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Parents and Guardians Forum>Should I be Concerned?
Unregistered 07:32 PM 06-12-2010
My 7 month old daughter is in a home daycare. Whenever I pick her up, she has food on her face from the solids she's eaten that day and dirt all over her bib. When I try and get an explanation the provider tells me she's messy. My child is the neatest eater I've ever seen. I feel like this is a sign of lack of care. Am I just being paranoid?
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jen 08:41 PM 06-12-2010
At home do you feed her or let her eat on her own? To be honest, I've had parents tell me that Jr. is a very neat eater; however, when pressed a little further I discover that they are feeding the child themselves. I had one parent go so far as to say that they give the child a taggy blanket so that he doesn't try to grab the spoon! Kids DO need to learn to eat and the DO make a mess. Personally, I've never met a "neat" 7 month old. Although I've met lots of 7 months old that like to rub food in their hair and check out how it feels when they smoosh it between their finger tips. All developmentally appropriate and necessary, albeit messy behaviors.

What does concern me is that your provider isn't washing the kid off after lunch! That's just weird. Weirder yet that after your brought it to her attention she still didn't do it...if only to appease you.

As for the dirt on her bib...does she wear a bib all day? Whats up with that?
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Unregistered 05:18 AM 06-13-2010
I didn't realize a 7 month old should be feeding themselves. She isn't eating finger foods yet and can't manipulate the spoon into her mouth. I've tried at home and she isn't ready. If she is feeding herself there, I can guarantee she isn't getting much to eat.

As for the bib, she is wearing one all day because she drools so much she soaks through about 3 bibs a day. I don't know where the dirt is coming from. Some of the outside toys are very dirty so it could possibly be that she is putting her hands in the dirt and then in her mouth which then runs onto the bib when she drools.

I know these aren't major concerns compared to what some people post on here, but they annoy me. She already has a rash from drool let alone from having food on her face all day!
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Vesta 05:43 AM 06-13-2010
I'll stick with Jen on the neat eater bit.

But, I still give my 5 year olds a face wipe down after they eat.
Unless you are picking your child up during lunch, there is no reason for there to be food on the kid.
As for the bib being dirty, I thought that was what they were for.
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Unregistered 06:19 AM 06-13-2010
My child wears bibs to absorb her drool not absorb dirt. There should not be dirt around her for her to get into if the daycare is clean.
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MN Mom 08:00 AM 06-13-2010
I think the food in hair and face is a bit odd. I always wipe the baby clean after feeding. The older kids know to clean themselves up in the bathroom after lunch.

As far as the dirt is concerned...its DIRT. I'm a farmer, my husband grew up on a farm..and let me tell you..a lil' dirt never hurt anybody. Maybe your 7month old is rolling / crawling and its getting dirty from being on the floor? If the bib is already wet from drool, its going to attract dirt. I know with my kids in and out all day in the summer, my floors aren't exactly pristine 100% of the time =)
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jen 05:59 PM 06-13-2010
If she is drooling that much she is probably picking up dirt from outside. We clean the floor each night after daycare and I can guarantee that a wet bib would pick up dirt by the end of the day. We are inside, then outside, then inside. The kids track in dirt and sand, it's pretty much unavoidable. Does her home look dirty?

I would say this...it sounds as though your daycare provider is giving her the opportunity to crawl around and explore her surroundings...a very good thing. I agree that it is odd that the provider doesn't wash her face after she eats.
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Unregistered 01:24 PM 06-14-2010
Thank you Jen. I never thought about the dirt like that. You are right. Its a good sign she's getting around!

Still, the food on the face is just annoying me. I don't know how else to communicate with the provider. I've asked and asked and still nothing is being done. Hmmmm.
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mismatchedsocks 08:24 AM 06-15-2010
I agree kids should be wiped after eating. That is gross. I would send a bag of bibs wipes and say, "if you could wipe sallys face after meal times and put a new bib on her when it gets dirt on it I would appreciate it"

I can see bibs getting dirty, even food on the face if pick up was near meal time, but to send a kid home dirty daily even after being asked about it? No thanks. If it didnt change I personally as a parent as well as a provider might question the provider choice I made.

I ask that the parents of my droolers bring bibs, and wipes as needed. I have one family who brings 10 bibs at beginning of week, and I will send them all back drooled on. I do provide the bibs for feeding, but the drooly babies I think would be excessive. I have to say, I let the kids explore, but not experienced dirt on a regular basis on the wet bibs?
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Unregistered 03:44 PM 06-15-2010
When something does feel right follow your instincts. Even if she is a messy eater shouldn't the provider take out a baby wipe and clean her up? Simple as that. I'd run from that place. If she can leave food all over her face I can't imagine how long a soiled diaper stays on.
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misol 08:45 PM 06-15-2010
Faces and hands should definitely be washed after eating ...Period.

Luckily, when my kids were in a center I had the opposite problem. They used to change their clothes and freshen them up near pickup time evey day. I would look at the "dirty" clothes when I got home and there would only be like 1 or two small stains on them. I finally had to tell them that wiping hands and faces were fine but only change my kids clothes for diaper accidents and not for dirt and food. The amount of laundry I had to do was ridiculous! There were 2-3 outfits per day times 2 kids.
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DBug 10:22 AM 07-05-2010
A messy face is a concern in my books. From my experience, parenting personalities that don't mind messy faces, are also less fastidious about other things ... like whether choke hazards are accessible, whether cupboards are unlocked, stairs are ungated, older kids are less gentle, etc. If you, as a parent, are okay with a laid-back approach to parenting, that's great. But if not (and I'm guessing not), you may want to take a look at what else may be happening during your child's day. Everything else may be perfectly fine, but for me, it's just one of those signs that a provider may not be as conscientious (sp?) as I'd prefer.

I can't stand messy faces, period. To me, it looks like the child is uncared for (I go through 30 -40 baby washcloths per day ). If I were you, I'd look a little deeper ... just in case.
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MarinaVanessa 02:13 PM 07-06-2010
Originally Posted by DBug:
A messy face is a concern in my books. From my experience, parenting personalities that don't mind messy faces, are also less fastidious about other things ... like whether choke hazards are accessible, whether cupboards are unlocked, stairs are ungated, older kids are less gentle, etc.
Not necessarily, as I was growing up my dad allowed me to roll in dirt at home if I wanted to and my mom always gave me a bath and such and cleaned me up after (she's the clean freak). A lot of it had to do because I was a Daddy's girl and so I grew up doing boy stuff with him like hiking, hunting, camping, fishing and chasing lizards and snakes. I also grew up with no allergies whatsoever and hardly ever get sick. When my sister was born 10 years later she was a Momma's girl and liked dresses and staying clean. My mom always had my sister with her and didn't let her play in dirt, get dirty, touch things and everything had "germs" on it. The first time we took my sister camping she was 1 1/2 and she freaked out when she realized there was dirt everywhere lol. She also has allergies to EVERYTHING and is always getting sick. Her body was never able to get the immunities in needed to ward off germs.

I have a daughter now and she's the same way and I let my families know that we play in dirt and sand all of the time and to expect them to get dirty. We make mud-pies, sand castles and doodle in the dirt. HOWEVER ... I always clean the kids up afterwards BEFORE coming back inside. We wash our hands and faces first and then come in. If we get muddy I change all of their clothes (I usually wear aprons so I change my apron). When playing in mud they wear paiting aprons and when it's just dirt they don't. Either way though I change them and throw their clothes in the washer later. I think this balances out the dirty play with the parents lol. At least they don't have to wash their stuff. The food is another story. Yes kids are messy (at any age) but that's why we have wipes, soap and water. None of the kids I watch ever go home dirty even after playing in mud. That's just not necessary. Yes, they get dirty but I clean them up after whatever activity we just did and finding food on your kid that's been there for a while isn't either. How hard is it to wipe their faces after feeding them?
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DBug 03:48 AM 07-09-2010
Originally Posted by MarinaVanessa:
Not necessarily, as I was growing up my dad allowed me to roll in dirt at home if I wanted to
Yes, I totally agree -- getting dirty and messy is part of childhood, and kids should be encouraged to make mudpies and do messy art projects. I would be very worried if they weren't getting these opportunities. I just meant that they should also be cleaned up afterward ...
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Tags:cleanup after eating, drooling, messy eater
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