2 other parents at the nursery have approached me with concerns...

[onepieceoflollipop]

Background:

I have used the same local nursery since dd1 was 10 months old and always been very happy. (still am). dd2 has just started there (she is 12 months) and has settled in well. dd1 starts school in 2 weeks so will be leaving.

I have never had any major concerns with any aspect of the nursery. The staff are very affectionate and professional and I would struggle to criticise anything unless I was being picky.

A few months ago one of the mums that I know vaguely (coffee morning circuit) e-mailed me with concerns, mainly that there had been a few staff changes. I e-mailed back (very nicely) and said kindly that she may want to discuss concerns with the staff rather than me. She did so and e-mailed back to thank me and things had been resolved.

Since then a few more members of staff have moved on. afaik nothing sinister, all genuine reasons. The owner is the same woman and she has been more "hands on" during these changes.

Now another mum has e-mailed me plus a couple of the other mums (similar level of "friendship" to the first one) worrying about the changes. I haven't replied yet. Another of her concerns was that her son often comes home with food/paint on his clothes and she is angry about that.

Should I be more concerned about the changes?Should I reply to the 2nd person's e-mail? I have to confess that messy clothes don't worry me in the slightest, but she seems quite upset by it.

The most I could complain about would be the odd mis-spelt word or missing sock!

Thanks

Frankly I worry about parents who get upset if their children aren't pristine 24/7.

Or perhaps I should be worrying about the children

If they come home too clean then they probably haven't been having much fun. When we were looking at nurseries for ds1 it was the one which had wellies and waterproofs on the list of things the children needed which easily won out over the French for 2 year olds but the only outdoor facility was a 3m x 2m wooden deck places. Fortunately most of the other parents there seem o be of the same opinion, so its full of frequently wet or muddy, but happy, kids.

All have pfb perhaps?

My nursery do loads of messy play with DS and I love that he gets a good oportunity to do it. Am not bothered by paint or flour on his clothes - I see it as a sign he's had good fun day!

i'd stay out of it if you are happy. tbh i'd be more concerned if my dc's came home from nursery clean than messy. both mine always came home from theirs grubby, but with a huge grin on their face, a mountain of artwork and buzzing about the great time they've had. dd used to get so mucky with paint (despite wearing an apron, she's a muck magnet!), she had two wardrobes, one lot of clothes for nursery, slightly cleaner lot for home.

DD & DS can spend nearly all day outside at nursery if the weather is fine enough. I've got lovely photos of dd sat in paint & wearing her chocolate cake. Feeding farm animals, long walks and muddy play are what we pay for!

DD has a drawer of clothes that are never going to be pristine again that are expressly for nursery.

Think the OP is spot on.

I like it when DS comes home filthy. The days when they've had tomato soup are a particular favourite.

Sounds like someone is stirring up trouble and pulling others in.

Based on the experiense of ds1 and ds2: If they come home clean, they've obviously not had an interesting day.

Children should get paint on their clothes-and a lot else besides! I would have a lot of concerns if they came out looking immaculate. It is for play-not a fashion parade!

DS's Nursery can out shine all of you.

He came with tomato soup on his top. In the armpits. Go figure.

I am heartbroken that he will not be going anymore.

HeeHee what a charming talethe tomato soup axilla mystery...

Heated interesting point re the pfbs - in the cases I mentioned, yes they are. However dd1 was a pfb not so long ago...but I still found the washing machine to be very useful and never worried about the mess.

Also smiled at those of you who have "nursery" clothes and "home" clothes - we do too.

The bigger picture imo is that nurseries can waste unnecessary hours trying to pander to unreasonable parents. Obviously they already have to be vigilant with some children in the case of allergies, any special needs etc etc and rightly so. I have always refrained from giving them a long list of instructions telling them how to care for my children.

This is because I trust them and am paying them to do their job well. Also I think if they are having to worry about not upsetting x or y, then this potentially gives them less time to look after the group of children as a whole.

I wish it was worth making a distinction between nursery clothes and home clothes! DD manages to make herself look like she's been dragged through a hedge backwards regardless of where she is...

The second person sounds like a rather precious cow to be honest. Jesus, wanting to complain because the kids come home with dirty clothes... If DD came back looking clean then I'd be on the phone to nursery demanding to know why she hadn't got mucky! Sounds rather like these people have a little too much time on their hands to fret about sod all - perhaps you could reply suggesting that they use their bountiful free time more constructively, say in local charity work?

cestlavie our home clothes are frequently relegated to the nursery clothes pile!

Thankfully we are lucky with clothes...we have friends who are kind enough to pass things on, and my mum and aunt are very generous and give us gifts of clothes. Also I am more of an Asda girl than the likes of Pumpkin Patch/posh shop! (if it is only a £4 t-shirt then you are more inclined to stick it in a hot wash/resort to bleach etc and then bin it if it really is beyond hope)