A Stinky Lovey-Blankie

[KingstonMom]

I have a little boy who has been with me for 6 weeks now.
He has a blankie that he comes with that he loves to drag around the house. when he was first transitioning I allowed him to have it with him but after the first 2 weeks, I started keeping it in his bed for naptime only.
I should mention that it is not actually a 'blankie' but a twin sized bedspread rather!!

This morning, mom drops him off and says that when she woke him, he was soaked right thru his diaper and that his blankie got wet too.
She says he really stunk and his blanket still stinks but she will wash it tonight.
WTF the kid is currently dragging it around my house atm! And it has PEE on it?? Ummmm great, thanks.
I threw it in my laundry room as soon as she left and he only got it at naptime, but now my toddler bed and him are going to reek when he gets up.
So gross.
I don't know if I should do about it. He will not nap without it so I cant have her leave it at home. She said she didn't realize it stunk until she got to my hose this morning..yeah right. Otherwise she would have washed it she says.
I wld love for her to cut the blanket in a few smaller sizes, and I can keep one here at all times. its big enough for that for sure.

[bright sparks]

Well if I was in your position there would have been no dragging it around my house and no stinking out the playpen and sleep room because I would have just thrown it straight in the wash as soon as he arrived. It isn't our job granted but whatever, its in our best interest and really isn't that big of a deal. I would tell mum she NEEDS to cut it in half for this exact reason as it is understandable that she couldn't wash it in time for daycare after an accident, but then she can not bring it to daycare as it is unhygienic and inconsiderate to everyone. Cut in half there is half at your house and half at hers and then there is no issue of this occurring again in the future. I would make it clear that it needs to be in two pieces for tomorrow morning at drop off.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I would have washed it as well. If you don't want to wash it, I would have just put it in a plastic bag to go home and gave him one of the extra dc blankies I have. I would just tell mom that it's too big for daycare and he either needs a smaller one or this one needs to be cut down in size.

[Crayola kiddies]

I would just wean him off it .... Every dck that starts here that has some sort of vice gets weaned of within the first 4 weeks..... I would not have even accepted the pee soaked blanket and just said to mom well he will just have to adjust good time to start getting rid of it

[mickyc]

I would have likely put it in a bag and not given it to the child at nap. would have given him a different daycare blanket and that would be that. I certainly would not allow a child to run around daycare with it. It is in my contract that children who have a special toy or blanket can only have them at nap.

[mattsmom]

First off, I don't let any of the kids drag any of their stuff from home around my house. If they need something from home to nap with they are welcome to bring a small blanket or stuffed animal. But that is the only time they get it, although I have the odd child think that they can get away with taking it to the playroom while mom is still at the door with me.....ya, I don't think so.

I definitely would have just stuck it in a plastic bag, tied it super tight and set it out at the side of the house. I wouldn't even want it inside the house. I take cleanliness pretty seriously and I'm not have it stink of urine because some dcm decides to bring it to my house anyway.

[Secondtimearound]

I'm with everyone else ! I don't allow any personal items in my dayhome as it always leads to problems sharing . As soon as drop off , I put it in their bag out of sight !!
Naps I use all my bedding , that way it's up to me to clean .
I would of def done as suggested and been packed waiting outside for dcp arrival .

[Wonderwiper]

Ya, that's gross! No blankie, toys etc allowed here either. They can have a blanket/soother for nap but it stays here...doesn't go back and forth. It lives in their bed and never comes out.

Definitely don't allow it again. Time to get rid of that blanket!

[debbiedoeszip]

I would probably tell mom that for health and safety reasons the peed on blanket can't enter the daycare, and would she please take it back to her car (what she does with it after that is her problem). I'd let her and the little one know that I'll provide something else to replace the lovey (daycare blanket or stuffy; whatever works for the child).

[Other Mummy]

The fact that dcm noticed it stank when she handed it to you tells you that she does not respect your home/daycare or other children.

When I first started out my first daycare family had a little girl enrolled in my care. She has a blankie that was made for a single bed. So it was large. And she constantly peed on it thru the night. Mom would bring it anyway. It stunk. I always bagged it and put it away until pick up despite dcg screaming and crying for a good 10 min or so. The next time it happened I just handed it back to mom and told her it stunk, it's unsanitary and I don't want it in my house. She looked at me like I had horns. But she never did it again. Then she started a new thing. washing it first thing in the morning and bringing it to me wet. Asked if I could throw it in my dryer. Yeah, like I'm going to waste electricity on 1 blanket.

So I stepped it up and told her she was welcome to go into my yard and hang it on the clothesline. Should be dry by naptime. She never brought it to me stinky or wet again.

Be firm!

[bright sparks]

The fact that dcm noticed it stank when she handed it to you tells you that she does not respect your home/daycare or other children.

When I first started out my first daycare family had a little girl enrolled in my care. She has a blankie that was made for a single bed. So it was large. And she constantly peed on it thru the night. Mom would bring it anyway. It stunk. I always bagged it and put it away until pick up despite dcg screaming and crying for a good 10 min or so. The next time it happened I just handed it back to mom and told her it stunk, it's unsanitary and I don't want it in my house. She looked at me like I had horns. But she never did it again. Then she started a new thing. washing it first thing in the morning and bringing it to me wet. Asked if I could throw it in my dryer. Yeah, like I'm going to waste electricity on 1 blanket.

So I stepped it up and told her she was welcome to go into my yard and hang it on the clothesline. Should be dry by naptime. She never brought it to me stinky or wet again.

Be firm!

Honestly if there was an accident at night which meant the parent had time to wash but not dry an item, I would have absolutely no problem throwing it in my dryer. If this is an occasional thing then for goodness sake have a heart. If it was a regular thing, maybe confronting the problem after one or two incidents would have cut this short. Sometimes a simple conversation deals with these things amicably rather than going around the houses because a provider is annoyed. I like to be straight and upfront. This mother the OP is talking about should have done this but what is done is done.

Moving forward it should be cut in half or a daycare only blanket should be given to the child, or god forbid just wean him off it. Pick your battles, I have way bigger things that concern me with daycare parents without blowing something like this way out of proportion. I'd really like to know how Kingstonmom got on with this situation.

[mom-in-alberta]

"Lovies" are welcome at my house, but only at naptime. And honestly, a twin size comforter being dragged from home to home seems silly to me?
But in this case, I would likely have either bagged it up and said "too bad, so sad" or (if I was in a particularly charitable mood) washed and dried it. ONE TIME. If it happened more than that, we would be having a chat about the reasonable-ness of me doing their laundry.

[nschildcare]

I agree with above except I wouldn't even wash it once. And no comforters. Blankets need to fit in their pnp or their cot.

I have a heart but I am not a maid. Parents can do their own laundry. If your child is that attached to something, doubles are a necessity.

[Dreamalittledream]

"not actually a 'blankie' but a twin sized bedspread"....wow, really??!! Dragging around a huge blanket like that everywhere??? Ewwww; can only imagine the stuff on it. *shivers*. I too am having a similar situation (normal size blankie, though); finally got this little guy not to be dragging it everywhere (only allowed at naptime); he's sick for 2 days and it's back to blankie...nooooo:(

[kassiemom]

I am different , I would absolutely wash it. It is the child's comfort and if it were MY child I would hope for the same from a provider if it was a one off. I wouldn't be cool with it happening all the time but once, not a big deal. I often throw the kids soiled clothes in with my laundry.