Wednesday, September 12, 2012

My Daughter Will Not Be the Dirty Kid at School

Alice is well into her second week of school and things are going swimmingly. She's an ungodly early riser by nature; the transition of getting out of bed for school is a nonissue. She's been rather pleasant and cooperative in regards to the morning procedures of breakfast and dressing. Matter of fact, we've arrived on time all six days. You're clapping for me, right? We really seem to be getting into the swing of things...most things. There is one issue I'm struggling with.

Bath

You see, it's considered bad parenting to send your child off into the world dirty. Before preschool was a part of our lives, bath was not a common occurrence in our house. Basically, if she hadn't been swimming in chlorine or coated in sunscreen bath was not on the agenda. I'm a busy woman, there aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish it all...don't judge me. In the winter months when swimming and sweating wasn't a daily concern I bathed Alice twice a week. As I sit here, I'm a teeny bit embarrassed to admit it. Let me reemphasize there aren't enough hours in the day. Given the choice of putting Alice to bed at an appropriate time or bathing her, I don't think it's even a close call. I would always choose bed, knowing I could pull her dreadlocked hair into a ponytail and the rest of the world would be non the wiser.

Enter Miss Sharon, Miss Kelly, and the rest of the kids in the 5 day 4's Sprout class at Alice's preschool. I feel it's my job to give my daughter every advantage I can. And if that's a regular bath I'm willing to roll up my sleeves and get a little wet. The last thing I need is for the teachers to notice the paint on Alice's toes from yesterday is still there today. God forbid her pony tail comes loose and they have to help, tugging and yanking on her tangled mats. As for the other kids, nicknames stick. Look at Pigpen from the Peanuts.

17 comments:

  1. I never gave my kids daily baths. Ever. You're good. Honest.

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  2. I guess you could always incorporate it with something else. Eating in the tub? Sounds like something I'd like :D

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  3. You definitely don't want her to be called the stinky girl.

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    1. I call her stinky all the time, but I birthed her, I'm allowed.

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  4. I am jealous that you were able to get by with a twice a week bath. I fantasize about that amount of bathing (bath time is not my favorite part of the day). I think it's probably better for little kids skin to be bathed less (not so drying). I don't know if my daughter is messier than most kids, but she gets so dirty every day. I mean oatmeal in her hair, paint up her nose, dirt between her toes dirty. She probably would need to bathe twice a day to meet school standards. I am dreading the day!

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    1. The oatmeal disappears in a strategically pulled up ponytail. Honest. Like magic.

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  5. There's nothing wrong with ponytails for unkempt hair. I'm lucky if I get around to brushing my hair once every week. It's curly, it's thick, and conditions have to be perfect for me to get a brush through it without breaking. I usually double rubber band my hair up into a messy bun (like these, but not nearly as glamorous http://messyhairstyles.blogspot.com/2011/05/messy-hair-bun.html)and call it a day.

    As for the bathing, if you notice paint or visible dirt on her, but don't have time for a full bath, just give her a quick wipe down. Obviously she's going to need a dunk before the flies start buzzing, but there's nothing wrong with a good old trucker bath.

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    1. We are not strangers to this method of bathing. Just foot baths happen frequently in my house.

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    2. Foot baths are a common occurrence at our place. The girls wear Keens- great for playing, but man do they staaaaaaank!

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  6. Considering that tonight I gave in to Trinity's pleas to sleep in the tutu she's been wearing for two days, with a mat in the back of her curls so thick it may actually turn into a dreadlock by morning, I can say with confidence that you're not alone. I briefly tried doing the nightly bath routine with my kids, but they ended up dry-skinned. And it was such a hassle. We've done the two baths/week thing at our house, too, so no judgement here. Congratulations on making it to school on time!

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    1. I've seriously considered the dreadlock route. Why fight the battle? And then I was reminded of all of the judgmental family members and figured this wasn't a war I should wage.

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  7. Okay now I feel terrible about how rarely the kids bathe. I'm not even going to say. With Ben being in school now I definitely feel like we need to make bath time a more regular thing, but every night... No I still don't see how there are enough hours in the day for that.

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    1. There isn't. Every night baths will not be a part of my routine. I'm struggling with every other.

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  8. Hey! I've decided to pass the Liebster Award on to you. You probably know about it already, but if you don't, it's bloggers showing appreciation for each other's work. I just was given this for my blog, The Travelin-gineer. So, if you're into it, check my post and link back on your page.

    http://thetravelin-gineer.blogspot.com/2012/09/liebster-award.html

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  9. There's never enough hours in the day is an understatement. It's still nice out, throw her out on the back lawn with the sprinkler and a bar of soap and call it good!

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  10. Ah, you're so REAL! I'm now raising some of our Grandchildren... and after well over thirty consecutive years of Parenting and at least another 15 or so to go I don't obsess about what I'm not managing to get done in the realm of Parenting and I'm a lot more laid back about the process. Often the G-Kids remind me it's time for a Bath... or a Meal... *Smiles* They're not starving and have become quite self-sufficient and adept about a lot of things since I'm rarely battling them about it, if I even notice or remember, I choose my battles wisely since there aren't enough hours in the day... and I'm old and tired besides. *LOL* Do they sometimes look like refugees... absolutely... but if anyone were foolish enough to say something, I'd instantly recruit them to help a Sista out... that would shut 'em up! *Winks*
    Dawn... The Bohemian

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