To think most dc don’t have a ready supply of old shoes

[Beforetheend]

School are planning a messy adventure trip next week and requested that the students bring old clothes and shoes. I don’t mind the clothes so much, but old shoes are a tall order. Ds has runners, school shoes, hiking boots and football boots. Even if I had the room to store old shoes, they’d probably be too small.

This request has come up about 5 times across my dc’s combined 20 years in school so far, and it always makes me wonder if I’m a bit odd for not having a supply of old stuff, or they’re a bit unrealistic to expect it.

🤣🤣 true!
to be fair I think they actually mean (as other posters have said) “shoes that can be gotten dirty without it being a disaster” or something like that - but I (being autistic ) do take words extremely literally and immediately go into a mind melt of the impossibility of kids’ old shoes being big enough to be successfully worn! 😑

This annoys me too. I wear out my clothes and shoes but the kids grow out of them and they are still good so go away for sibling or get donated, either way they are too small. Easier for DD2 for clothes but we don't hand down shoes.

They obviously mean shoes for getting muddy and wet. What would your dcs normally wear if they were playing in the mud?

We tend to have 2 pairs of trainers on the go, one 'old' in that they are a not new, a bit scruffy but fine for muddy walks and the park and another pair for everyday wear eg. shopping, playing at a friend's, going to brownies or other extra curriculars in, not so scruffy etc. Both supermarket trainers though.

Reminds me of a convo I had with my DS today. I asked him if his school shoes were OK to go back to school and he said 'yes, they're my school shoes, everyday shoes and football practice shoes'. I promise you he has other shoes, a white pair, which he can't wear to school or football and a 'fancy pair' that are too fancy to wear apparently!

Their shoes get muddy all the time. We just clean them.

They mean "old" in the sense of "not new". They don't want your child's brand new footwear to be trashed.

So i'm guessing these are not brand new pristine white trainers or the smart shoes you just bought them to wear at a wedding?

They are "old" shoes that are used to getting muddy. Which is exactly what school wants.

Our school has a residential and it says multiple pairs of old shoes because they have a problem drying them PLUS walking boots for a hike etc. My DD has one pair of trainers, one pair of school shoes, stylish boots and hiking boots. So essentially for this trip, she has two pairs of shoes. School are recommending 5 pairs plus slippers. Away for a week.

I think we're alone though as my niece has approx 20 pairs of trainers age 9

Folk here tend to get shoes of that description second hand - charity shops mainly.

The hiking shoes?

I wouldn't thunk they have to spell every little thing out it means shoes you don't mind getting dirty is it really that hard to get?

We had this with the residential. Two pairs of trainers were required and an evening pair of casual shoes. DS1 (age 11, size 7 feet) has a single pair of trainers and D width feet which means that supermarket trainers literally fall off the back of his foot. Hiking boots were not permitted (he has those for muddy walks), nor sandals nor school shoes and I wasn’t going to send him in cricket spikes (his remaining pair of shoes). I was not best amused.

Buy some from a charity shop in the correct size.

My son has school shoes, trainers for home and trainers for PE. I don't keep spare trainers laying around. Your son has more foot wear than mine! My son had a residential trip whilst in Year 6, and we were asked to provide trainers we didn't mind getting muddy/wet. I went to Shoe Zone, and bought a cheapy pair of trainers. By the time he came home from the trip, they were trashed! So I was glad, I didn't send him with his decent ones.

I agree, very annoying. I can’t even pop to primark and get a cheapy pair because of DS ridiculously shaped feet, everything needs to be extra wide.

I have kept the eldests shoes for the youngest when these requests come along. Luckily they are the same foot shape. I have been handed down a few pairs of shoes as well that have been useful for spares.

Yes!! I have always wondered this! Old shoes are old because they don't fit. If they are still decent they are either passed on or taken to the charity shop.
I managed to get dd 1 a cheap pair of trainers from Decathlon when she needed some, so may be worth looking there?

I now keep dd 1's "old" shoes for dd 2 for this reason!

You are correct, but I think you are being a bit too literal. You have to remember though, some families never take their kids to the countryside and might not imagine mud would stain shoes. There might be a family for whom the kids have 2 pairs of shoes, their school shoes and their £100 white designer trainers. The phrasing doesn't really matter, provided the parents know that they shouldn't only send shoes that can't get soaked through with mud.

for nursery we sent dd to forest school so we got this request often. It created the habit of When DD’s feet were still growing, I always bought a pair of cheap, but practical shoes for potentially getting destroyed alongside her better shoes.

The school means shoes you don't mind getting dirty. Eg walking boots. But they don't want to force families to buy them if they don't have them.

They've worded it badly. They just need shoes that can be trashed. I used to buy second hand ones from NCT sales for this reason.

I had boy/girl twins - we had loads of shoes but no old shoes. Primary school insisting on several pairs of shoes was annoying as my kids needed specialist footwear because they had incredibly narrow feet. I still don't understand why one pair of trainers could not be worn to school, PE and everywhere else. My kids have long since left education but the school uniform rules still annoy me with their finicky stupidity.

Shoes that have gone through a river can just go in the washing machine.

As you say, you’re taking it too literally. It’s just a warning that going in £200 favourite white trainers bought yesterday is a bad idea.

I think old in this context means not brand new so don’t mind them getting mucky. Some people aren’t outdoorsy and probably need it spelling out. Mine have 2 pairs of trainers usually, a school sports pair and a weekend pair but the outing was likely to be really muddy then I’d be sending them in wellies. Not just because they can’t trash them but a better chance of feet staying dry all day as wet trainers will be miserable.