To think kids should be able to walk in the rain

[MiaMarshmallows]

To school if it is less than 30 minutes away?

[quote Embroidery]@Bonbonours You have no idea how schools work! They wouldn't be allowed in the building in non uniform. Should they change in the street? In the rain?

I always feel very sorry for the odd kid who is made to walk in the rain, I bet their mum and of course their dad don't do it and then sit in wet clothes all day. To me its abusive, and stonkingly hypocritical.[/quote]
Some families don't have a choice and are not "made" to do it, it's the only way they can get to school.
We never had a car growing up, we walked in all weathers. I never remember my clothes being particularly wet or cold in school even in the worst weather.
Sending a child with inadequate clothing for the father is abusive, walking in the rain is not, in itself.

Very much so. I don’t understand the perspective at all, kids must just fit into your life and if we managed to walk in snow and hail so should they. I guess we could also still use landlines only and wash clothes by hand.

[quote Embroidery]@Bonbonours You have no idea how schools work! They wouldn't be allowed in the building in non uniform. Should they change in the street? In the rain?

I always feel very sorry for the odd kid who is made to walk in the rain, I bet their mum and of course their dad don't do it and then sit in wet clothes all day. To me its abusive, and stonkingly hypocritical.[/quote]
Er, I do actually know how schools work. I have three kids who have gone through infant and junior and are now in secondary school. Plus I work in schools intermittently!

I was thinking more of primary school children - in our primary schools the first thing they do is go to the cloakroom to hang their things up so I can't see why they wouldn't be able to change then too.

Secondary school, fair enough they probably wouldn't let them come in not in uniform. But for my kids, due to the timing of public transport there is also a long period between arriving at school and actually being required at registration. About half the school arrive between 8 and 8.30 for registration at 8.50. The canteen is open and there is no structured activity in this time, they just hang around chatting. So that would be plenty of time to go into the toilets and change if necessary.

Get boots, a rainhat and raincoat, none of us, adult or child will melt
Tbh women (& some men) who refuse to get their hair or clothes wet occasionally are a bit feeble imo

I always had to walk whether in sun, rain or snow. I also had to queue for buses or trains. Why would this be an issue?

@pelosi

I think YABU. I briefly contemplated walking to work this morning to conserve petrol. But it took me 2 hours to get ready, I wasn’t going to undo all my hard work by getting drenched in a torrential downpour.

2 hours to get ready, what’s your job, a runway model?

What are school children supposed to do with their wet coats and soaking bags when they get to school? We had lockers. My kids have to haul their stuff around all day long.

Not owning a set of waterproofs for a child who walks to school smacks of neglect. Of course children can get out of waterproofs at school. I'd love to see a school policy suggesting otherwise.
Not supporting your child to be independent and learn self reliance is hugely damaging too. If you're constantly driving them and trying to smooth out all bumps for them how will the become resilient or confident in their own ability?

Waterproof cover over bag to school (plastic bag would do it). Put waterproofs inside it at school. Have you never had to problem solve before?

I have bought rain jackets but my son 12 wouldn't be seen wearing a coat to go to school! Came in tonight soaked through!

YANBU. What on earth is wrong with people? We live in quite a rainy country. I live in a particularly rainy bit of it. We regularly go out for longish walks in the rain. You wear waterproofs. It's not difficult.

But it took me 2 hours to get ready, I wasn’t going to undo all my hard work by getting drenched in a torrential downpour.

Unless you are a model, presumably the work you do involves actual work,which is what you're paid for, not looking immaculate?

All depends how heavy the rain is.

Last summer term I think it was, DS12 walked the 30 minute walk to school in torrential rain when I’d had the option to drive him and I hadn’t twigged just how heavy the rain was/was going to be. I felt terrible later; I went to pick him up in the afternoon because it was still rainy and it was a good job I did; the rain had been so bad in the morning that his socks were still heavy with water and couldn’t be worn , his coat was still heavy with water etc. A change of clothes wouldn’t have helped much because his shoes were so wet. Also any change of clothes would have got wet through pretty much any type of bag, I mean it was just biblical, like being in a power shower. You live and learn; I wouldn’t put any of my children through that again if I could help it.

30 minutes in ‘normal’ rain? No problem with decent outdoor clothes.

[quote Embroidery]@Bonbonours You have no idea how schools work! They wouldn't be allowed in the building in non uniform. Should they change in the street? In the rain?

I always feel very sorry for the odd kid who is made to walk in the rain, I bet their mum and of course their dad don't do it and then sit in wet clothes all day. To me its abusive, and stonkingly hypocritical.[/quote]
Abusive??
I am in my 30's, so hardly ancient and i had to walk to school whatever the weather (and we didn't have lockers at our senior school, so bags and coat went around with you all day) a decent coat and all you might suffer from is wet legs, which will dry soon enough! (Little kids easy enough to throw waterproofs over their trousers!)

Yes, I don't suppose it's the worst thing to drop you senior age kids off at school, if there is nowhere to keep their wet stuff, but absolutely no reason they can't walk home in the rain, seeing how they can get changed once they get there. As for little ones, they normally love running around in the rain (if they haven't been completely coddled since birth.) And surely people in the UK have suitable warm/waterproof wear for them anyway, or do some kids not play outside for the majority of autumn and winter???
Personally, I would rather walk in the rain than sit in rainy day school traffic, especially given it is much better for the environment (and hundreds of schools you would still have to walk a stretch from where you can manage to park anyway!!)
Each to their own, you do you and all that, but the amount of people acting like it's a tradegy for kids to gets a bit wet around where their coat covers, is ridiculous!

Our kids have good walking gear and wellies that gets plenty of use and they are more than capable of walking for more than 1/2 hour. None of that kit is acceptable as school uniform.

The school coat is water resistant - not waterproof. No toner coats are to be worn in school. Rules on school shoes are strict.

They have no lockers and our youngest had his usual bag of books and lunch, rugby kit and cooking stuff to take today. He wasn’t going to be carrying around a pair of wellies and spare waterproofs all day too.

We live just over half an hour away from school and I take them every day and pick them up most days. The majority of those trips tie in with my work.

@3scape

Waterproof cover over bag to school (plastic bag would do it). Put waterproofs inside it at school. Have you never had to problem solve before?

Have you ever met any teenagers?

Yes I completely agree
Of course they should walk to school if they live less then half an hour away.
Drives me mad all the yummy mummies dropping their kids to school when they only live 10 minutes away

@dysongirl

Yes I completely agree Of course they should walk to school if they live less then half an hour away. Drives me mad all the yummy mummies dropping their kids to school when they only live 10 minutes away

Don’t you think it’s a bit odder that you’re standing there shaking with rage from the toes of your wellies to the peaked hood of your mountain warehouse waterproof coat because some ‘yummy mummies’ drive their kids to school?

What do you have a chart detailing who lives the acceptable driving distance and who should be slinging their waterproofs on and walking?

I mean we usually do walk to school because we live so nearby (20 minutes) and I don’t have to rush off to work as I’m part time evenings and nights but I can honestly say it’s never drove me mad (or even really been noticeable to me) which other families walk/drive.

@3scape

Waterproof cover over bag to school (plastic bag would do it). Put waterproofs inside it at school. Have you never had to problem solve before?

Have you met a teenager before?

All shoving waterproofs in a bag will do is keep them damp, smelly and will potentially make them go mouldy. Damp waterproofs need to be aired and dried out, not stuffed in a backpack to fester all day.

YANBU gotta do what you gotta do, but it's not very pleasant. I have vivid memories of sitting through a school day with squelchy shoes and my hair plastered to my scalp bc the wind butchered my umbrella before I could make it to the end of the street. Luckily my kids' school is only around the corner.

Like previous poster when my kids were young apart from the very odd occasion I walked everywhere school activities etc, no matter the weather. Two car families were rare, I can’t understand why so many children get driven to school if it’s within walking distance if I am honest.

I had to walk 20 minutes to catch the school bus back in the day. I'd sweat like crazy under my rain coat so I'd smell for the rest of the day however much deodorant I used, and I only had one school jumper so actually I'd smell for the week. It made my hair frizzy too so I just looked like a hot old mess for the day. Whatever I tried my books always got wet in my bag, and there was no space to carry a change of clothes or shoes (even if I'd had spares) so I'd spend the day with damp feet, shoes that smelt like something had died in them by half term, and faffing around with plastic bags in my bag in each lesson. It had a massive effect on my self esteem being the smelly girl with all the plastic bags and I wouldn't wish that on my kids. Or are teenagers kinder to each other these days?

Ohanami @ it doesn’t have to be like that, my kids didn’t have any of those problems. Yes a bit wet but very few got lifts to school.

I walked to school in all weathers and just dried off or had a spare Uniform with me. We just got on with it. By the time we had complained we could have used that energy to get moving. People are getting too soft and oversensitive these days.

All shoving waterproofs in a bag will do is keep them damp, smelly and will potentially make them go mouldy. Damp waterproofs need to be aired and dried out, not stuffed in a backpack to fester all day.

They don’t go mouldy and fester in the length of a school day, they really don’t. They’re designed for getting wet!

Get the impression a lot of MNers are picturing ‘waterproofs’ as something expensive, bulky and difficult to use, requiring special storage and care.

I have waterproofs for my DC, and they wear them for the school run if it’s chucking it down. I wear waterproofs myself for walking to/from train station in non-covid commute times, more than half an hour each way. They are a really useful thing to own because they are lightweight, easy to carry and store, and most importantly mean you don’t have to sit around damp and shivering all day because under the waterproofs you’re dry.