To wonder if a parent is stealing shoes?!

[laweaselmys]

I know a particular DC who goes to the local nursery, I was intending to send DD there also.

In the last two months this toddler has lost 3 pairs of shoes there... They were the nicest more expensive shoes this kid had. The cheapy shoes have all been returned safely.

The last pair were bright red. I know toddlers lose things and I know they are prone to be sent home with the wrong stuff - but, as a parent you can't possibly not notice your dc coming home in a pair of bright red shoes that are not theirs!

AIBU to suspect a parent of keeping thIs kids nice shoes?

More to the point... Does this happen everywhere, and has the mum got a cats chance in hell of getting any of them back?

i would be demanding answers from the nursery, and reimbursement from them if they cannot keep shoes safe

Tricky. However, I always send DD to the CM with old clothes/shoes/coat etc as although I trust her not to lose them, DD isn't old enough to say if they've been forgotten.

I'd certainly be having a chat with the nursery though, especially if it's happened more than once. I'd want to know where they keep the shoes and who's responsible for matching said shoes with the right child. I'd also presume they were clearly named.

That's the problem when the kids aren't old enough to be responsible, but it's tricky for the staff to be on top of every item at the same time.

I confess, I'm probably more cross than the mum is because she's used to it. But on my side, I don't want to send DD somewhere her clothes (which I know I spend a bit more on than is usual around here) aren't safe but the nursery is otherwise great.

send her in old clothes, they will get covered in paint and glue in any case

most nurseries use slippers indoors

the nrsery ds1 went to, and ds2 is at now have never had any trouble matching children with shoes.
they have never lost a single item of clothing or footwear there.

When I worked in the 2-3 room of a local nursery the children used to take off their own shoes - we didn't make them and then we put them in the shoe bucket at the end of the day the parents would pick up the children and if the children were'nt wearing shoes then they would get them out the box and then leave - a couple of times a parent would pick up and put on shoes then a while later another parent would turn up and we'd realise the last parent had put on the wrong shoes - maybe a bigger size or they couldn't remember which shoes the child had come in with. We used to have to call the other parent and then the shoes would all be swapped the next day.

ok well all of the 8 i visited when looking for one for ds1 did!

None of the nurseries we visited take shoes off.

I'm not sure if they always wear shoes inside, or if they let them wear their wellies in? It is montessorri so does things a bit differently.

Discarded shoes and clothes get sorted into bags to take home. Obviously sometimes stuff gets
mixed up, but all but once they don't seem to make their way back to the right person, despite being named.

DD2's nursery tend to have shoes off, and children are welcome to take slippers. They aren't told to take their shoes off, they just do it naturally and it seems more comfortable. I've never lost anything there. Is it a big nursery where the shoes are being lost?

Not an especially big nursery no, there are only 4 staff for the toddlers, and around 20 kids at a time I would guess?

I will bear it in mind and send DD in her less nice stuff. (I know it will get painty anyway!)

DS1 twice came home with identical but incorrect shoes - in both cases a size bigger than he wore. Ours were named, so we got them back. The first time I realised after a week , the second time the other mum realised the next day. The poor other kids though - their feet must have been really squashed.

In fact 20 sounds like too much. [terrible guesser emoticon] 12? 15?

My DD has been in nursery for nearly 3 years and has never lost a single item of clothing or footwear that I'm aware of. So there's something definitely not right at this particular nursery...whether it's stealing or carelessness I don't know.

Has your friend addressed the issue with the nursery?

If I was her I'd be writing her child's name on the inside of the shoes in permanent marker. And looking for a new nursery.

Erm why are the shoes not labelled?

Ds was at montessori, never lost a thing, mind you he has enormous feet, his shoes wouldn't have fitted anyone else.

Our nursery explained the reasons why it was ill advised to put kids in clothes/shoes that are expensive, cos they will get wrecked.

A bit of common sense is required and Able Lables shoe lables....

They are labelled.

That's really odd. My DS has been at two different nurseries and has never even lost a jacket, no matter about a pair of shoes. He has always taken his shoes off too.

Our nursery has pegs and shoe racks all named for tgechildren. They (in fact no one) is allowed to wear shoes inside the room, it is Montessori though as has been previously mentioned so they may do things differently.