Is this right for a baby in nursery?!

[Nurseryimumma]

First time mum so have no idea if this is normal or not. I have a 14 month old. She is in a room with 1 year olds to 20 month olds. They are all walking, she is not, though she can stand on her own. Ive been told that she will go outside to the lawn/decking area with them all at lunchtime… I am not ok with this as she is crawling still?! Am I being over the top about this or is this a bit grim? Id rather she went outside when she can actually walk.

Your child gets to view outside but they really need to be able to explore a little. It was very daunting for me, I had post natal anxiety issues, but once you get them in a puddle suit that might help you relax a bit?

Puddlesuits are good for crawling, the whole point of them is keeping mud out of the waist/bottom area

And that's fine. When she can walk she'll still spend much of the time outside on the floor. This is just what children do.

You can wash a baby’s hands if you are worried. Did it all the time with mine.

My younger DD learnt to walk on Scarborough beach as she didn't like crawling on sand...

Honestly, the different surfaces are good for them.

@10ThousandSpoons sorry I don’t mean to come across as rude but I don’t understand the puddle suit comments? How will that help protect her hands from the ground? I am worried she will literally have her hands all over the ground, whether she’s in a puddle suit or not (she was in one as nursery provide them)

But if her hands got muddy they would just wash them and start to teach her about hand washing. What do you think is so terrible about mud? There won't be dog poo in a nursery.

Crawling outside will be good for her. From an immunological perspective and a physical development perspective. This way she will be exposed to a wider range of bacteria (lots of the kinds of bacteria that are very good for the immune system come from dirt and grass) and be less likely to develop allergies.

She will be challenged more physically, by the uneven ground and she will get more sensory input from the different textures and smells. A bit of freedom to explore can be good for a baby that’s how they get information about the world and learn about problem solving and risk taking and confidence and all sorts of things.

I don’t think it matters that the other babies are walking already. If another baby trips over yours, they are probably going to come off worse.

All in one will keep them dry whilst sitting on the floor

@WannabeMathematician i know I can but nursery won’t be doing that which is my worry

Actually OP I see your point. I was put off one nursery because they allowed shoes in the smallest babies room (this seemed an anomaly) so I didn’t like the potential for bits of rubbish from bottom of shoes going onto their hands and straight into their mouths. we don’t have shoes in the house and this is part of the reason…

having said that, I was keen for baby to have outdoor time and that included crawling on grass.

Easier to wash hands than mittens when they go back inside in this weather

Ah ok so it's the hands. Perhaps some mittens? But honestly in a nursery setting it will all be safe.

Yes, they should be. Puddlesuit on to keep them warm and dry and let them sit on the ground, crawl on the grass, touch the ground, grass and mud. Yes to all of that. That is normal. Only being outside being held, in a pushchair etc is not normal.

Did you not sit outside on the ground for picnics or playing last year?!

Op re-read the first sentence of your opening post :) we are telling you, yes your dc really needs to explore the outdoors, it is normal and somewhat overdue. Try it, she'll love it, it will do her lots of good and no harm

Have you asked them about hand washing? My children's nursery used to do this I'm sure.

How do you know that though? My son’s was washing their hands after every time outside and before every meAl and after every toilet break when they were older. It was a soapy cloth for babies and older child had help with doing it in the sink.

Ok thank you. I will ask about hand washing. I was just surprised by it as she isn’t walking yet, I wouldn’t have thought twice if she was.

Getting dirt on her hands and then in her mouth is a good thing. It is really good in terms of immunity and sensory input. Has your child never eaten dirt?

You sound a bit germophobic and if you don’t get some help with this it will continue to impact on your child’s development.

What will her hands need "protecting" from? There will be no broken glass, dog poo, or venomous adders on the ground. She will be fine.

I genuinely don't see the difference. When she's able to walk she'll still spend a load of the time on the floor with her hands on everything.

But of course they will if her hands are dirty.

Children lie on the ground all the time and long after they’ve learned to walk. It’s only a bit of mud. It washes off plus most toddlers eat a bit anyway.

But when she's walking she will still be touching everything, including the grass and mud and the same germs.

More chance of getting germs in her mouth holding onto a baby swing than off grass.

@Mumoftwo1312 well feasibly there could be dog poop on another child’s shoes from home.

As I said I was just surprised as she’s not walking yet. She took her first step tonight so hopefully this won’t be so much of a worry soon anyway