Bare Feet/Socks in Child Care Home?

[jenh171]

I am thinking about starting a new rule in my home in the fall that the kids will take their shoes off at the door and put them in a basket. My home is very small and being that I hardly have any grass, they track in so much dirt on their shoes. Also, it just causes so much wear and tear on my floor. Does anyone else do this? If so, do you have them wear socks every day? How do you prevent them from being so slippery in their socks? (I have wood floors.) Is it a health hazard to just let them walk around barefoot? Sorry for all the questions! I'm trying to make some decisions because I'm in the middle of writing up a letter to my parents for the start of the school year. Thanks for all of your input...it's a huge help!

[Michael]

Here is a previous post: https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9512

[kendallina]

We go barefoot in my house. I figure my family does, so my child care kids should too. I don't have hardwood floors, so slipperiness isn't a problem here.

[tenderhearts]

I require everyone to take their shoes off at the door. Socks, I don't have a rule, most kids take them off and put them in their shoes. I don't have wood floors but I have wood floors in my entry way that the kids pass through all the time.

[Lilbutterflie]

Yup, my kids and dckids take their shoes off at the door. This rule actually came about b/c they were taking them off at random times/places & we could never find them! I got sick of hunting for shoes, so shoes are now in a line at the front door.
Socks aren't a big issue, mostly b/c they usually take them off & put them in their shoes, just like tenderhearts stated.

[misol]

I have a shoes off at the door rule also. In my policies I tell the parents that there are no shoes allowed in the house and since I have hardwood flooring in some areas, the children must wear slippers, grippy socks, or go barefoot. If they come in regular socks, I just take them off and let them go barefoot.

[SunflowerMama]

Kids take their shoes off when they arrive and we're all just barefoot all day. Only the little, little ones wear shoes outside...the rest of us...barefoot. We have hardwood floors.

[DCMomOf3]

I do the same as Tenderhearts.

[grandmom]

Parents and children remove shoes once they pass the area with cubbies. Never been a problem. Lost socks....that's a problem. I have 20 pair no one claims.

[tymaboy]

I have wood floors & I do not like the kids to have shoes or bare feet in my house. When I 1st opened I did not have a socks or slippers rule in effect & had sisters come in ALL the time with black dirty feet. Then they would try to crawl all over my furniture with those grubby feet.

[HeatherB]

Shoes off at door placed in basket... Only rule I have for sock is if they take off they must immediatly put in their shoes. I will NOT hunt for missing socks!

[ninosqueridos]

Shoes off as soon as they come into the entryway. My floor in the daycare room is laminate wood and could be slippery. Kids are barefoot when it's warm and they could wear grippy socks or slippers when it's cold. Parents who want to come into the daycare room must also remove shoes.

[Abigail]

I have wood floors & I do not like the kids to have shoes or bare feet in my house. When I 1st opened I did not have a socks or slippers rule in effect & had sisters come in ALL the time with black dirty feet. Then they would try to crawl all over my furniture with those grubby feet.

YUCK, I never realized that they could actually have dirty feet in the morning?! Do you have a policy about arriving clean in general? I'm going to have that in my policy because it's something common sense, but if we must get down to the nitty-gritty it may as well be a policy, LOL!

Parents and children remove shoes once they pass the area with cubbies. Never been a problem. Lost socks....that's a problem. I have 20 pair no one claims.

Sounds like you should try what Heather B said about immediately putting socks into shoes once removed so you don't have to hunt and have extra pairs. We have the same issue at the daycare, but most parents don't remember what their child was even wearing when they dropped them off! ::

[DCMom]

Parents and children remove shoes once they pass the area with cubbies. Never been a problem. Lost socks....that's a problem. I have 20 pair no one claims.

Same here! It's more of a problem in the winter, it seems but I cannot understand why perfectly intelligent little munchkins cannot get their socks into their shoes when they take them off

[DBug]

I am thinking about starting a new rule in my home in the fall that the kids will take their shoes off at the door and put them in a basket. My home is very small and being that I hardly have any grass, they track in so much dirt on their shoes.

This must be a cultural thing, because as a Canadian (and everywhere I've been across Canada), it's considered rude to walk into someone's house without taking your shoes off at the door. I have hooks for each of the kids jackets/backpacks/diaper bags, etc. and I just have them place their shoes on mats underneath. Maybe something similar would work for your setup? I have carpet, so the kids go either barefoot or in socks. But if it's an issue at your place, you could always have them bring a pair of indoor shoes to keep at your house (which is what all of our elementary schools do).

The one problem I can see with having a basket for everyone's shoes, is that at outdoor time, all of the kids will be scrambling through it to find their own and that may cause some pushing and shoving ...

But regardless, it's your house, so you're entirely within your rights to pick whatever option works for you, whether the parents like it or not