Silly Question About Cold Weather Gear

[MARSTELAC]

Sorry if this has been asked before. I have a family of kids that all have lined coats. They come in the a.m. when cold outside with liners intact. I am supposed to take the liners in/out as needed. It is a huge pain in the you-know-what. I care for 12 children. I have asked that they use velcro shoes so we can get outside as quickly as possible. I do not have a helper. Most families have obliged with the shoe request. Do I really have to deal with these lined coats? All of this zipping and tying shoes is making me crazy! What do you all do?

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

I dont know if you mean a coat that has a thicker liner for colder weather that zips into two coats,.. ?? but if so I would leave it intact. put it on them and let it be. I wouldnt worry about it further than that.

Sorry if this has been asked before. I have a family of kids that all have lined coats. They come in the a.m. when cold outside with liners intact. I am supposed to take the liners in/out as needed. It is a huge pain in the you-know-what. I care for 12 children. I have asked that they use velcro shoes so we can get outside as quickly as possible. I do not have a helper. Most families have obliged with the shoe request. Do I really have to deal with these lined coats? All of this zipping and tying shoes is making me crazy! What do you all do?

[DCMomOf3]

I would just leave the liners in if it's making life that difficult.

[MARSTELAC]

Yes, exactly the type of coat. Thank you! Should I just tell them it is such a hassle to have to do that plus all of the shoes and zipping that I cannot possibly have time for it?

[TGT09]

I don't know that you necessarily need to tell parents that you're not taking the liner out. I have a dcg that has the most difficult shoes on the planet and half the time I put her in a pair of mine (well children ones ). I don't tell her parents because to me it isn't a big deal. I feel the same way about the coat issue, I don't think it's an issue.

[Abigail]

Leave the jackets how they are. If they are too warm they can unzip it or zip it back up or get into or out of the sun. LOL. Twelve kids sure is A LOT to get ready by yourself, good job for taking on the task every day!

As for the shoes, I would find it acceptable to post a sign and REQUIRE velcro shoes be left at daycare for all children(add it to your handbook and have everyone sign it to agree and give them one week with the date posted). My handbook states that no flip flops are allowed in daycare because they're not play shoes. If I had more kids to take outside, I would also add that velcro shoes are necessary for at least outside time while in daycare to make the most of outside time. This way, they can still wear shoes with laces when they arrive and leave daycare for the day and practice with the laces.

[QualiTcare]

i always left the coats how they were, but if they got hot running around in the big/lined coats - they could take them off. fact is - kids know if they're hot/cold and if they wanted to take their jackets off, i let them. if i thought they looked cold again, they'd put them back on. obviously if it's 35 degrees - no, but the weather changes so much right now parents don't want them to freeze in the morning by putting on a thin jacket. hopefully they'd trust your judgement. i personally send my daughter to school with a hoodie/sweat jacket and put a coat over it - so she can take her coat off and have the hoodie on in class or on the playground when it's warmer out later - and leave the coat inside.