Permanent marking/paint at daycare

I think it's a bit different as to whether you're sending your children to kindy or a daycare or just toddling along to playcentre a couple of times per week, it's also how much spare time you personally have as to what your expectations are and how much clothes destruction you will tolerate.

It's also about age appropriate-ness, I really don't think under-3's should be using permanent markers, aside from the staining it can't be healthy to be putting them on their skin or in their mouth.

I send dd3y to kindy 5 days a week (8.30-1-30) as a lead up to school, I expect her to be careful with paint and not get herself completely filthy, as it's part of learning coordination etc, but then again I don't growl her if she does, however, it would be nice if the kindy at least tried to use washable markers (or as someone else mentioned add dishwash to the paint). Or every now and then said "Hey Johnny and Martha, how about you put the paint on the paper instead of on the table or floor or yourselves".

And before I get jumped on I was on the committee, I know what they spend on what and believe me, it's definitely the teacher's choice as to what they get and how they use it, price isn't the consideration (we suggested they get much cheaper washable ones from the warehouse or trademe but they HAD to order from the "proper" "educational" (read heavily marked up) suppliers because they got free stuff when they ordered from them). Now they plead poor and we pay $250 a term for 20 hours "free".

I know my limitations and my stresses and chucking away what was perfectly good clothing is one of them because even if you are lucky enough to get it cheap or for free it is still wasteful. Primary schools push big time to teach the kids sustainability, environmental responsibility and respect ("respect is being kind to yourself, kind to others, and kind to the environment which is the people and the things around you" is what my 6yo happily explains), perhaps it's time ECE caught up and started taking on board some of those principles too.

They don't need marker pens, give them jovies, it's what they'll use at school anyway.

edited spelling

Edited by tictacjunkie

I don't get why you'd have to throw the stained clothes out Tictac? that seems wasteful as they will then just stain more clothes. I think (for me) it's just easier to accept kindy clothes will get stained, and I just keep using them. In fact we do heaps of messy play at home too, so most my kids clothes have some kind of stain lol... But my fav memories as a kid was playing with messy stuff... I don't let my kids paint the walls or carpets etc, but I'm happy for them to be covered in paint or mud or whatever - it's good fun! and at the end of the day it's this kind of thing they remember :)

[QUOTE=tictacjunkie]I bet you wouldn't let a toddler play with permanent markers or stamp ink at home Freckle, that is my issue with our ece centre (as was the OPs).

This is my reason for sending my toddler to Playcentre so she can have messy play without getting paint/marker etc on our furniture.

I also think teaching kids to look after things is an age and stage of development, my 20 month old doesn't understand about taking care of her clothes I'm sure by the time she is 5 she will have a better understanding. some kids wreck clothes no matter how much you tell them not to

Edited by caliandjack

Mine came home today with a very pretty patterned tshirt and hands, still doesnt bother me, I guess cos shes too young to understand the concept of keeping clothes clean and as long as day care are keeping her happy then Im happy :)

Its a hand me down tshirt and in the grand scheme of things, its getting more wear than any of her 'nice' clothes as some only get worn once or twice before shes outgrown them, they then get passed on to someone else to use as they wish, so a chain of recycling goes on

This was pots of commercial type stamp ink, not stamp pads, our kids use the scrap-booking stuff at home.
Vivids?!!
And again we're getting two or three pieces of clothing coming home caked in paint that's dried hard on her by the time I pick her up and doesn't soften even after soaking, EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

The burn marks are on her sleeves, as though she's put the glue gun down then reached over it, she's not rough, in fact quite the opposite. But perhaps the glue gun is something they should supervise better. One mum was given a lovely gift of a milk bottle lid filled with holes her son had melted into it with the glue gun.

You all seem to think the problem is with me for being concerned, not whether or not the kindy is being responsible with what they're giving the kids to play with and whether or not they're supervising it properly.

The eldest of my 5 children is 11y soon so I've been at the kindy almost constantly for the past eight years and we've not had this problem to this extent before, we've always had "kindy" specific clothes. The kindy used to be really good but the staff has changed numerous times over the past few years, we are already on to our second head teacher this year alone. (three if you count the acting one at the start of the year)

I've had dd3y home this week as they fertilised the grass, granules all over the footpath (the only way in and out of the kindy building) and she's broken out in hives. (to add to her misery with her cold she's now got) Aside from the fact that since they removed the playground last year the grass is the only outdoor play area and they have the sprinklers going on it when there is a frost so the kids can play on it.

Your playcentres or daycares etc may be lovely but clearly mine has issues and had I a choice I would send her elsewhere. After this week with the fertiliser issue I won't be enrolling my youngest at all.

Or maybe I'm just not as fabulously "mum-enough" as the rest of you are.

Supervision of the glue gun and related materials is 1 adult to 2 kids at our PC often its 1 to 1. We try to stop the kids burning holes in themselves, clothes would be a close second.

tictacjunkie wrote: And again we're getting two or three pieces of clothing coming home caked in paint that's dried hard on her by the time I pick her up and doesn't soften even after soaking, EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

That would be hard work. Our creche rinses the clothes if they get really paint-soaked, and gives them to me in a bag wet.

And enough of the 'I'm not Mum enough' comments already. We don't mean that and you know it. We just have different approaches to paint and kids clothes, how did that ever become a major?!

Caliandjack I think the point in some ways is that yes 20 month olds can't respect/take care of their clothes so it is up to the people looking after them to help do that and teach them the lessons by example.

I think the reason why ttj would say she feels not Mum enough is because some of the comments sort of read like it's silly to care about that stuff, which of course someone who does care is going to get offended about. Always hard when talking online to know the tone of something, and I think Mums like to staunchly defend their own views because they believe in them so much and it can sometimes come off as saying another person is wrong. Hope that makes sense.

No matter what way you look at it it does seem weird and strange for under 2s to have permanent marker pens, I don't know what the daycare would be thinking on that one, which is really what the original post was about at the end of the day. I don't see what they would be doing with those and I would expect at any daycare they should stop children deliberately drawing on their clothes especially with a permanent pen

I'm teaching my daughter we have different clothes for PC that are ok to get messy/dirty I have paint stained clothes as well. As the nature of play is there is going to be mess. That is what we go to playcentre for to allow for messy play in an environment fit for the purpose.

There are two ways the OP can go about it, talk to her daycare and ask that her child wear a pinny etc when there is messy play and/or send her in clothes that don't matter.

Washable markers still stain leave marks not sure using them instead of permanent markers would make any difference.