School Coats

[LouHal]

Hi my twins are about to start in reception and I was wondering if most people get separate school coats or just get a nice coat that can be used for school and the weekend? Last year they had a nice coat that they used for pre-school and the rest of the time x

Depends how many coats you can/want to buy really. I've always bought my DC just one coat - but it's never been anything very expensive. Just be aware that the coat that goes to school may end up lost/ripped/with marker pen on it.

I havent bought a school coat the last couple of years and they just had a coat for both in and outside of school

My DD has several coats (various thicknesses/ waterproofness etc).

Never ever send a "decent" coat to school. Somebody will pull on the hood and tear it/ it will go missing. Asda do school coats for £10 - then you can save the proper coat for out of school.

I think I may be in a minority but my dd has 2 or 3 winter coats but I buy in the January sales for the following year, so It doesn't cost much more than buying one! If it too small by the time its needed I just pop it on ebay and normally get back what I've paid if not more!

One can be worn while one is in the wash. I also try to get one that has lighter padding and one that is thicker for the varying temps.

I know I'm a bit OTT

Haha no I had a jacket and two winter coats for them last year. I'm finding the school coats quite uninspiring which is why I wondered what people tend to do. I can see my oh going mad when he sees they've got 3 coats, a rain coat etc!! Thanks for your tips, might just get a plain one for school then a nice one for the rest of the time.

Does the school prescribe what coats are suitable? My DD's were allowed to wear whatever coat they wanted. They had two each at least as food and drink were regularly spilled on them apart from mud and paint and other hazards. Hennes had good coats but that was a few years back. We never had a coat nicked or ripped.

Yes, our school can wear any coat. If it HAD to be black or navy, I would probably have 2 as can't stand kids in those colours, but mine all have red coats which they use for school and weekend. You could always pick one up on ebay too.

DD always has two coats. We had it too often that the coat was ready for a wash after a Sunday out in the woods.

She is never in dark colours as she cycles to the childminder before and after school and with dark winter months she mostly wears bright colours. Luckily the school is sensible and allows whatever colour the child/the parent likes.

Label every bit of the coat, DD took her hood off, "But mummy, the doll needed a blanket".

Skim reading the OP, I thought you were suggesting buying them a coat between them at first. Seemed a bit tight!

It's not necessary to have more than one coat. At various stages of life, mine often have, beacuse we are lucky enough to be the recipients of hand-me-downs, but there's no way I'd go out and buy more than one winter coat for a growing child - I mean, why would you ?

Ebay is your friend for cheap navy/black winter school coats - I never spend more than about £8 including postage for an M&S/Next padded winter coat that usually retails at £20+. It's not worth spending much more than a tenner because it's highly likely to get lost, ripped or marked, especially if you have boys.