DS came home today in shoes 3 sizes too small

[CelluliteQueen]

TBH I feel sick.

DH picked DS up from nursery tonight and of course, being a bloke, he didn't realise that they weren't DS's shoes.

DS is a size 7.5 and he was "wearing" size 4.5. He was trying to walk on his tippytoes and when I took the shoes off, his big toes were all red and sore. He must've been wearing these shoes since he woke up from his nap at about 2.

Incidentally, I sent him in a pair of jeans and he came home in a pair of dungarees.

Needless to say, it being a Friday evening, everyone had gone home when I rang.

I am going to have to go and get him some new shoes in the morning as god knows when we'll be able to retrieve his own.

When I think about the struggle the "nursery nurse" must have had to cram his little feet in I want to cry.

[Dodsey]

I've just been given great name labels for shoes from my sis. She gets them in the Startrite dept. within John Lewis. They fit the whole heel part of the insole so are instantly readable when you pick up the shoes.Thought this may help for the future but still an awful thing to happen in the first place.

[uwila]

I would take DS back to nursery on Monday without shoes on his feet and tell them to sort out where they are.

I would also flash that new shoe bill in their face, but sadly wouldn't really count on them paying it.

[CelluliteQueen]

Hi HRHQoQ, DH took the other pair of shoes (and dungarees) back to the nursery when he went in on Monday morning and DS's shoes (and jeans) had already been returned. I wonder if the parents of other child were equally as pi**ed off that their son had been walking around in shoes 3 sizes too big?

[HRHQoQ]

Glad you got the shoes thing sorted...(did his other ones turn up yet?)

[HRHQoQ]

"Being in the wrong clothes/shoes is not uncommon for nurseries."

That's true - BUT 3 sizes too small.......doesn't take a genius to work out they're the wrong shoes - that would be a bit like me trying to put DS2's shoes onto DS1!!

Sorry haven't read the rest of the thread yet......

[CelluliteQueen]

Hi nailpolish, yes DH went in yesterday and saw the owner and she has (reluctantly) agreed to pay for the new shoes. DH took DS's toddler record book with him and as we didn't recognise the names of 2 out of the 3 members of staff on duty on the day, he asked who they were and guess what?, they were "trainees". Says it all doesn't it?

[nailpolish]

have you spoken to the nursery manager? have you found ds's shoes that got lost yet?

[CelluliteQueen]

New shoes duly purchased at cost of £27. Unfortunately, he didn't need a bigger size either.

[teeavee]

oh , I would be livid! that would definitely be cause for a letter of complaint to the care standards inspectorate, imo

[goldenoldie]

Sorry to say it but this sort of thing happens pretty often.

You must label ALL your kids clothes - not that this is completely fool-proof either, but does give you the high ground when you need to confront nursery.

[nailpolish]

i cant believe your poor ds came home in the wrong shoes

i would be telling myself they had a 'shoes off' activity all afternoon just to make myself think he hadnt been walking around in agony since 2.......................

i think you should bill the nursery - it you dont try youll never know - and it will make them think more about this subject

come to think of it, i see a lot of girls dd1's age going about in the same style of shoe, so thanks to this thread i have now labelled all her belongings

[colditz]

Sd, I do that with ds. One pair of fitted shoes, one pair of trainers that look about the same size and seem to fit, one pair of wellies, always big for extra socks, and one pair of slippers.

I don't have more than one pair of shoes on the go at once, he would just trash them all.

back on the subject, it is pretty appalling that someone rammed shoes 3 sizes too small onto a child's feet.

[CelluliteQueen]

SD, that's a good idea to have a cheapy second pair. Next time he has a new size, I may well buy him a second pair on Ebay.

[SoupDragon]

(DS is hardly Imelda Maros - generally has a "decent" pair of fitted shoes and a bought-in-the-same-size pair like trainers from somewhere cheaper!)

[CelluliteQueen]

Octobernow, DS has a party this afternoon so new shoes are essential.

DH has rung the nursery this morning on the off-chance that someone was there and there was no reply. There is not even an answerphone.

[Octobernow]

I was just saying that your ds could wear wellies outdoors until Monday to see if his own shoes turn up, if they don't, that's when you would be entitled to ask for compensation imo. I meant that if you go in with a receipt for the new shoes first thing the nursery will instantly have their backs up and start suggesting you should have been more prepared/vigilant with labelling etc. Ours would, anyway.

[tigermoth]

looks like your assumption was right, earlybird.

[Blandmum]

bobbybob, something that migh help with the clothes thing. The school mine go to asks the parent to put the clothing labels on the outside of the item. That way the staff can instantly see if a child is wearing the wrong clothes. You can even get bigger print labels that make the recognition even easier (or at least you can in the UK)

[Earlybird]

tigermoth - I was basing my assumption that the shoes were on all afternoon on CQ's thoughts that they must have been put on her ds after the nap. Hope I'm wrong though....

CQ - hope this experience is just a one off, and will alert the nursery to the fact that they need to be more careful in future.

[bobbybob]

I am grrrr on your behalf.

My parents drop off ds when they are in NZ and dh always pick up, so we often get interesting clothing etc. All ds's is named, so I find it bizarre. Other peoples washing powder gives him eczema so I have asked them to be careful.

He came home on Thursday with one sandal. But the worst was when they had a "lost property" table and by the time my parents got there ds's sunhat had been taken by someone else, despite having his name on it (and still needing it to play outside).

[noddyholder]

Just buy him a cheap pair of slippers or wellies for the weekend and track down his shoes next week

[CelluliteQueen]

Earlybird, yes we've been happy on the whole with the nursery and it is has an excellent reputation.

But you are quite right - there is no getting away from the fact that he was wearing shoes 3 sizes too small all afternoon and I have looked in his daily record book and they had outside play yesterday afternoon.

Then there is the issue of do we look for another nursery. He is happy and settled where he is (he only goes one day a week) and he knows the other children etc etc

[philippat]

and ooooh at soupdragon's emelda m. DS just 1 pair here too

[philippat]

dd used to regularly come home in shoes that weren't hers from nursery (same size and make, mind). I think putting the child's name in is fairly vital...

[tigermoth]

my sons as toddlers usually had just the one pair of 'good' shoes. My sons' feet grew so fast, and scuffed their shoes so much, it didn't seem worth getting them several same-sized pairs.

earlybird - from my reading of this, I can't see anything to prove the children had these shoes on all afternoon, though it's quite possible. Perhaps the nursery had a shoeless activity that day near to pick up time and then there was a mad scramble for shoes at the last minute?