Question for day-care/preschool moms

roses25

Hi Everyone,

I have a question for those of you day-care/preschool moms who's child has a morning outside playtime. What's your rule of thumb for deciding whether to send a winter coat vs. just a lightweight jacket with your child? We are cooler in the mornings right now here (40
s) , but by the afternoon it's up in the 70's to 80's. So at what temperature for recess time do you send a heavy coat vs. a lightweight jacket with your child?

Thanks,
Carolyn

mel

I don't stress about a specific temperature. If it's cool in the morning, we send a jacket. If it feels cold, we layer under the jacket or send a coat. It's not really a big deal. It also depends on whether it's sunny, overcast, windy, or rainy.

I bought fleece lined hoodies for all 3 to keep in the classroom, so if they get cold at school or there's an unexpected chill outside, they can use them. You could keep a coat at school for similar reasons if it makes you feel better.

annerbones

Maggie has 2 jackets in her daycare bag a light one and a heavy one - I trust that daycare is going to make a smart choice and choose appropriately.

I am guessing since Aiden rides the bus - he probably doesn't have this option so what about a sweatshirt and a heavier jacket one on him in the morning and one for later?

Kari

We leave a light one in his cubby and wear a heavy one in the morning. Remembering to bring the correct one home - or one at all - is the harder part!

friendamy

I'm with the others - whatever is appropriate at drop off. I trust the daycare providers (or my son) to decide which to wear.

around here it'll be chilly in the morning but warm up a lot - so he'll have a hoodie as we go to school, but it's way too hot to wear it home.

sara291

If its 40-50 I'd send a jacket. By afternoon at 70-80 he would not even need a sweater. Z tends to not want sweaters past 65 & I really don't care if he wants one or not. If its 50-60 he can just decide I don't care. His winter coat is very warm. He tends to like to be on the cooler side & runs around like crazy so heats up fast. If they want to be cold it's fine to me. Honestly my first year on my own money was tight & I kept the temp way down & then got used to it. I assume he is the same way since I usually keep the house on the cooler end. Anything 70 or above is short weather here. Honestly there was one time it was 31 degrees outside. It was chilly but I was in a tank top & find. Sorry way more then you want to know.

cocolibby

Our school has a rule that they have to have a jacket if it's below 55 and they have to have a winter coat if it's below 45, or they can't go out.

Zen

We're in Florida so it's rare that cold comes into play but there are a few days a year in the 40's. I bring Shiloh to school in clothes appropriate for getting there. Usually early mornings are the coldest so we'd walk in wearing a coat. And then I'd take that off and put her in a sweater or light-weight jacket. If bundling is needed, I think the kids stay in. January of this year was Shiloh's first "winter" in preschool and I don't think the teachers dress 15 little ones in coats to play outside. But like you said, by mid-day the temps are up anyway.

In my opinion, if recess requires a heavy coat, preschoolers should stay inside. In your shoes I'd ask the school what their policy is for outdoor play. In my shoes ... well ... it should be in the high 80's tomorrow so no coats here!

Klt86

The weather is so unpredictable sometimes that I would suggest leaving a heavier coat there and always making sure he had a light one too. When i worked at daycares, there were so many times that parents didn't send the right kind of clothes for outdoor play and we were required by law to go outside everyday unless it was below a certain temp (freezing I believe.) It would be nice to have a spare there for him anyway in case he gets wet or something.

And those of you saying you trust the daycare to judge the temp, where were you when I worked in daycare?! We had one mom who would pack windpants for her 5 year old and if it was below 60 he was to have them on. He would cry because he was sweaty so we'd take them off sometimes. If we were outside when she came to get him, she would literally lick her finger and hold it up to test the wind then scold us if she felt he should have had the wind pants on.

michgirl

Zen - when reading your post I had to laugh! Don't get me wrong it was not AT YOU but at the differences in the climate in which we live. My daycare provider (and most around here) not only take the time to put 15 kids into jackets but after it snows they put 15 kids into snow pants, winter coats, boots, mittens, hats, and scarves!

Shaeley Mae

I send my kids to school in whatever's appropriate for the morning, and let the teacher decide if it's needed at school. If it's cold enough to stress over, then it's probably too cold to play outside anyhow. But, if it's any easier, you could splurge on a nice jacket with a removable liner/shell. That way he's not committed to either go with or without a jacket .... he can simply remove the inner/outter layer and just go with lighter part.

And yeah, Michgirl ... that was my life in Colorado. I worked as the lead preschool teacher in the one year old room, at a ski resort town in the Rocky mountains. Every day we had to lather up the kids' faces with sunscreen, and bundle 10 little one years olds up in snowsuits, hats, mittens, etc. By the time we got the 10th one dressed the first 2 or 3 were sweating. :P

Flowergirl

michgirl wrote:

Zen - when reading your post I had to laugh! Don't get me wrong it was not AT YOU but at the differences in the climate in which we live. My daycare provider (and most around here) not only take the time to put 15 kids into jackets but after it snows they put 15 kids into snow pants, winter coats, boots, mittens, hats, and scarves!

Lol me too! I was thinking as I read it that if that were the case here, the poor kids would literally never get to go outside! It's just a way of life here to bundle up in winter coat, snow pants, hat, gloves, scarves, and boots to go outside and play in the snow the kids love it and it makes for an amazing naptime later!!

Zen

LOL! I can't imagine having to deal with cold every day. I did start out in New York. And there were brief stints in North Caroline and Texas with snow. But ... I think I've repressed those memories. Because now if it's in the 40's that means I stay in with the heat on!

Klt86

I hated bundling up all the toddlers!! By the time you got them all in snow pants someone's bound to poop their pants. They hated being bundled up and were so bulky they couldn't even play. They'd just fall over in the snow. Ugh. Awful.

charcoaleyes

hahaha. I am looking forward to watching a bundled M and his daycare friends walking around (or falling around) all bundled up for winter. Sounds amusing to watch them figure out how to deal.

SPJ&E

Flowergirl wrote:

michgirl wrote:

Zen - when reading your post I had to laugh! Don't get me wrong it was not AT YOU but at the differences in the climate in which we live. My daycare provider (and most around here) not only take the time to put 15 kids into jackets but after it snows they put 15 kids into snow pants, winter coats, boots, mittens, hats, and scarves!

Lol me too! I was thinking as I read it that if that were the case here, the poor kids would literally never get to go outside! It's just a way of life here to bundle up in winter coat, snow pants, hat, gloves, scarves, and boots to go outside and play in the snow the kids love it and it makes for an amazing naptime later!!

Same here! When I worked at the a preschool here, we took the kids out every single day (unless it was raining). It is a requirement (albeit a stupid one) that they get so much outside time even if it's really cold. We would make a judgment call some days and would not take them out, despite the requirement, because it really was entirely too cold. We could have gotten written up for it though. But anyway, if it was chilly or worse, we did take the time to make sure they all had their coats on and zipped. 17-20 3-4 year olds. Most could get theirs on themselves, but the zippers were tricky for them. If someone didn't bring a coat or theirs didn't seem warm enough for the weather, we had spares in the office to let them borrow.

And I totally agree with the naptime comment. Those kids would sleep better those days (the coldest ones) than any other.

Lindsay

This is funny...We just moved from Kentucky back to Michigan and the differences in the way children are bundled and taken outside are very different...LOL Down there they didn't take those kids outside if the breeze was bit stiff...forget it if it was below 60*..I used to get so irritated with Lily's daycare because it seemed she would go days/weeks without any fresh air until I took her home and let her play outside..Up here is Michigan all bets are off You got Ski Jackets,snowpants,hats,mittens and scarves and a sled and off you go!!!! LOVE IT!!!!! I am a firm believer that kids need fresh air for maximum physical and mental health...I grew up in Michigan so this is what I am used to...I guess if I was raised in Florida I would want the heat on when it is 40* outside too..Your blood doesn't ever thicken up...LOL

I knew a couple who were born and raised in Honduras..They moved to the US and both are doctors...And I always felt so bad for their kids...These people were so used to such hot weather that they were always cold..So they layered and bundled their kids big time..The kids would sweat so bad...We would finally take a couple layers off them so they were more comfy but mom didn't like it...She would fuss and put the layers back on them before she took them out in 55* weather:))) it is all in what you know and grow with...