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Nurseries

Find nursery advice from other Mumsnetters on our Nursery forum. For more guidance on early years development, sign up for Mumsnet Ages & Stages emails.

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Original poster

DS came home today in shoes 3 sizes too small

38 replies

CelluliteQueen · 14/10/2005 20:15

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.

OP posts:

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compo · 14/10/2005 20:16

that's really awful. I would write a letter of complaint to the manager

startingtobehalloweenylover · 14/10/2005 20:20

OMG! that is AWFUL... i would definitely complain...

how did they not notice?

charliebat · 14/10/2005 20:26

Bloody Hell, how big/busy is the nursery that someone didnt know whos shoes were whos?

LilacBump · 14/10/2005 20:29

that's awful! so is some other little boy been sent home with size 7.5 instead of 4.5 then?

Original poster

CelluliteQueen · 15/10/2005 08:15

The room DS is in has about 6-8 toddlers in and there were 3 members of staff on duty yesterday.

And yes, some other little boy was sent home in DS's shoes but of course, there might be more boys involved (ie they could all have the wrong shoes on!).

We are going to have to go and get him another pair of shoes this morning as he can't be shoe-less til Monday and I can't have him walking around in his slippers or wellies! The nursery will be presented with the bill on Monday morning when DH goes in and plays hell with the owner.

It really is disgraceful that this has happened. Our little cherubs are at the mercy of these people.

OP posts:

misdee · 15/10/2005 08:16

thats awful. he feets must have been really sore. give them hell!

Earlybird · 15/10/2005 08:27

That's terrible. Hard to imagine the nursery didn't notice him struggling to walk for hours after the nap. Not very observant on their part.

Think you must put his name in his shoes in future. I only started doing this for dd when her school required it, and now it seems a basic thing to do to avoid confusion/mix-ups.

Octobernow · 15/10/2005 08:31

Whilst I do feel sympathy for your ds being uncomfortable, I don't think you can expect the nursery to pay for a new pair of shoes, unless they have actually destroyed them. It's your choice to buy more shoes today, after all.

Being in the wrong clothes/shoes is not uncommon for nurseries. Dd 1 came home from school in another girl's shoes last term. I think a gentle word on Monday will be more effective than a full scale argument.

logic · 15/10/2005 08:39

I would bill them for the new shoes! It's hardly your fault that you had to go and buy new ones. It was utter incompetence on their part. I would be angry too.

tigermoth · 15/10/2005 08:54

I see why you'll have to buy ds some shoes this weekend. You won't know if his own shoes will actually turn up on Monday. And it can be such a hassle buying shoes - sympathies!

Hmm I think I would phone the nursery today, just on the offchance someone is there to answer the phone,and so at the very least you can leave a message about the lost shoes on the answerphone or see if there is an emergency contact to call. If there is no reply by midday, I would buy a cheapish pair of shoes (ie not Clarkes finest), and bill the nursery on Monday.

Do you think the nursery will question why your dh did not notice your son's shoes were wrong, before leaving the nursery? They might say it was his responsibility to check.

SoupDragon · 15/10/2005 09:00

DS cme home in one of his shoes and an identical one 1 size bigger - obviously the other boy involved got a shoe 1 size too small.

It's not entirely surprising that your DS came home in the wrong shoes but it is bad that they were so small. Having said that, DS2 sometimes puts on old shoes which are 2 sizes smaller and they don't hurt or squash him - I guess this is to do with the "growing room" - so there may not have bee too much cramming for the nursery nurse to notice although the shoes won't have felt comfortable once they were on and your DSs feet warmed up in them.

(as an aside - does your DS really only have one pair of shoes? Just surprised! )

Earlybird · 15/10/2005 09:06

With the exception of this event, have you been generally happy with the nursery?

Not trying to wind you up, but I think the issue here is potentially larger. Someone "squeezed" your ds' feet into shoes much too small. Why didn't it occur to them that they'd got the wrong size? He then proceeded to spend all afternoon walking strangely to accomodate the uncomfortable shoes. Again, why didn't anyone notice? In addition to that, he came home in the wrong clothes....

As irritated as you must be about the shoes, I'd have a think about how they're looking after the children....

Original poster

CelluliteQueen · 15/10/2005 09:24

Thanks for all your replies, yes Soupdragon he only does have one pair of shoes. He had Doodles for the summer but I put them in the tumble dryer by accident (doh!). At £25 a pair he only gets the one until his next fitting!

Tigermoth - thanks for that suggestion and yes, they could well argue that DH should have noticed.

Octobernow - I don't think it is my 'choice' to buy new shoes today, I have no other choice as I see it. DH isn't the type to have a full scale argument - he will know the best way to go about it - he's a policeman and he deals with disputes of one kind or another every day! I'm the one who feels like the argument so that's why it's best if he returns the shoes on Monday.

Earlybird, yes we will definitely be putting his name in his shoes in future - it never occurred to us before.

OP posts:

tigermoth · 15/10/2005 09:24

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?

philippat · 15/10/2005 09:40

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...

philippat · 15/10/2005 09:41

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

Original poster

CelluliteQueen · 15/10/2005 09:45

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

OP posts:

noddyholder · 15/10/2005 09:50

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

bobbybob · 15/10/2005 10:05

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).

Earlybird · 15/10/2005 10:25

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.

Blandmum · 15/10/2005 10:43

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)

tigermoth · 15/10/2005 11:13

looks like your assumption was right, earlybird.

Octobernow · 15/10/2005 11:17

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.

Original poster

CelluliteQueen · 15/10/2005 11:25

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.

OP posts:

SoupDragon · 15/10/2005 11:32

(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!)

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