To stop sending my child to nursery cause they allow him outside

[O8O818]

here me out, I hope I'm not being PFB but I am so fed up with my child's nursery. Time and time again I've said he is not to be outside, but nobody listens! Each day he comes home caked in mud, all up his back, caked on his shoes, not wearing any gloves or a hat, some times not even wearing his wellies just his indoor shoes! Its Baltic. On Friday I went to collect him and they said he was outside making hot chocolate... with the mud he was rolling around like a pig in shit but he was covered from head to toe, in his hair, his ears, his back from when another kid through a mudball at him I don't know whether I'm overreacting though? Aibu!!

Not RTFT...

Has the OP explained how she knows he is unsupervised for hours? Is she standing outside watching over the wall or something?

RTFT

People still missing the point.
Op provides appropriate clothing and wellies. Ds still doesnt have them.put on by staff and comes out with shoes and indoor clothes covered in mud to get in car, even his gym shoes for inside play. Who the hell lets a child play outside in gym shoes in this weather?
Op has other kids to collect so he is wearing wet mud covered clothes for some time
Nursery have left him outside unsupervised.

Nursery should be a variety of experiences not playing in mud by yourself for 1.5 -2 hrs every day. Thats incredibly lazy bad practice.
RTT!

I think YABU about keeping him inside if he likes being outside. My kids attended a Swedish nursery where they were out for hours even in the coldest weather (minus 20C).

Does he have a snowsuit? Have you taught him how to put it on himself? At the Swedish nursery most 2 year olds were putting on their own outdoor clothing sitting on the floor. So if you try to teach him them maybe he will do it himself. Kids would get pretty dirty outdoors as it's part of the fun - I used to take a carrier bag to bring the snowsuit home so I could wash it overnight (and I always had a spare that I bought from the charity shop)

But talk to them again that you are not happy about his lack of clothing - although I have had the opposite issue with DD1 who preferred being cold to being warm as being warm caused her eczema - so I used to fight the opposite battle so the she could be colder

They should make sure has got wellies on and a warm coat,for that yanbu.

I think the OP has hinted that he doesn’t always have appropriate clothing. But that he does sometimes. I am not sure it’s as clear cut as that. (I think the OP refers to how sometimes she has no choice but to send him in a hoodie and no coat?) Doesn’t excuse the lack of supervision and the fact that they don’t put stuff on him when he has it.

If only the OP sent appropriate clothing and spoke to the staff...

Also, OP, why don't you cancel their cheques too?

The clothes thing is wrong. My dd's nursery has them outside for hours in all weathers (we're in a scandi country) but they are all bundled up. Woe betide any parent not sending in a waterproof insulated all in one, balaclava, warm waterproof boots and waterproof gloves. Dd complains that she gets too hot but they won't let them take things off.

I'd focus on the clothes and them not making sure he's kitted out correctly, not the fact hes playing outside.

How lovely for him. To be able to escape the noise of the playroom for solitude. How much better it’s muddy and a fantastic learning environment. How much better still that he’s been allowed independence in a safe environment without constant adult nagging.

He’ll not die from cold weather. He’ll get muddy but clothes wash. No,p coat won’t do any harm either. Difficult to make mud pies with gloves on.

Hs he needs to be playing and rolling in mud. All kids do. Thats how they get an immune system - playing and getting dirty. Yabu. And precious. And daft.

Oh Rtft.
Ops kid is the only one outside most of the time.
No kid should be outside on thier own in unsuitable clothes in this weather for a long time getting caked in mud.

IFinen indoor clothing the mud will make him evem colder as op.doesnt have the tome to change him/bath him straight after pick up.

In summer my kids were always filthy, making mud pies etc but not in freezing cold and wind and rain in gymshoes in November!

'Only wearing indoor clothing' ffs!

Email the Care Inspectorate. Focus on the supervision.

"On xx/xx/xx I collected my 2yo from nursery and found him unsupervised in the garden with all adults inside. Key worker Jane Smith told me they 'do not need to supervise him in the garden as he is well behaved'.
On xx/xx/xx my 2yo was alone in the garden in the rain with no coat on. Staff member Sue Jones told me 'if he is cold or gets hurt he will come inside to find an adult'.
Although my child has wellies, gloves, hat and a rainsuit at nursery, staff members will not help him get dressed.
I have been unable to raise this with the manager as they have been absent."

The regulator will take it seriously as a child has died in recent years after being left unsupervised in a nursery garden. I imagine your complaint might prompt an unannounced inspection.

YABU

It's good for him to be outside lots. And it's fine to get dirty, etc. Just send him in old clothes.

Our EYFS children have a mud kitchen, and a mud garden. They love it and many of them actively choose those activities. We don't prevent them doing so. They're allowed outdoors almost all the time, it's their choice.

We encourage them to wear a coat and wellies, though don't insist if gloves and hats. If it's wet or very cold we insist on coats.

How lovely for him. To be able to escape the noise of the playroom for solitude. How much better it’s muddy and a fantastic learning environment. How much better still that he’s been allowed independence in a safe environment without constant adult nagging.

Are you one of the nursery staff members

Making out being left alone outside is a positive, has got to be one of the stupidest comments i've seen on here.

An environment is never 100% safe for a 2 year old, accidents happen even if adults are watching so to claim otherwise is naive.

Might as well leave him at home alone in your garden OP, seems like a great way to promote independence and you would save a fortune.

Not RTFT but if this was a neighbour instead of a nursery allowing a toddler outside on their own in inappropriate clothing in winter everyone would be calling social services not lauding outdoor "education".

Bit of a dripfeed of information going on in this thread....!

If the staff are indeed letting him outside in inadequate clothing and failing to supervise properly then that is a serious problem. He is two--they need to make sure he is in his outdoor things and boots and they need to be watching all the kids.

However, the OP should have clarified the situation properly in her first post and thread title.

@O8O818 why would you not want the nursery to allow your son outside ? That's really horrible of you.
If every other child is going outside you want him to sit indoors on his own because of abit of mud ?
Send him in old clothes and just chuck them in the wash, hard is it ?
Kids love playing in mud it's what they should be doing having fun outside

I think the issue here is lack of suitable clothing or more to the point their lack of assistance in putting it on.
We are in northern Scotland, it is Baltic here (we’ve already had snow once) and it’s currently very wet. They go out almost every day but they always put his puddle suit and wellies on so if anything gets muddy it’s just that. That said, he’s literally just moved into the pre-school room where they expect them to do a lot more for themselves but he’s only just turned two so definitely can’t put his own puddle suit on although he can do wellies so I’ll have to keep an eye on what happens. I’ve akready asked them to put a bib on him still at messy mealtimes as they stopped that and he’s trashed three tops with tomato and curry stains - unfortunately he’s not keen now as the others aren’t wearing one (I’ve ordered a bunch of really cheap tops as a solution). Something similar may be happening with your son.

I would be more concerned that your son has no other footwear other than wheelies inside of writing this to up the shop and buy your son some bloody shoes

paige789

Read the thread, or at least the OPs posts before calling her horrible and demanding she goes to buy shoes.

There seems to be a lot of selective reading here, OP doesn’t want to keep him in while everyone else is playing in the garden. She wants him not to be allowed outside on his own, with no supervision, no waterproofs or coat put on, his regular shoes and then spending the rest of the time wet and muddy and presumably cold. This seems pretty reasonable to me!

How much better it’s muddy and a fantastic learning environment. How much better still that he’s been allowed independence in a safe environment without constant adult nagging.
He’ll not die from cold weather.

I don't even know where to start with this one.

Ok
How does mud everyday correlate with learning environment?
Independence at 2, in a muddy environment with adults not even looking at him from the inside? How safe is that environment?
He could die from the cold environment if he fell and hit his head and didn't move for a couple of hours in poor clothing. People can die from the cold. Would staff know what to do if he got hypothermia?

I think it's more unusual that he's the only one out. The vast majority choose to be outside at our school.

They don't seem to feel the cold in the same way. When I'm working in there I come dressed in layers as I get so cold but the children just don't seem to care, in and out all day. The wet etc doesn't seem to affect them either. Maybe it's because they are just never still so they get warmer from the constant movement.

I wouldn't try to stop your child's fun. He obviously loves his outdoor play, it's what he is choosing. If he was really feeling cold and miserable he'd bit be choosing it.

Go for layers. Have a stock of cheap clothes and a couple of pairs of cheap wellies. And send an all in one each day. I wouldn't worry about hats and gloves.

Why a aren't you sending him in a coat everyday rather than just a hoody some days? Is it because the coats are muddy? If so how did they get muddy if he doesn't wear them.?
How do you know he is outside on his own unsupervised all day as you aren't there?
Many 2 year olds don't really feel the cold and are find outside, our kids 2 and 4 normally have their coats and jumpers off within minutes of going out especially if running and rolling around, we keep an eye on them and if they start to get cold tell them to put a jumper back on.

Our nursery the outside area is all visible from inside as it has large patio windows.

I'm sorry but there seems to be a lot of drip feeding going on and it started when people disagreed with you

Of course it's unusual that he's alone Aragog, he should have an adult with him - he's 2!