Beauty or health? Do I need to iron children's things. Do I need to iron the things of a newborn? — Yes, but without fanaticism! How to iron things for newborns

There is such an anecdote: when the first child is born, all things must be ironed, and the fallen nipple is sterilized. When the second is born, the nipple is already rinsed, and stroked every other time. And when the third one appears, the iron gathers dust on the shelf, and if the child eats cat food, then these are the problems of the cat. How about really?

Let's argue?

The tradition of ironing diapers, sliders and undershirts goes back to the time when our grandmothers had to wash by hand. A hot iron destroyed the microbes remaining after washing. But nowadays there are washing machines in which you can wash children's clothes at a high temperature. Therefore, the issue of ironing a child's things causes a lot of controversy.

Some pediatricians believe that it is really necessary to carefully iron the clothes of babies in order to destroy the bacteria remaining on the surface of children's clothes and diapers after washing or drying. But the well-known (and very authoritative) Dr. Komarovsky believes that ironing things is just meeting the needs of parents in beauty. That is, you need to iron, but only to make the clothes look neat. It's actually really cute.

But there are some points that speak in favor of the fact that things for kids should definitely be ironed before putting them on:

ironing with steam allows you to kill germs that got on children's clothes during the drying process on the street or balcony;
with the help of ironing, you remove the remnants of detergents that can cause an allergic reaction in a child;
until the umbilical wound has healed, it is better to play it safe and still iron things;
seams on children's clothes after ironing become softer and do not rub the baby's delicate skin.

Technical Approach

First of all, you will need a good iron and a comfortable ironing board. Not that they kill germs better, but this way you will make a rather tedious and energy-intensive process a little more comfortable for yourself. Even better, if the household will help you with this. After all, mommy already has enough to do.

But there are also purely technical nuances:

first you need to sort things by type of fabric and temperature;
cotton items can be moistened with water from a spray bottle, but it is better to use the “Steam” mode on the iron to most effectively destroy all bacteria;
things after ironing should be allowed to cool in a straightened form, only then they can be folded and sent to the closet.

By the way, a little life hack: instead of an iron, you can use a steamer, which perfectly straightens the fabric and kills bacteria. In addition, it can be used not only for the care of clothes. The steamer makes other household chores easier: it cleans tiles, floors, bathrooms, even windows.

The appearance of a child in the family brings a lot of pleasant troubles. But some of them may not be pleasant, or may not be so necessary. Moms want to know whether to iron things for a newborn. Standing daily for several hours at the ironing board is hard work. Maybe this is the best time to rest?

Do I need to iron the things of a newborn?

Ironing things for newborns is necessary for many reasons:

harmful bacteria on the fabric die;
linen becomes soft;
infection does not get into the umbilical wound;
seams do not rub the body;
appearance is getting better;
wearing such underwear is much more convenient;
ironed linen lasts longer.

The older generation has always been engaged in ironing the things of young children. They were never interested in whether it was necessary to iron the things of a newborn. In the modern world, some women prefer to neglect maternal responsibilities, and do not treat the process of “ironing the things of a newborn” with all responsibility.

Pediatricians advise ironing the linen of a newborn. Even expensive and high-quality powder will not always cope with microorganisms on the fabric, and the iron will remove the remaining microbes. In addition, the remnants of washing powder can provoke allergies.

When washing by hand, ironing children's clothes is necessary, as the water will be below the prescribed 90 degrees. This means that the microbes remained on the tissue and will fall on the body of the baby.

Children's things should be ironed not only as they become dirty, but also after purchase. In the store, things are not stored in sterile packaging, linen is touched by customers and dirt and microbes remain on the fabric.

At the appropriate water temperature, harmful microbes are destroyed, but when drying clothes on the street, on a balcony or on a radiator, they again fall on the fabric. With the help of a hot iron and steam, the baby's things are disinfected.

Things in contact with an unhealed navel wound should be carefully ironed.

There are experts who consider it undesirable to iron baby clothes for newborns. They believe that this is how the baby's body learns to fight germs - natural vaccination occurs. Foreign doctors believe that ironed fabric causes irritation or prickly heat on the skin, as it absorbs moisture worse.

How to iron things for newborns?

Ironing things for a newborn is necessary according to the rules:

Sort the laundry before ironing: diapers, warm, light clothes. On the iron, set the mode for a specific type of ironing. So the fabric irons quickly and lasts longer.
Adjust the ironing board to your height to unload your back and reduce the load on your arm muscles.
Check iron temperature.
Use steam, which helps to get rid of pathogenic microbes much easier.
With the help of a steamer, clothes are well ironed and disinfected. With this method, ironing takes less time.
Small children's things are best ironed when wet. If the laundry is dry, it is worth moistening it.
Slowly run the iron over the fabric.
Things should cool down after ironing. Then they are stacked in piles, cleaned on the shelves in the closet.

While the baby is swaddling in one diaper, they need to be ironed on both sides. When the baby's wardrobe is replenished with undershirts and sliders, ironing is allowed on one side (the one that is adjacent to the body).

After using the dryer, it is necessary to iron the linen of a newborn, as dangerous microorganisms remain on things.

How long should I iron a newborn baby? It is necessary to iron the things of a newborn until the wound of the navel is completely healed. If there are no contraindications, you can not iron the laundry. But there are times when it is desirable to resume this process:

vaccination inflammation;
rashes appeared on the skin;
SARS and other colds.

When the laundry is not being ironed, the child should be changed at least once a day. He can burp, sweat.

How to teach a child to iron things?

All children are interested in using adult things. The iron is no exception. To avoid injury, you need to explain to the child the rules for using the iron. Already a 7 year old child can iron things on their own, under parental control. For younger children, a toy is used - an iron, ironing in a playful way develops household skills.

In the question of whether to iron children's things or not, mothers are usually divided into two warring camps: some argue that this is the only way to get rid of dangerous germs and bacteria; others - that there is no need for this, and the time spent on monotonous exercises with an iron is better used for playing with the baby or relaxing. The Village found out from a pediatrician and a mother of many children what they think about it.

Tatiana Butskaya

I believe that ironing baby clothes is primarily a matter of aesthetics and softening of fabrics after washing. Of course, most mothers iron children's things, but someone does it on a regular basis, and someone attaches too much importance to the event. Is it worth it?

I recommend ironing children's underwear in the same way as for adults: it is enough to iron it on one side - preferably on the inside, to soften the fabric, creases and seams. Ironing children's things to kill extra germs is really important only for children with serious skin diseases, when it constantly cracks, becomes inflamed and does not perform a proper protective function. For an ordinary healthy child, superprotection against microbes is not only unnecessary, but also harmful: the baby must meet with a minimum number of microorganisms in order to form strong immunity. Believe me, a child will get much more germs from the hands of an adult who has just held the same mobile phone than from washed but not ironed clothes.

And of course, careful double-sided ironing for an ordinary healthy child is a ritual that calms an anxious mother and gives her confidence. If mom needs it and she has time to do ironing, then why not?

Svetlana Hamada

mother of six boys, photographer, blogger

I almost never iron baby clothes. I didn’t iron diapers, undershirts and the like. We are not afraid of germs - I am not a fan of sterility. It seems to me that before, when there were no diapers, ironing was necessary: children were swaddled in reusable diapers, and they had to be boiled and ironed. Now there is no such need.

Ironing takes too much time, so I kept it to a minimum and ironed only things to go out: for example, I won’t let children go to school in a wrinkled shirt and without arrows on their trousers. Here are some simple rules that I follow:

To iron less, I put the dryer in the washing machine at 400–450 revolutions (so that the laundry does not dry out), shake things out, and then straighten and hang them so that there are no extra creases on the fabric.

If I use clothespins, then I grab them by the seam. I dry my shirts on my shoulders.

When the laundry is dry, I make sure to fold it “like in a store”. This is how I keep it in my closet.

When buying, I try to choose clothes made of soft cotton. The denser the cotton, the more wrinkled after washing - on some things, even an iron does not help much. I don't buy synthetic. I prefer well-known brands that produce clothes for children and control its quality.

cover: Dasha Dolgopolova

For a woman who gives birth for the first time, there are many unfamiliar actions and questions that are associated with caring for a baby. In addition to the fact that children's things need to be washed with a special powder and method, it is also important to iron them so that bacteria do not remain.

Ironing children's clothes kills pathogenic bacteria

How and why you need to iron things for children

In our childhood, the question of whether it is worth ironing children's things did not even stand. By default, all our things were heat treated with an iron. But that was before, when there were no special products and washing machines capable of washing at high temperatures. Now, with the advent of all products for children's hygiene, the question of additional ironing of children's things remains open. Any woman should proceed from her own strength and the amount of time that she can devote to this occupation. But most pediatricians insist on additional ironing, as this will help prevent bacteria from entering the umbilical wound and the baby's delicate skin.

Why iron?

This question remains open, but here are a few reasons that can convince any mother to make the right decision:

Children's immunity is quite weak. When an infection enters through the skin or umbilical wound, the body is unlikely to cope with the bacteria. Therefore, children's clothes must be washed at a high temperature in order to kill all pathogenic microorganisms.
Ironing your laundry will further kill any bacteria that may have gotten onto it during drying.
The skin of a newborn baby is very delicate. Therefore, it is best to iron any children's clothing after washing, this will soften the seams.
Every mother loves her baby, so she tries to make him always look good. Therefore, children's clothes that have been ironed will look neat. From all this it follows that children's clothes should be ironed on both sides. It's a matter of hygiene. And if you care about the health of your baby, then do it regularly.

Ironed children's things look neat and safe for the baby

How to iron

Start ironing baby clothes with the right equipment. Since you will now have to iron a lot, do not be stingy and get the right and comfortable ironing board and steamer. Using a steamer can not only help with cleaning the house, but also significantly reduce the time for ironing children's clothes.

If you are technically prepared, you can be sure that you will do everything right and your child will be protected from all sides.

Ironing children's things should be wet, this is done in order to:

It was easy to kill bacteria that might get on the laundry during drying. A humid environment promotes the multiplication of microbes and ironing on both sides can completely kill them, without any additional processing method.
Save time. Over-dried diapers and baby clothes are much more difficult to iron than wet ones.

You can also iron things immediately after washing, if you wring out the laundry during washing at high speeds.

During drying, bacteria get on children's clothes, which should be destroyed by ironing.

There is a simple scheme for ironing baby clothes that will help any young mother save a lot of time:

First you need to sort things according to the temperature regime of ironing and washing. After stretching things and after squeezing them at high speeds, proceed to ironing.
Many mothers ask why iron the baby’s things on both sides, because after heat treatment in the washing machine, bacteria die anyway. Pediatricians cannot answer this question unequivocally, but before the age of two months this must be done. Pathogenic microorganisms can harm the delicate skin of a child. Therefore, if you decide to iron, then lay out things on the ironing board and set the required temperature. You need to start ironing with a low temperature, gradually increasing the heat.
It is good if you wet things in the process of ironing from a spray bottle with clean water.
A conditioner diluted in water and poured into a spray bottle can help smooth out any stubborn creases.

After all, each mother decides for how many years to do certain measures of caring for her child.

Modern experts do not have an unambiguous view of the need for mandatory ironing of all children's things.

Arguments in favor of ironing baby clothes

A newborn baby has an umbilical wound that needs to be looked after, since microbes can enter the body through it.

Ironing things destroys harmful microbes and bacteria on the fabric, thus reducing the risk of infection of the wound.

In addition, the baby does not yet have a strong immune system, so it should be in contact with microbes to a minimum, which again will help you ironing things and linen.

It is known that the skin of newborn babies is delicate and hypersensitive. Ironing things will make the fabric softer and more pleasant, and will also eliminate the remnants of the powder, which can cause allergies in the baby.

Arguments against ironing children's clothes

Some experts draw our attention to the fact that a person develops immunity to diseases or viruses only after contact with an irritant.

In other words, if you completely limit the child from contact with bacteria, then this will only interfere with the formation of the baby's immunity, and he will remain unprotected longer.

How to iron baby clothes

Children's underwear is advised to be ironed on both sides, if it concerns diapers. Things can only be ironed from the inside out.

During ironing, things should be sprayed with water if the iron does not have a steamer. If there is a steam ironing function, it must be used.

It is necessary to iron all the shovchiki, smoothing them. And also do not forget about the gaps between the buttons.

Children's clothes should be ironed immediately after they have dried.

After ironing, put things on a separate shelf, but you can put them in the closet only after the fabric has cooled down.

Pay attention to the temperature regime at which you can iron things. It should be listed on the label.

Get a comfortable ironing board that has adjustable height. It will also be more convenient for you to use an iron equipped with a steam function. This will save your time and energy.