Toddlers and children get messy. I think we all know this, whether we have raised a toddler, lived with a toddler, seen a toddler or heard one screaming from accross the room. All you have to do is hear a parent say "I have a toddler" and you immediately think of a chocolate covered face with snot coming out of one nostril, accompanied by hands covered by (or often filled with) dirt.
All that being said, as a parent, I've washed many a stain from my children's clothes. I've gone through so many stainsticks and pre-wash treatments I'm a little surprised I haven't washed my kids clothes to nothing. I'm just glad I don't have to take the clothes to the river and beat them with rocks. Thank goodness for washing machines that do all the hard work for me. I'm lazy!
Wait... I have to fold the clothes? The machine doesn't do that for me? DANG!
Anyway, as I'm rifling through my children's dirty clothes, sorting out the things that truly need attention from the things that are just... uh... mildly played in, I find words that blow my mind.
"Dry Clean Only"
What the heck? Seriously? Who makes kids clothes that are dry clean only? I'm not talking about the cute suits or Sunday dresses. I'm talking about the pair of pants I would pair with a t-shirt, the shirt that has a couple buttons, or the pair of leggings that my daughter tries to wear daily. Dry clean only? I don't even take my suit in to get dry cleaned more than once a year... If I'm lucky... and attentive....and I remember... maybe. You really think I'm going to take my KID'S PLAY CLOTHES and spend the extra money to get them dry cleaned? No... that's not going to happen.
I'll just fold them up, stick them in a box, and keep them out of the kiddo's reach so they can't get them dirty. Or, even more likely, I'll just throw them in the laundry. If they get ruined, problem solved. If they come clean, even better! But if they come clean, that raises the question of the dry clean label in the first place.
Seriously. Why make kid's play clothes dry clean only. That's among the more ridiculous things I've ever seen. Just... stop.
