how much you appreciate them.

My own toddler can go from clean faced to snotty in seconds, and loves to get his clothes mucky. Those things happen, and I'd let those go.

We encourage children to wipe their own faces espe at the moment with covid, wiping multiple faces and washing hands between is hard going. There are ways around this eg one member of staff per table cuts down cross contamination, we do nappies and toileting checks straight after meal times so the staff member will be washing their hands between nappy changes anyway and wearing disposable gloves. Then the staff member feeding back will also check children before they leave. Sometimes a child with a dirty face slips through but never consistently. Have a chat to the room leader maybe ask a few questions first.

There shouldn’t be food, unless you’re picking up very close to the end of a meal time where they might not have finished getting everyone cleaned up. With runny noses though some children will look messy two seconds after their last nose wipe!

With coats etc have your nursery changed procedures at the door so that they might not be seen out by their own room staff?

Clothing in nursery will always get scuffed, wet, muddy and painty! I go home as mucky as the children with mine most days!