I thought it would be easier to find a nursery with a no outdoor shoes policy !!

[Noshoesnursery]

Every one so far that I’ve looked at they all wear outdoor shoes inside meaning the carpets and rugs are not clean ? I thought they would be outdoor shoes off at the door for children and staff and just clean indoor shoes inside ?

is it really that unusual ? It’s a deal breaker for me but I need to find one !!

Ah okay I missed the open doors thing, yes, I agree that would make it a lot more impractical. Is that a policy in the UK or just a common practice? It seems like a nice idea in theory but quite restrictive in practice - do the staff have to go outside every time a kid goes out?

The free flowing thing people are talking about. But now I see.

They don't go outside when it's pouring down or snowing.

I rest my case. Fresh air must not be that important after all.

I think you’ll find it’s not more common because it’s just not feasible…can you imagine how much of the staff’s time would be taken up sorting out footwear before they go outside, then when they come back in?

I'm not really sure what your point is? Or why you are quoting me? I haven't mentioned the free flowing thing

No idea 😂 But many on here have said that having a free flowing space between indoors and outdoors is a necessity because of fresh air and so need to wear outdoor shoes inside.

But it seems now like they don’t even go out when it’s raining or snowing. I could not even begin to explain this to my colleagues who have been out in the rain most of the day.

A three year old had breakfast when it started to absolutely pour down, and screamed to his friends to hurry up so we could go outside. 😅

Good god. I would actively avoid ever taking the children outside if we had an indoor shoe policy. Do you realise how long it takes to get 30 preschoolers out the door as it is without having to change shoes as well😂
(baby room I agree though!)

And Japan. I worked there for 2 years, we took our shoes off at the entrance to our office and put slippers on, same if we visited other organisations and companies. In schools, pre-school, primary and secondary, all children took outdoor shoes off at the door and wore slippers indoors.

Op, are you British? In my home country /Central Europe/ are homes, nurseries and school indoor shoes only. Its common at work too, eventhough noone gets told what to wear. Schools and nurseries in Germany I came across were also indoor shoes only.
I think you are having a hard time on here from some of the posters.

You need to go and talk to your gp and health visitor about your level of anxiety and germ phobia. You may have OCD. This needs addressed as it could manifest in ways detrimental to your DCs.

Insane

I’m UK and the DC’s nursery policy was shoes outside and slippers inside. It wasn’t a big issue and didn’t take ages to get the kids in and out. Sadly for the OP the nursery shut about 10 years ago….

I sometimes feel like I’m crazy but I know in other parts of the world the way I think is normal.
I find it disgusting that kids are just expected to sit on floors regularly where people walk across with outdoor shoes. The other day I saw a child from my kids class step on dog shit… a huge mound of it. In he walked into the classroom where he walked straight over the carpet where all the kids sit on the floor. I thought his mum was taking him to where the outdoor taps was and then was too late to intervene.
there is dog poo and spit and loads of other gross stuff on pavements.I mentioned I found it gross to another parent and they looked at me as if I had an issue. Sone people don’t seem to realise that attitude to wearing shoes indoors, going barefoot into public toilets, lying on a bed with outdoor clothes as examples is influenced heavily by cukture

How does having a cloakroom with cubbies for shoes and outdoor coats help with contamination from pavement germs? Everyone walks in to/into the cloakroom in their outdoor shoes, traipsing the germs onto the cloakroom floor. Then they put their indoor shoes on, walk over the same floor (picking up all the germs) and into the “indoor shoe” areas, where they spread it all over the floors in there. This is particularly the case if they’re going in and out of the cloakroom multiple times a day (rather than having just one period of outdoor play).

I can see it probably helps a bit, but if your worry is outdoor pavement germs you need some sort of airlock system.

Kids take off their shoes as they come in, and adults do the same, then the kids carry their shoes to their cubby. If adults don’t want to take off their shoes or don’t have time, there are usually shoe covers provided, that you just chuck on and then take off before you go back out.

Shoe covers for adults. Kids take off shoes first thing before going in to the cloakroom.
Proper shoe brush outside the door.

You would find my house disgusting! We wear outdoor shoes indoors (after wiping our feet well when we come in - that’s what a doormat is for). Obviously if someone has trodden in dog shit they would take their shoes off immediately, but I can only remember that happening once. My children sat on the floor to play and so do my grandchildren. They are all healthy.

I wouldn’t go into public toilets barefoot. But lying on a bed with outdoor clothes on? Why on earth not? I would take shoes off but if I felt I needed to lie down in my coat, I can’t see any reason at all not to.

I highly doubt that happened!

Sometimes germs are helpful

I understand other people don’t live like we do. And also totally understand too that it depends on how you live. My parents live in a more rural location and in a house that gets chilly. We all keep our shoes on there!
’outdoor clothes’ on a clean bed? For some people outdoor clothes means clothes that have been worn in a city environment probably public transport etc. I spent time in a country where not showing before bed was considered unhygienic and if were in some body else’s house rude.But I’m getting into explaining it. I suppose it shows the point that what feels totally normal hand ‘right’ for some feels bizarre for others. And I think you could draw this upon cultural lines.

Do you let your children sit on the grass in parks or gardens? If so, what’s the difference?

To me it often seems like other Europeans and people from much further away are trying to explain that there are other ways to live than the British way, are met with smirking and even rudeness from the British. Some are very open minded and find it interesting how people live, and can see that things are not black or white.

But many British on here at least don’t seem to be able to, it’s like they are personally offended and keep saying how it is impossible to do certain things in a different way. I wonder why this is. It’s absolutely just not on this thread, but in general. Like cultual differences are dangerous or really bad.

The baby room at DD's nursery was shoes off. Nursery provided shoe covers for parents to put on before entering.

But once the babies were walking confidently they transferred to the first of the toddler rooms and then it was free flow between indoors and out all day so shoes stayed on apart from naptime. They were scrupulous about hand washing before meals, after toilet or blowing noses though!

It did it was a hartbeeps class the leader had separate bags for the used toys after each session so they could be wiped and any dressing up props were put away to be washed for the classes at different venues on other days

You need a Montessori. They do inside slippers.

I think this is probably a hangover from Covid, not typical practice and not likely to continue - just like nurseries and schools don’t regularly wash toys