AIBU to think this isn’t enough outdoor time at nursery?

[Livlaughlove99]

My DD is 18 months and has been at nursery for about 5 months.

As far as I can tell, she’s only been outside around 10 times since she started. They don’t have free-
flow access to an outdoor area but do have a nice large garden.

I started packing her bag with her outdoor gear in a particular way and nothing has been moved, and on the occasions she has been outside (that I know about), I’ve always been told at pick up which has been very few times.

Is this worth raising with the nursery manager or AIBU?

I think you need to find out the policy and what the general plan is day to day.

That’s a shame, though are you sure they aren’t just taking her outside without using any of the things in her bag? I chose the nursery I did for my kids because it had a lovely large garden, split off for ages, and rain or shine, they were out every day. Even the babies were in their baby walkers zooming around the top playground and they used to hold an annual sports day on the garden. They also had a ball pit in the basement, as it was a huge old house. I liked that they weren’t in their rooms all day, but got a bit of variety. I’d ask them about it. Seems a shame if they have a garden not to be using it.

All nurseries should be taking children outside every day unless the weather is unsafe. I know this because I had to raise a complaint against my son's first nursery for this very thing. It was awful. They never went outside or if they did it was only for a walk with my very active toddler confined to a buggy.i raised a complaint, it was upheld and I moved nursery.

When I worked in a nursery, there was meant to be outdoor time every day. It was a rough area, and sometimes people threw bottles over the wall at night, so we couldn't go outside the next day. When that happened, we'd set up indoor exercise, usually dancing or yoga, amd do that instead with them. If there are good conditions and nice weather, there should definitely be outdoor time every day!

How do you know when she has been outside?

If you are concerned then why not ask at pick up what did she did outdoors today?

outdoor gear? We never had any. If the weather was nice they just went out in the garden to play

Are you sure they aren’t just going outside in their normal clothes? I’ve had 3 children at nursery and have never packed specific ‘outdoor gear’, they’ve just worn whatever they were wearing that day. It would be a lot of hassle to get that number of children into outdoor gear every day.

Well it's worth asking about how often she goes outside, but you may not have drawn the correct conclusions from the facts you have.

Most "going outside" would just involve putting on a coat (if cold enough) so no need to take anything out of her bag.
Children are often given free choice as to whether or not to go outside (as they would if it was free format) so it might be that she is given the option and chooses not to.

I wouldn't expect a nursery to make a particular point of telling me my child had gone outside; the handover conversation is generally brief highlights.

They should be outside daily unless it’s a storm or something so unsafe. My DC went to a nursery with a big covering so they could play under that in rain/snow but still outside. You should ask about this.

I'd be very disappointed if that were true, that's awful. If they have a garden, there's no reason for them not to be out every day. I would ask the nursery what is actually happening before moving her.

What kind of outdoor gear? My 17mo DS goes outside every day (in the garden or trips out) with his childminder, but he doesn’t wear anything special to go outside. Coat and shoes are all they need, surely?

yes 100% they should be going outside every day.
I suspect it could be a hassle for them to take the little ones out especially as it isn’t free flowing access.

I was horrified how little my dd went outside in her nursery it really infuriated me.

I would try to have a really clear conversation with them and make your feelings really clear.

If it’s nice ours don’t wear their outdoor gear but they all have puddlesuits/waterproofs for wet play or wet days (and they all learn how to get their own things on from very early, puddlesuits, wellies, coats etc., that’s part of the nursery ‘system’). I can’t imagine how many clothes changes we would need a day without the waterproofs!

If she really is outside so infrequently that’s not great, my kids have been out pretty much every day rain or shine at nursery; except for extreme weather conditions.

I wouldn’t be happy with that. At ours it’s outside time every day (unless extreme weather) for the babies, and free flow outdoors for toddlers and pre-school. Being cooped up indoors all day or most of the day isn’t good.

I live near two nurseries and they are always outside. I’m sure the staff want them to be too - easy to look after them when busy playing outside.

Im not sure what outdoor gear they’d use at the moment? But I’d personally be enquiring abut jt. Our nursery doesnt have any outdoor space but they go out every morning to local parks / woods etc, and often again in the afternoon. Plus older ones go on day trips to the beach, farms etc. I don’t think it healthy for kids to be inside most of the day

I think the first step is to ask them how much time they spend outside. This time of year in particular, there wouldn't necessarily be a big fuss to get them all dressed in different clothing to go out for an hour in their own garden - they might just go outside in between meals, etc. Obviously your child can't tell you so just ask the staff.

However I'd expect them to spend a decent amount of time outside on most days. Our nursery went outside in all weather but I'm in Scotland so you can't wait around for a nice day!

Our nursery had lots of outdoors time, every day. It was a priority for us when choosing the nursery, as I didn't want to think our DC were cooped up indoors all day while I was at work.

I always had outdoor stuff in the bag (wellies/shoes/waterproof/sunhat depending on the weather) as they wore slippers while indoors.

I'd definitely raise this but I'd also assume it's unfortunately part of that nursery's culture so might be unlikely to change much. Are you happy with the nursery in other ways, and are there other suitable options nearby?