Parents reach new lows - I was asked to stop telling a child not to pick their nose!

[Ember]

Unbelievable. I am speechless. I would have to do something because I could not stand to see that going on. I also would hate to think of that going on in my child's classroom. Talk to the nurse first, I'd think. And I have to say again.

Yeah, I'm not kidding when I said I was speechless either. There was probably two minutes of dead air while I tried to wrap my brain around this mother's logic. Not to mention pushing down the instinct to yell, "What?!!" followed by "Eww!!" I honestly could not come up with anything sensible to say and just got off the phone. So I'm going to have to revisit the issue next week and will probably call her back.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That's nasty.

And I don't feel you need to listen to her. And I'd let her elevate it as much as she wants even if it is to the court system b/c there is no way in heck her...as minky dog so eloquently put it,

little snot-munching special snowflake.

Will succeed.

If she lets her child run wild at home screaming at the top of his lungs, you wouldn't allow it in your classroom either. What if she let him pee in the yard, doesn't mean he's allow to pee outside of a bathroom at school. (I had a friend who potty trained this way and while her son properly went elsewhere when away from home, I can imagine if this mom allowed it, she'd expect it at school as well.)

And he'll still get ostracized whether or not you tell him to stop. His snotty finger is getting all over his supplies, desk and papers. He's a health hazard and I'm sure that the parents of his classmates don't want to share in this immunity buildingxercise. She doesn't have the right to compromise everyone else's health with his unsanitary habit.


I really think she needs to helicopter more and stop researching the benefits of eating nose boogies.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'd probably defer this to the Principal since she is making such an unreasonable, unhealthy request. Let her tell it to him or her and she can arrange for a meeting with the Principal and the school nurse to be informed of school codes.

 

[ilovejack02]

Yeah, I'm not kidding when I said I was speechless either. There was probably two minutes of dead air while I tried to wrap my brain around this mother's logic. Not to mention pushing down the instinct to yell, "What?!!" followed by "Eww!!" I honestly could not come up with anything sensible to say and just got off the phone. So I'm going to have to revisit the issue next week and will probably call her back.

She needs to have a talk a with the school nurse. It is VERY common to find MRSA in our noses.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That has to be the absolute grossest thing I have ever heard. I truly want to vomit all over. Clearly she has picked her own nose so much that she has touched her brain and now she cannot think clearly and is coming up with all kinds of nonsense. I cannot even fathom telling my kids to eat snot so they stay healthy. Seriously that is so gross that I feel ill.
I would make Nicky Nosepicker wash his hands all day long. He can eat boogers to his heart's content but I do not want to touch booger fingers. If the kid was wiping his butt all day he would have to wash his hands. Same thing.
Gross gross gross gross gross!!!!!!!

See what happens when a caring adult tries to help a kid out--the mother goes ballistic. And it's only boogers.

 

[C.Ann]

OT C.Ann I miss reading (lurking) about you at the lake on the What's good about today thread. You took me to your lake house vicariously. Thank you for that.

I haven't seen that thread in awhile.. I could pop back in and tell you what's good here at DD's - and it WON'T be about nose picking!!!

 

[agnes!]

Maybe you could have a Healthy Hero contest in your class. Use it as part of a Heath/Science strand. Encourage sanitary habits - Washing hands, using sanitizer, covering your mouth with your elbow (not hands) when you cough, sneezing into your elbow (not hands), using kleenex, having the school nurse or maybe a doctor come in to talk to the class, not sharing eating utensils/cups/boogers ....

agnes!

 

[C.Ann]

She needs to have a talk a with the school nurse. It is VERY common to find MRSA in our noses.

Forgot all about that! She should definitely mention this to the mom and let her run THAT by a doctor..

 

[luvmy3]

Unsanitary and unfair to the other students (and the teacher) in the class.. The child would have to be reminded to wash his hands all day long - non-stop..

Well I guess all the other students are lucky that he does it out in the open so that the teacher can remind him, because I'm sure picking and eating is and has been happening daily in classrooms all across America without ever causing a life threatening pandemic

 

[ogreenlee]

i'll reply to this once i get back from vomiting.

excuse me...

 

[luvmy3]

OP, what grade do you teach?

 

[MushyMushy]

Gross gross gross! There is no way on earth I could teach little ones because I couldn't deal with the parents.

I have a little story from the opposite side. When my son was little, like 3, I'd finally after a long battle, taught him how to blow his nose. You know how hard it is to get kids to do that! Out of the blue, he just quit doing it and absolutely refused to do it for me. One day I was so frustrated with him because he had a cold and just was... well, you know. Gross. I was late getting him to preschool because of the power struggle and talked to his teacher about it and she informed me that she discouraged nose blowing because her grandfather was a doctor and said it was unhealthy! She told the kids that nose blowing was bad and would make them sick. Mind you, her grandfather must have practiced in the early part of the 1900s because this woman was fairly long in the tooth herself. I was fit to be tied! But she wasn't budging in her opinion. I ended up putting him in a different school. Not just because of that, but that was one reason for me.

 

[ginna74]

Ickkkkkkkkkkkkkk

 

[Mouse House Mama]

See what happens when a caring adult tries to help a kid out--the mother goes ballistic. And it's only boogers.

God bless the teachers of the world. I cannot even imagine having to have that conversation with anyone let alone get such a moronic answer.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Gross gross gross! There is no way on earth I could teach little ones because I couldn't deal with the parents.

I have a little story from the opposite side. When my son was little, like 3, I'd finally after a long battle, taught him how to blow his nose. You know how hard it is to get kids to do that! Out of the blue, he just quit doing it and absolutely refused to do it for me. One day I was so frustrated with him because he had a cold and just was... well, you know. Gross. I was late getting him to preschool because of the power struggle and talked to his teacher about it and she informed me that she discouraged nose blowing because her grandfather was a doctor and said it was unhealthy! She told the kids that nose blowing was bad and would make them sick. Mind you, her grandfather must have practiced in the early part of the 1900s because this woman was fairly long in the tooth herself. I was fit to be tied! But she wasn't budging in her opinion. I ended up putting him in a different school. Not just because of that, but that was one reason for me.

So she would just rather that the kid have a booger face?
That is repulsive. I am glad you changed schools.

 

[Darsa]

"picking your nose and eating it is a way of building up immunity. We encourage it."

WHAAATT???

 

[Pixiedust34]

Yep, I have a nose picker in my class. Not only a picker, but a pick it out and eat it kid. When ever I catch it I gently remind the child to remove his finger and go wash his hands. The yesterday said child had his fingers up there again and his nose started to bleed. I send him off to be taken care of and cleaned up and when he gets back I tell him the reason it's bleeding is because he's picking it so often.

Yesterday at about four, I get a call. It's the child's mother advising me that her son is allowed to pick his nose and I shouldn't be telling him otherwise. When I point out that this is not a socially acceptable habit and that it's a very good way of spreading germs around (a hot topic with H1N1 still out there) she tells me that, and I quote, "picking your nose and eating it is a way of building up immunity. We encourage it."

Now, I have done some reading and there is at least one doctor out there who agrees with her. There are also some serious complications from continued picking that he fails to mention and there have been no actual studies done on eating up nose pickings...

I admit, I just sat on the other end of the phone speechless. I do feel having his little fingers up there and then touching things is unsafe and that mom's thoughts on immunity boosting by this method are questionable at best, and (to be frank) it's socially unacceptable!

Do I make an issue of this? What would you do and how far would you take it??

I don't know whether to or . Just when I think I've read it all on the Dis, a zinger like this happens!

I'd tell the mom that at home he can pick all he wants. At school, picking is spreading germs and he isn't to pick for the safety of the other kids. Plus, as you said, it's WAY socially unacceptable. If a kid is old enough to go to school, a kid is old enough to learn some social graces.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww..........the whole thing freaks me out! Both the picking and the mom's attitude are unbelievable.

 

[golfgal]

This thread needs to be posted on EVERY teacher bashing thread that show up .


I also agree that you should tell the mom that nose picking in school is not acceptable and he is free to do that at home all he likes.

Did you share this in the teacher's lounge yet? I would LOVE to see the reactions of your fellow teachers to THIS one.

 

[Ohiodislover]

I'm amazed that the other children in the class haven't curtailed his immune building activities I remember having one bugger picking kid in school, and we were relentless.

I like the "just because it is OK at home, doesn't make right in class stance" It's OK to fart at home too, but doesn't make it right to rip one in public.

 

[Wall-E1]

There was a thread yesterday about choosing your battles. This is one I wouldn't choose. You could be fighting more important issues. In this case I would fall back and use the always successful strategy called "just smile and wave".

Keep in mind, if you were to refer this to a school nurse or administrator, that would probably involve a parent-teacher conference. If nose picking is socially acceptable for a child, I could only imagine what is socially acceptable in her mind for an adult. Picture this nightmare scenario, if you will. After you tell the mother your views on nose picking in your face to face conference, she becomes agitated. She then reaches behind her and flings poo at you, as an agitated primate would. Her thinking is that this is socially acceptable for adults and has the added benefit of building up the immune system. This may sound crazy, but remember, she encourages nose picking. The sky's the limit with this mother.