To ask my children's pre-school not to let them play outside

[AitchDee]

My twins attend a local preschool for three mornings a week. Since they started I have had issues with them arriving home at lunch time with soaking wet sleeves and trousers where they have done outside water play, and hands that are red raw from being cold and wet.

On Thursday upon dropping them off, we were told not to take coats/hats/gloves off as they were going o play in the school field next door. I raised my eyebrows at the time as it really was a very cold, frosty morning.

A hour later I got a phone call to say my twins needed collecting as one was very poorly and falling asleep/eyes rolling in his head, and the other 'had come out in sympathy' and was crying hysterically.

I collected them and brought them home, but I think they we're just utterly freezing. They were absolutely fine the rest of the day. All the other children were playing happily back in the warm so it was only mine.

I'm not sure if I am just being precious. They do love playing outside, even in freezing cold water and wet sand, no matter the weather, but I think their bodies use find it a bit much. They were born very early, and only weighed 1lb 3oz at birth but to look at them now they have caught up.

Would I look a twat asking preschool to keep them indoors until spring? Maybe my twins just need a bit of toughening up? They will be three in January if that makes a difference.

I don't think you really have to go OTT with specialist outdoor clothing in the UK, for kids - a thermal vest, wellies/boots and good winter coat with hat, gloves and scarf usually do the trick.

You should get used to it OP, my DDs reception class spend half their day outside (I'm sure I see water play set up outside even now it's winter). I think it's great, so much more interesting than when I was a kid.

butterz my ds4 is in reception and they have an outdoor area they go outside everyday and are still doing water play etc.

The problem isnt the childrem going outside and getting wet, its that when they came in they werent dried/changed as necessary.

And athing your bit about windows etc if course reads like you dont go out when its raining.

A snowsuit or waterproof trousers etc is not exactly going overboard given uk weather, you can pick them up cheaply and they can then layer up underneath if the outfit us just waterproof and not insulated.

It rains half the year here though, and I did its cold more than that. Going to the park in the cold and finding the slide wet is a regular occurrence, but if they are in waterproofs they can go down/ in swings regardless as will stay dry

You can't slide down a wet slide in any clothes, because they are not slippy.

You can buy a piece of equipment called a towel that will dry park equipment after rain.

Err yoi can slide down wet slides, esp in waterproofs, mine do it all the time!! Re drying slides i dont carry towels around with me. I do often have a muslin cloth but depending on.how wet it is that wont be enough to dry it, plus climbing frames, round abouts, swings etc. Far easier just to stick them in waterproofs.

We need waterproofs for the school run and they had them when little for going in the bike seat as well as splashing in puddles etc.

Well I guess if your kids like inching slowly down a wet slide you can leave them.

It is shit though.

LOL @ drying a climbing frame or needing waterproofs to go on one that is wet.

I live in drizzly Ireland, not a Monsoon region.

We don't need waterproofs every day.

I'm guessing you really don't go out in the wet athinginyourlife, if you did you would know there's nothing faster at going down a wet slide than a kid in waterproof trousers!

I go out in the wet all the time.

Wet slides are crap.

The slides are def faster in waterproofs when wet. Maybe not in waterproofs if dry but that not what your saying. I don't have space to carry a wet towel around.

Like j said we re in London and have needed waterproofs for weeks so you must live in a dry bubble in Ireland

My experience of nurseries nd Early Years settings is that they generally provide waterproof all in ones and emergency wellies, and ask parents to send their children in dressed in suitable clothes for outdoor and messy play and to provide spate clothes in case the child gets wet. If I were the OP, I wouldn't ask for my children to be kept indoors, but I would insist that the staff made sure that children were dressed appropriately and not left all day in wet clothes.

fairy was going to say the same! They fly off the end! And yes its wet here and muddy, we walk across a field to school everday and they wear waterproif trousers over their school trousers so they are clean and dry for school. I wrar wellies to do the school run or else my shoes/jeans would be trashed.

Today we have sunshine and its lovely and bright out but as its rained everyday the last week or so its still wet! We went on holiday to devon this year, u fortunately it was wet/rainy but waterproofs and wellies meant we still.had fun, even on the beach and there were lots of families with toddlers in waterproofs having fun on the beach.

Our school recomends waterproofs as rhey are out lots and in certain years they go on activity trips for a few days and do allsorts, caving, river walking, lots of getting wet/dirty!

Depending on which park we go to.or where we go for a walk even if its not raining its wet and muddy. Dp.took the kuds for a ealk the other day and they have some great photos of them literally stuck in a muddy puddle and as dp picked dd up her wellies came off stuck in the mud. Boys had a ball pulling them out.

Waterproifs can just be wiped down showered ofc if they get muddy and the children stay dry and warm!

I live in norwich so not even the nirth where its colder and you get more snow etc but waterproifs are still worth having.

It has been glorious where I am for the last month or so. Cold and dry and bright and sunny.

Barely even any drizzle, I don't think I've taken the waterproofs out since October.

But IME wet slides are not slippy enough, regardless of clothing. And rubber boots are the worst for stopping mid way.

Rubber boots might stop slide a bit, but being wet and cold stops play all together

"being wet and cold stops play all together"

Quite.

Which brings us back to having an outdoor water table in November and why it's a stupid idea that can't be overcome with clothing.

yes it can a waterproof all in one over the top and the children are fine! if they stillmanage to get wet then the pre-school should dry and change the children. that is what spare clothes are for!

if we stayed in each time it was wet we wouldnt go.out much. september was dreadful this year, really wet. ditto the last week. appropriate clothing and its fine.

Do you know what else is waterproof and keeps you dry when playing at a water table?

A roof!

Standing at a water table is sedentary. There is no good reason to do it outside in cold weather.

Waterproof clothes are for playing out in the rain or in puddles or pools of mud.

Putting them on so you can stand still with your gloves off and your bare hands in cold water playing with plastic toys that can easily be moved indoors is just stupid.

What on earth is the point of that?

Unless it's to keep inside nice and pristine?

err a roof doesnt keep children dry when they are playing with water! our reception class has an outdoor area that is partly covered ovet which is great but children that are playing with water and tipping it and pouring and splashing etc are still going to get wet.

and yes it makes sense to have a water tabls outside so the floor inside doesnt get wet or slippy etc and the children can play without staff having to worry about mess.

children.tend to come and go from one activitu and they dont always stand still even whem playing at a water table. ours us still.in the garden and played wuth regularly, dd and ds4 can go from the outside tap to the table pouring and carrying they move about and even when stood on one place tend to jiggle around and fidget, jump etc. normal toddler behaviour.

hands will dry and warm up. the problem was the pre-school.not drying the children off.

Well, I am with AThingInYourLife on this.

I am a primary school teacher. I have taught for years in UK primary schools. Our kids were sent out in all weather, whatever their clothes. Some were sent to school without coats and even in shorts in freezing temperatures. We always made an effort to give them some extra clothes, although not all teachers agreed with this. We always had lots of ill children, snotty noses, feverish etc. etc.

Now I teach in the Netherlands. Kids are kept indoors in bad/cold weather. I can't say if we have fewer ill children but definitely not more.

Proper outdoor clothing is very expensive, especially for kids. Ideally you need breathable clothing with taped seams, otherwise they get very hot and sweaty. There are many people who cannot afford this, especially in the UK.

I find it very poor that the staff at OP's nursery send her dc home in wet clothes. At our school, we always tried to find a solution, often involving borrowing clothes from others if necessary. In part, it comes down to time (having sufficient staff to change children) and resources (having spare clothes) and in part it is down to attitude (it is/ is not the school's problem).

"err a roof doesnt keep children dry when they are playing with water!"

:o

No, but it keeps them warm.

Which is a big advantage if you are wet.

"and yes it makes sense to have a water tabls outside so the floor inside doesnt get wet or slippy etc and the children can play without staff having to worry about mess."

Ah, so this is what is best for adults.

That figures.

not just for adults the children dont need to be falling over and slipping on a wet floor.

waterproofs dont have to be expensive.

funny how you say in the netherlands they dont go out but lots of other posters who live their saying they do.

i would rather my children went out and got wet/dirty, they enjoy it and would spend far too many days indoors if they stayed in when it was wet.

would love to hear the schools respinse ad well if i didnt take them.to school.when.its wet, sorry i am not walking them.to school.today as its raining! sure.that would go down well..not!

When working in the UK, we taught 50 per cent of lessons outside according to EYFS. I had kids crying and begging to be allowed to go in. It was not allowed. I don't think that these kids learned a lot from these sessions. This was not a one off BTW, it was a daily thing when it was cold/wet. Kids were utterly miserable. However, their parents loved it, they thought it was brilliant that we were out and about so much. They thought that it was very good for their kids and that they would become very hardy. I think they were just taught to hate the outdoors in colder seasons TBH.

In the Netherlands most kids cycle to school and go home for lunch. However, that is very different from being taught outdoors/having to play outdoors for hours. I doubt the Dutch parents of the kids in my class would be amused if their kids were to be taught literacy and numeracy in the rain BTW.

our school.has out door classrooms, some with a shelter/roof (but no walls) no.idea what % of time they are outside but its quite a lot. the school.tells parents to provide appropriate clothing and spare clothes and pretty much all parents do. the school also has a stock.if spares.

i dont know if there are guidlines dictating how much they should be outside but the eyfs actuslly says children should have access to outside not that they should be forced outside. mine all love it, i am not as big a fan if being outside but dont mind. i am pleased at home they can ay out in the garden or cul de sac and i can just watchbthem from inside whilst i make dinner etc.

my lot walk or bike to school, its a half hour walk so i spend at least two hours a day just walking to and from school.

most children i know enjoy playing out and being outside when at school, they loved it last year when the whole school played out in the field in the snow.

children.may moan.if they dont have appropriate clothing or they arent moving about to keep warm.

We use EYFS and have no clue where this 50% outside thing comes from, we don't spend 50% of time outside.

I am about to ask people I know in the Netherlands whether their under 5s are kept inside. In Brussels, I know of no school which keeps children indoors in bad weather - I have contacts in almost 100 schools.

I don't think water play outdoors is very sensible in freezing cold weather. I am not a very outdoors person myself. But children do need fresh air and you should see to it that they are properly dressed for cold weather in warm waterproof clothing.

Here is a direct quote from the Statutory Framework of EYFS (revised only a few months ago), section about safeguarding and welfare requirements.

3.57 The provider must ensure that, so far as is reasonable, the facilities,
equipment and access to the premises are suitable for children with
disabilities. Providers must provide access to an outdoor play area or, if that is
not possible, ensure that outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily
basis (unless circumstances make this inappropriate, for example unsafe
weather conditions)

So children under the age of 6 must have either access to an outdoor play area or outdoor activities should be take daily eg a toddle outside along the road, unless weather conditions make this unsafe.