AIBU to think that they CAN do PE outside even if it is raining?!!

[5madthings]

My ds1 is at high school, he is 12 and in yr 8 and over the last few months i noticed he hadnt been doing PE as much, they have a two week timetable, one week they do it once, the next week they do it twice.

It turns out that when it rains they often dont do PE at all! They have a gym and several big halls, but these are sometimes used for exams etc, i can understand if its PISSING down then maybe they wouldnt do outdoor PE but they have a good pe kit, with stuff for colder/wet weather and there are showers etc for after PE so if they get a bit cold, wet and muddy then they can clean up afterwards.

It turns out that often they are watching films instead of doing PE when it rains, recently they watched a james bond film and to make it a PE lesson they had to spot the 'gymnastic style moves' in the film!! not that they were quizzed about the film to see what they had spotted anyway.

when i was at high school we did PE outside in all weather, ie hockey in the friggin snow! now i probably wouldnt expect him to do PE outside in the snow, its probably against some health and safety rule, but surely a bit of rain is no reason not to do PE outdoors?

they have tennis courts, big fields with running track, football pitches, rounders fields etc all marked out, plus basket ball courts, rugby, etc etc, some of these sports can be done in the rain yes?

is this some new healthy and safety thing ie they 'might' slip on the wet grass?

aibu? or should they be doing PE regardless of weather conditions and not watching films?!!

My kids play out in the rain all the time. They are fine. However 2 adults in charge of 30+ wet kids? No ta.

Drcoconut I agree with you!

My lot tend to do it in all weather even though they have good indoor facilities.

I remember one occasion my yr 7 DS was most put out at having to play in the cold, wind and rain in the usual school tracksuit and a pair of trianers, sliding around in the mud while his PE teacher was wearing a waterproof coat and wellies!

i have said i remember my PE teacher doing the same, being all wrapped up whilst we ran around in a pe skirt and t-shirt but now they all have the option of a wet/cold weather kit of tracksuit and waterproof jacket, so they are better off than we are.

i just think being outside in the rain never hurt anyone (i can see that some children may have medical conditions such as asthma etc that mean they may not be able to do games in cold/wet) but generally it didnt do me any harm and PE is part of the curriculum, they have pelnty of choice over what they do sports wise and they do seem to make it fun (i have to walk over the school field to do the school run for my middle 2 so often see PE lessons) and i really dont think watching a james bond film is a suitable alternative to doing PE!!

YANBU - we did hockey in the snow, weather doesn't kill you.

yabu i wouldn't want my dc out doing pe in the rain. i agree they should be doing something inside instead of watching films though

I'm feeling an old-gimmerish desire to shake my head sadly and say it explains a lot about the state of the nation if not only do many kids not have to experience the range of normal weather but that some parents think they shouldn't have to.

WHY should the not do PE in the rain? do people really stay in all the time it rains or only go out by car etc? its rain, it wont melt you, dress appropriately and get on with life and that includes PE or taking kids out to play, hell most small children love going out in the rain, mine certainly all have to the point where i have been huddling under a tree for shelter whilst they merrily run around and splash in puddles, we get a bit cold and yes wet but you come home, dry off, get changed and have a nice warm drink.

I think most of you haven't had the type of rain we have been experiencing the last few days - relentless heavy downpour. It would be cruel to make anyone run around in that, even if they had the right gear.

DD's school does make them go outside if it is drizzling or just damp though.

I suspect the other reasons is that not all schools have astroturf and just don't want a load of mud being trailed through the school or they don't want a load of very damp children with soaking wet hair spending the rest of the day shivering in the classroom.

" i am half debating asking the school if this is an official policy or not."

Why only half?

Seriously, I would pick the school up on this - it might just be down to the ineptness of one member of staff, and the rest of the teachers would be horrified.

bunbaker ihave said fair enough if its bucketing down but this is whenever it rains even a little bit!

and they have showers etc to get clean and warm afterwards and then they can put their dry school uniform back on again, no traipsing mud as they where different footwear for PE and they have a special bit where they have to take shoes off before they go in after PE anyway.

whreyouleftit i just dont want to be 'one of those parents' iykwim? i am happy witht he school, ds1 is doing brilliantly and is happy, it just wondered am i alone in thinking they can go out in the rain, and the film is certainly not ok, but maybe there were good reason?!! which i am struggling to find but yes i think i shall ask for an explanation at least.

MY dd does 2 pe sessions a week they do inside things , i think the PE teacher at your sons school is lazy and I would complain , DVDs seem to be used alot , dd watched several in English the other month and it wasnt related to what they were supposed to be doing

I suppose what indoors facilities exist are more stretched in a mixed school if PE is done separately for boys and girls - pragmatically that may be an issue in some schools. But even then they should at least alternate.

Those of us with kids who are sent out in normal British weather find they cope just fine. As someone mentioned before, the majority of teens spurn coats on their journeys, they'd rather get damp.

children wont dissolve in the rain , I think they could do some form of P E ,

unless they are like the witch in wizard of oz mrsjay

right i am about to go out, to walk to toddler group with the little two, its looks like it is about to PISS It down any moment, massive dark clouds, i and ds4 shall put on a coat and dd will be in the pushchair but will no doubt want to get out to splash in the puddles! fingers crossed we dont dissolve

"i just dont want to be 'one of those parents' iykwim? "
I'm not sure that I do. One of what parents? Parents who are engaged with their children's education? Parents who care about what happens at school? Parents whose children keep them informed? I truly do not understand your timidity/reluctance to raise the matter. You don't have to go in all guns blazing (never a good strategy IME for any situation), just contact them and ask for clarification.

You have good reason to expect your DS to be doing outdoors PE - his uniform PE kit includes trousers and a rainproof jacket. There are showers available. I see nothing wrong with contacting the school and asking why your son is instead watching a James Bond DVD, and why it appears that rain stops PE from taking place. As I said, this might be down to one woosy teacher and the school as a whole are unaware of the situation and would welcome your contact.

Even if PE lessons are normally segregated by sex, surely it is possible to have a set of fall back indoors lessons for a bucketing down day? OP is about secondary age children in a school which appears to have indoors space for sports. Yes, I think in these circumstances they should be outside on normal PE lesson in mild rain, and have an active alternative indoors for when it's tipping it down.

A gentle enquiry about what they actually aim to do might surface if this was just one teacher having an strange idea one day, or if this is something that might need to be encouraged to change.

DS does two double games sessions a week The first session is usually something inside/gym based (swimming/bench basketball and the like) - he is lucky enough to go to a school with its own pool and good gym facilities.

The second session is outside at their playing fields and they play rugby (during the season) and athletics and cricket during the summer term. Unless it is torrential rain or storm conditions they go out. Yes, they get muddy and wet. They also have a fantastic time and really enjoy themselves. Some of DS's biggest smiles have been after a particularly wet and muddy game of rugby - as he plays second row and is often in the scrum you can imagine what the contents of his PE bag are like when they get home to me - I often empty it outside the house as the amount of mud that comes home with him is amazing

I think I would have a problem if they were being taken out in extreme weather conditions (and indeed, rugby practice and some games were cancelled when the pitch froze) but otherwise no, out they go. We are not made of salt and won't melt if we get wet . Without sounding harsh it does bring home the lesson that life does not stop because the weather is a bad.

well i do not know of any adults who would by choice spend over an hour in the rain.

why do you think we should force children too. it may not hurt anyone (well it can i know someone who got carted off to a&e because he grass was slippery and they went head over arse and landed funny) or flying down a slope in cross country) but it is still unpeasent.

As for showers if its secondary school age not many kids are confortable getting naked with thier mates. i know no one used the shower at my schoo when we were there.

why does it even matter?

I work in a secondary school and for the most part the students here do their PE lessons outside in all weather. But there are times when it is far to wet on the fields/tennis courts for them to have lessons safely. (Conditions far too slippery.) Schools now have to protect themselves from the compensation culture which didn't exist in our school days.

For most of us, we remember lesson in the pouring rain and snow. We weren't subjected to all the H&S issues there are today. We were from heartier stock. But unfortunately we seemed to have bred a generation of very wimpy kids that have to have a plaster for absolutely everything and ice packs or hot water bottles for the mildest of injuries. And parents that sue if 'lil Jonny' gets hurts.

Well I'm guessing mini you don't know many hill walking types, or climbers, or sailers, or joggers, or mountain bike enthusiasts, or marathon runners, or triathletes, or road bikers, or footballers, or rugby players, or hockey plaers, etc., etc., etc.

Just because you don't like going out in the rain, doesn't mean everybody cries off because of a shower. We have a duty to ensure our dcs get some exercise each week - and hopefully some will form a lifetime habit of healthier living.

5madthings I have two sayings that come to mind (use them a LOT I do):

1. There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.

1. Your skin is waterproof.

In my day, etc. etc. No wonder kids today etc. etc.

Agreed with mumof4sons. I had to suffer the valued experience of cross country runs in the rain and rugby in the mud and I don't think it would do my kids any harm either.

@mini, My fiancee and I are members of BMF which is a boot camp fitness club and there are many of us who will train in the rain. In fact even when it's icy and -7 we turn up. Exercise is vital for our very health and it's absolutely essential we teach our kids that it's important. Plus we need to teach them that the world doesn't stop cos of rain, life must carry on and shit happens.

It never ceases to amaze me how little our kids are allowed to do because of H&S. The problem is nowadays if a child falls over and is bleeding, the teacher expects a law suit. Back in our day we were expected to get up.

Hear hear mumof4 I dread having wimpy kids. DH and I are Canadian and he is ex-Army so fairly tough and outdoorsy. Can't bear the thought of raising two precious little flowers. Thankfully both DDs seem to be quite hearty even though we live in a very urban area and spend less time than I would like in the great outdoors! Long may it last!

Looking for a (white) hockey ball in the snow was one of my fondest memories

Surely teachers should factor in emergency lesson changes wrt to pe? Exams dont happen all year round so I doubt the hall is in use for each lesson. Also the class should be held outside unless the area is inaccessible due to being flooded/waterlogged.

But then im the brute who thinks kuds should be outside every breaktime too, irrespective of the weather.