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Old 06-13-2008, 04:48 PM   #2085
Clodfobble
UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 20,012
A particular person I am forced to deal with on a semi-regular basis has officially crossed the line from irritating to genuinely, clinically, batshit insane (yeah, look it up in the DSM-IV.)

My stepson has supposedly begun washing his hands overly frequently, and what's more, doing so in a secretive manner. This worries said Batshit Insane Person. We pointed out to BIP that in fact both the kids have always been freaky about washing their hands, and this is predictable since she herself is a germ-phobe and is constantly drilling into them the need to wash their hands and never touch "dirty" things. She denied that she is a germ-phobe, and insisted it is perfectly reasonable to encourage hand-washing

1.) after using the bathroom,
2.) before meals,
3.) after meals,
4.) upon arriving home from school, and
5.) whenever one uses the computer.

WTF? Yes, BIP has taken to heart all the typical local-news scare articles about how the computer keyboard is the germiest thing in the average person's house. The children must wash their hands every time they touch it.

So, she's making the kids wash their hands a minimum of 8-10 times a day--and also enforces such behaviors as never touching the kitchen garbage can, and opening/closing the bathroom door with one's elbows instead of hands, not just in public but at home--and yet she sees no connection between this and a child who has begun to compulsively wash his hands at additional times?

No, there is no connection. We are being accusatory and looking to pin blame, obviously. Because it isn't just handwashing, see! He has also been discovered "spraying down" his toys.

What the hell does she mean, "spraying down?"

Oh, you know, with the sanitizer spray.

And why does a kindergartener have access to sanitizer spray?

Because it's in the bedroom. Because she, Batshit Insane Person, sprays down all of the child's possessions about once a week. Only once a week! That's completely reasonable, and nothing like the child doing it himself at times other than times she has deemed necessary!

She honest-to-god, cross-her-heart-and-hope-to-die, sees no connection whatsoever between her actions and this child's behavior. She is in fact shocked that we would suggest she is doing harm, either physical or psychological, by "protecting" the children as such.

Hay-zeus Creesto.
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