How dirty are your daycare kiddos at the end of each day?

[Sassygirl]

Hi there. I currently have all 12-14 month olds in my care. Half are walking... half are not and are crawling still. No biggie. I have a huge fenced in backyard with all kinds of play equipment, slides, climbers, sand and water tables, ride on toys and a little cottage. Not to mention all the balls, trucks, bubbles, etc they play with. We tend to stay outside almost all day. Heck, I even bring my highchairs outside and they eat out on the deck and watch the bird and squirrel show while they eat and they LOVE it!
I have one parent of a crawler who seems to almost complain at the end of each day how dirty her daughter gets. Dcg LOVES being outside the most. She crawls all over the place and has a blast. That said, at the end of each day she is usually on her second or third outfit change and has dirty fingers nails and her clothes may be wet or mucky. The mom says almost every day at pick up "Wow, look how filthy you are" and I usually respond and say "But she had a blast".
I feel like there is such a short window with nice weather, lets stay outside as much as we can. Whats a little dirt?
What is everyones thoughts? How dirty are your dck's at the end of each day?

[Bookworm]

If we have been outside quite a bit in the day, they go home pretty dirty. My kids are all walking though, and one doesn't like getting her hands dirty. However, none of my parents have complained about their kids being dirty.

If the parent has a problem with how dirty her child gets, then put she should put her in clothes she doesn't care about getting ruined.

[Momof4]

I completely agree - mud is fun! Painting and markers and playdo caked into jean knees are all fun too. I make it clear to my daycare families that any clothing worn to daycare must be expendable. I had a client a long time ago that liked to dress her little girl in frilly dresses, white and light pink colours including the shoes. Boy did she learn fast! Oh yes, and jumping in muddy puddles is fun too!

[playfelt]

We do outside play at the end of the day too and yes I do it that way so the sand in the pockets and cuffs goes home and that may be what the parent is really complaining about in the sense of all that dirt is now going to be falling off in the carseat and car and she will be the one responsible for cleaning it up - better the parents than me having it all come back into my house and having sand in the nap mats daily.

[cfred]

My guys go home quite dirty most days in the summer. It's to be expected during our short lived summer. I've not had any parents complain. I will only change them if really wet or head to toe filth. Usually a wash of exposed skin is enough. My clients often forget to leave extra clothes as well, so a change if often out of the picture. If I know a child has somewhere to go after daycare, I'll make sure they're washed and changed. Otherwise, it's just the end result of a great day together :)

[Monday 2 Friday Mama]

I may be in the minority here, but I try to have my dck's cleaned up when their parents pick them up. Don't get me wrong -there's lots of dirt, and water and paint going on here - and frequently the children go home in a different outfit than what they started the day in, but I just find sending them home clean keeps the parents happy. While everyone says that they want their children to play hard, most don't appreciate being passed a grubby monkey at the end of the day - and I don't want to be perceived as a poor caregiver because the kids are messy. Our routine here is around 4 P.M. everyone comes inside and we all get cleaned up - hands and faces washed, frsh clothes on and dirty ones bagged up, fresh bums for the road and (if needed) a quick brushing of hair. We then read stories and do other "tidy" activities for the last half hour of our day.

[Wonderwiper]

Totally filthy!!! My parents love it too! I tell parents in the interview that I love to be outside, don't stop kids from playing in mud etc. so everyone knows. Unless they are soaked or covered in wet mud I don't change them. I keep wipes outside to wipe hands before they go home, that's it.

[momofnerds]

I understand mud and all (i live in the country and own a ditch, mud is nothing) but as a parent I would be angry if I was picking my child up every day and they were filthy. I don't have time to clean up my child if they were dirty, make dinner, clean up and listen to my other children kwim.
sometimes you have to look at it as a parent, we dont' know what their plans are after they leave our house. And really, how hard is it to clean up a child befor they go home. Now if you have play time at the end of the day, like one of the above posters thats great, but if your going to do play outside all day then they should be somewhat clean to go home.

[Momof4]

Oh, I should have clarified, faces and hands are washed here before and after meals and when we come in from outside. If their bare knees and elbows are really filthy I wash them up as well but that's because I have beige carpeting and couch. What I was saying was that parents should not expect their children to stay away from dirt, mud or fun crafting materials at daycare. If parents want their child in a bubble then they need a nanny.

[Wonderwiper]

That's me exactly momof4. Kids get dirty. I don't have time to change 5 kids every time they get a grass stain on them. I assumed anyone would realize I don't send kids home looking like they have been mud wrestling. Visible skin is clean and clothes are dry.

[monkeymama]

It is in my contract not to send clothes and items that are not play clothes. I play outside every day! I make that clear from the beginning. Of course, no one is going home with wet mud in their hair but they are kids being kids, exploring and having tons of fun! Ive never had a parent complain, most just comment they look like they had a fun day :)

[torontokids]

My kids get dirty and I love it! We are outside all day and go through a couple of outfits each. Sometimes a parent has made a comment about laundry or something but they understand that their kid is having fun and I could keep them very clean if they watched TV all day.

I tell my parents at the interview that they will be dirty when they come to pick them up. I wash their hands/faces before lunch/naps but as soon as they wake up we are outside again. I won't take the sprinkler out in the afternoon so they aren't soaking wet at pick up but the parents are welcome to bring their child inside and change them which some do.

[Sassygirl]

For the most part all my kiddos are very clean. I wash them after meals the best I can, however if parents choose to send white or nicer clothing when they know we eat alot of fresh fruit and berries and these monkeys are at the pulling their bibs off stage, I can't help that.
I also wipe noses constantly and have clean bums. That said, with this age group and still having 2 naps a day our only time outside for an extended period is pick up time so 3:30-5:00. This one mom who has made the comments never has given me a specific time of her pick ups. If SHE picks up its 4/4:30 or if its dad its closer to 5. I also keep a bowl of warm soapy water and washclothes outside in my backyard with us. If mom happens to text on the rare occasion that she does to tell me WHO is picking up I have her daughter cleaned up. Lately she has not told me who is picking up so I don't know. All my other dck I know what time they are getting picked up so they are cleaned up for the most part. We have been out in the backyard as of late for all the pickups. I did say yesterday to mom when she picked up and made the comment about how dirty dcg was "I wasn't sure who was coming to get her today I could have had her cleaned up for you". So hint hint hopefully she gets the idea. If I am given a heads up for the pickup timing her daughter will be cleaned up.

[Lou]

They're not filthy...but there's sure to be dirty knees and a paint stain or two! We finish our day by having snack (followed by a hands and face wash, and as the kids are sitting at the table I re-ponytail the girls), then we walk to the bus stop to pick up the older girls then head straight into the back yard. The state that they get themselves into while in the back yard for that last 1/2-1 hr is the state they get picked up as! My own son attends preschool 2x/week and when he comes home filthy (and I mean FILTHY, they, too finish their day outside) it makes me smile and think "must have been a fun day!". If we had somewhere to go directly after pick up, it would be stupid of me to not bring a change of clothes and a hair brush. These babies are going to daycare not a museum!

[sunnydays]

I don't clean them up before home time. We are often outside and if they get really mucky I will wipe their hands (I keep wipes outside with us) and of course I will change if they poop, but it does happen sometimes that I don't notice that they ahve just pooped and parent notices when picking them up...so I have the diapers and wipes and parents usually change on the grass. Clothing gets dirty...I don't change it unless it is muddy or wet or the child has had a diaper leak. I have never had anyone complain. My son came home from JK yesterday covered from head to toe in dust and dirt and with filthy clothing...I just laughed because I knew he had had a fun day ;) Teachers will not be cleaning kids or changing them...parents should get used to this. If they are going somewhere after they can have spare clothes and wipes in the car if need be.

[Harmoni]

We take our afternoon snack outside and spend the remainder of the day out in the backyard! They go home filthy!! That's how I prefer it, no extra grass, sand, pebbles in my house! haha The parents and I agree on "dirty kids=healthy happy kids!"

[Artsand crafts]

Kids usually go home with stained pants (mainly the knees) from playing outside or a little stain from craft material in their shirts. No parent has complained. Families know that outdoor time and exercise is a big part here. Body parts are cleaned before going home. Clothes are changed unless it is wet or heavily soiled. If they get dirt under the nails they should be clipped at home properly. If kids were doing nothing, playing only indoors or watching tv they would not get dirty at all during the day.

[mom-in-alberta]

I laugh, because I literally JUST talked to all my parents about this. The main idea was "It's SUMMER. We will be outside. We will probably get dirty, sometimes even wet. It means we had fun!"
They may have dirty clothes, despite my best intentions with bibs, etc. They will probably have dirty socks, because I do not allow shoes on the trampoline. But they will (almost always) have a clean/fresh diaper, they will not have food ALL OVER their face, and I bring a pack of Costco wipes outside to handle any serious ickies.

[Lighthouse1]

I do tend to TRY and send kids home as clean as possible. Just as a service to the parents, they get to spend so few awake hours with their children, I don't want them to have to spend that time washing off all the mud and sand etc. So we tend to do ALL our messy play in the morning. Then in the afternoon, my kids know to stay away from the water table and muddy areas if we go outside. When it's raining we don't go out at all in the afternoon, only in the morning. Having said that, sometimes my kids DO go home sandy, or wet or dirty, and so far I have been blessed enough to have parents who say "that's fine, they're kids!" no complainers yet... my friend who owns a daycare nearby has a parent who complains daily about how messy her children are at pick up and refuses to hug them until they are clean. It's awful! I think it sends a message to the children that getting messy is bad, and that creates issues right? So that would be another reason I let them get messy early in the day and try to keep them "cleaner" in the afternoon for pick up, then I can control the message that it's great to get messy and dirty and no big deal. At the end of the day, I don't tell them not to get messy, I just "close" certain toys or areas because we've already used them.... Does that make sense? Anyways, good luck! Its really 6 of one and half a dozen of the other I think. If your DCK are happy, then that's all that matters!!! :thumbsup:

[madmom]

If they don't go home dirty then they didn't have a good day :)

[playfelt]

We are outside at the end of the day too but the messiest they get is in the sandbox or grass stains in the sense of we have bubbles, and balls, and ride ons and things like that not mud pies and body painting. The reason being the parents need to take the children and put them into their cars in their car seats and if the situation was reversed I wouldn't want to be covering my car seat in mud on a daily basis either. We do messy play at other times of the day and change accordingly.

[mimi]

Hands, faces and feet (legs) I will wipe down. Stained clothing, oh well, kids will be kids.:)

[treeholm]

If parents see that their children are dirty at the end of the day, they know they had fun. I chose parents whose philosophy about that matched mine: a little dirt never hurt. I tell them that at interview.