Children out in the rain

[Highby]

For the past 2 days my children have been out in the rain at break and lunchtime. They have spent the last 2 days wet. The heating has been turned down. The staff are cold.

AIBU to think school should be keeping my children warm and dry?

People have explained the practicalities and the reality of the situation but I see others are still harping on with their own prejudices - it's obviously just "lazy parents".

My son's nursery expect me to provide wellies, waterproof trousers and coat and gloves/hat because they play outside in all weathers. I get them from asda and they don't cost much there. If he was sitting in cold wet clothes all day I'd be concerned but if he's wearing his waterproofs and wellies I'm delighted that he's out in the fresh air. He's 3.

@Highby school uniform! our primary school has a uniform (waterproof) coat because you can’t trust parents to send their kids with appropriate clothes.
and they have pe kit to change into anyway. all kids from reception change into pe kit and back 3 times a week , so it’s possible (no cloak riom either, just hooks on classrooms wall). not that hard....

Am happy to help what is your suggestion.

A national living wage and a 50p top band tax rate.

This is such a judgey thread. It’s nlt that easy to “just” provide wet weather gear.

School uniforms emphasise “smartness” over practicality and I’ve heard many mumsnetters say trainers are not appropriate school shoes, insisting on stupid leather look shoes that will do nothing to ward off the raid. School approved coats and blazers are rarely even slightly waterproof.

And as for all these comments about the kids not dissolving... no they won’t, but not everyone loves “playing” in a downpour. It’s nasty out there.

I go out in waterproof boots, double socks, fleece lined leggings or tights under jeans, and a waterproof jacket, gloves, scarf and hat - and it’s unpleassabt. The rain comes sideways.

I like to be outside and be active but it’s nearly bloody December. I don’t want to play in the rain for 45 minutes. And I don’t blame any child who’d rather sit inside with a book.

I have to disagree with the "no such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothes" adage.

I have just been for a run in torrential rain wearing a (very expensive) "waterproof" (sic) jacket. I am still wet. Nothing keeps you dry from the elements genuinely.

I'm normally a "no bad weather person". My kids are out in all sorts in their own time. But I absolutely support "wet playtime" indoors.

You can't guarantee all the kids have appropriate footwear and coats.
You don't know that they're going home to heated houses.

Its because I do take my kids outdoors that I know how quickly they get cold. And how hard it is to warm them up again.

well, I live in England so in day to day life waterproofs are a necessity because we do leave our house sometimes, and being England and all that it RAINS! Shocking news, I know.

Where I live people don’t give their dc a waterproof coat. They buy what is the cheapest in a supermarket because that’s what they afford. These coats ate not waterproof. Like about 90% of children coats.
If you want a waterproof coat, you need to go to an outdoor shop. And even then, there isn’t a lot of them that are also warm....

Same with wellies. You might think they are an essential item for your dc. But again, I have seen many af ilies who wouldn’t spend money in them because they are already struggling to buy a pain of school shoes.

It’s easy to say ‘thee is t such a thing as bad weather’ or ‘you just buy appropriate clothing to where you live!!’ When you ave the means to buy that. A totally different issue when you dont have that sort of money.

20% of people in this country probably won’t have the money to buy wellies and a more expensive but waterproof coat because they are living below the poverty line

Sorry for the emphasis but I think it’s worth remembering both for the posters in here and for the schools (even though ime schools are generally quite good at that)

Af for the people who are saying ‘give over, it’s just a bit of rain’

As an adult will you be happy to spend half the day in wet clothes?
Would you Be happy to Be regularly cold at work because 1- you are wet and 2- you arent allowed to put another jumper/different clothing because of the uniform rules?

Seen the threads in here about freezing cold offices, people wearing gloves at their desk and been quite unhappy about it, i very much doubt it.

So why is it ok to do that to our dcs?

PE kit at my kids' school is t-shirt, shorts and trainers. If it's raining that heavily or cold they do it in the gym hall. If it's not too cold they can put their jumpers on.

When DS2 was in reception the rather terrifying HT approached me and said, "I see DS2's wearing shoes today. He was wearing wellies yesterday." "Yes because it was bucketing down and we have a 20 minute walk. He had shoes in his bag. I'm not allowed inside, so it's the staff's responsibility to make sure he changes into them."

EtVoila DD once got soaked on the way to school and was made, not even just allowed, to change into her PE kit so her uniform could be dried.

All the comparisons with Sweden are meaningless. There is a big difference between cold dry weather and cold wet weather.

Sweden has below average annual rainfall and it happens in the Spring and Summer. The UK has 50% more rain and it happens persistently in a soaking fashion in Autumn and early Winter.

If DC were actually playing as opposed to cowering in the cold and wet they would be soaked from jumping and falling in puddles. Gone are the days of tights marked with skipping rope splashes, but even we didn't go out in rain for break. In my day (I am 50) most DC went home for lunch, so a long lunch interval out in the rain did not happen. If you were wet by lunch you could change at home.

Nothing worse than cold wet kids sitting steaming in classrooms. Also few schools have adequate facilities to store and dry off appropriate outdoor clothing.

The 10 minute walk home from school yesterday in storm Diana was enough to soak DD3. She has leather shoes and a weatherproof warm jacket.

MN is a truly strange place at times. Apparently the majority of MN dashes to school by car, lovingly escorts DC to the classroom and then expects the school to chuck the DC out in all weathers.

I think waterproofs and wellies should just be considered part of the necessary equipment you need to provide for your child at school. the school should also make it part of the routine that kids put them on before going out in bad weather.

Of course kids won't dissolve in the rain but it's ridiculous to force them out without waterproof clothes and then force them to sit all day in the wet. No way would I be prepared to do that as ad adult.

If you want a waterproof coat, you need to go to an outdoor shop.

Yes, and it'll be much cheaper than any coat from Tesco or Asda, and infinitely more practical. Mountain Warehouse are currently selling kids' outdoor waterproof jackets for as little as £7.99, whereas Tesco's non-waterproof parka's are nearly triple that at £20 a-piece.

If I knew I was going to have to go outside for an hour at some point through the day, and that the weather would likely be wet, I would make sure I had a waterproof coat and boots at a minimum, as well as a hat. If it was going to really cold or windy, I would add waterproof trousers or at least something quick-drying. In other words, I wouldn't go out without the appropriate clothing so I wouldn't expect my children to.

Waterproofs don't need to be expensive - just buy one waterproof coat for the year and add/remove layers underneath as necessary. If you can only afford one jacket for your child, why wouldn't you make it as practical and versatile as possible?

Pack clean dry clothes in their bag and let children be children. Most love splashing about in puddles and such. Yes we as adults don't like it but I remember the joy of being outside playing rather than a wet playtime stuck in the classroom.

It’s quite shocking that schools in a fairly wet country are so poorly designed that there isn’t sufficient space for kids to change into/out of wet weather gear.

We seem to be lucky at DS’s school, they can wear wellies and winter boots to school and change once they get there. No regulation coats - I buy one winter coat for each of my kids and get the warmest and most waterproof one I can find.

They do wet playtime when it’s pouring but otherwise have at least the option of going out.

The primary school my dc go to is considered to be in a deprived area.
I have worked there as an MSA and the amount of girls especially who go inadequately dressed is awful. So many in ballet pumps in the middle of winter. They get soaked and must be frozen all day. It makes me really sad.

They sometimes go out in terrible weather due to not having enough lunchtime staff to supervise them indoors.
The school do send out messages via the newsletter asking parents to make sure kids are dressed properly, but I'm not sure some people bother to read it.

If it's a deprived area, maybe they can't afford it? The school clothing grant's pitiful, then, at least in our borough, if you're on WTC you don't qualify for FSM, so neither do you qualify for the school clothing grant. If it weren't for my family my DC wouldn't have the correct uniform, never mind waterproof clothing.

It’s quite shocking that schools in a fairly wet country are so poorly designed that there isn’t sufficient space for kids to change into/out of wet weather gear.

Maybe it's the age of the buildings? Our school is about 100 years old with no room to expand or reconfigure the layout. I suspect the nice shiny new school a few miles away probably has far more space for cloakrooms etc.

Waterproofs and wellies? They won't melt :-)

If you're so worried about your kids not getting any exercise at school because it's raining why not take them for a run about when you get home?

Yes a bit of rain isn't going to "melt" them but a few playtimes spent reading a book or playing snakes and ladders won't do them much harm either..

Wherever I’ve worked with children, we always followed the motto of ‘there is no such thing as unsuitable weather, only unsuitable clothing’. Children usually love being outside, whatever the weather. Our house backs onto a primary school, I see lots of the children out in wellies and raincoats. Presumably it’s just up to the parents to ensure that those items are sent in.

Nursery send DS out in all weathers. And nursery send letters out to all parents asking that appropriate clothing and changes of clothing be supplied during winter. They do provide cover-all's, but wellies, coats, hats etc we have to dress DC in. Can't really see a problem with it, can't imagine DS being very happy being cooped up inside all day because of rain, he certainly isn't at home.