Pretty dress & outside play

I confess; I have 4 boys of my own as well as only boy DCKs until January....girl world is a foreign concept. I've been so afraid that they would get their dresses & tights wrecked (not to mention having cold little legs) during outdoor play that I've been throwing on pants of my sons on them if we go outside. I did send a request out that 'splash pants' would be helpful for everyone (only the parents of the boys have complied). What do you all do? Send them out dresses/skirts and all? I have mentioned it to their mom and she has said don't worry about it; that it's only clothes. I still throw the pants on.

I honestly never sent my daughter to daycare in a skirt or dress for that reason. Although, I must confess I am pretty much a tomboy and very rarely wear them myself. I also hardly put dresses or skirts on my daughter in the winter due to the cold (she hates tights) or in the summer. I find they get in the way of her playing (especially when she was younger and learning to walk).
I do have a dcm who sends her daughter in nice clothes constantly, but I let her get dirty outside. I do not change her clothes as I don't have time and if the mom wants her to wear those clothes to daycare, I assume she does it knowing that they will get dirty.
I suggested to all my parents that they get splash pants for their kids, but no one has complied yet, so until then, they all get dirty outside.

I have told all my dkp not to send their child in clothes they don't want ruined as we play outside and in the dirt .... All my dkp provide the appropriate outdoor wear so I haven't had that problem but if they needed splash pants and the parent didn't provide it we go out anyway.

I HATE when the parents send kids in white tights!! If it's coming to daycare, it has the potential of being ruined. I won't stay indoors to save a pair of ten dollar tights. I have been very vocal lately in my interviews about appropriate attire. I have never had a parent chastise me for this, but I have heard many disapproving clucks. Not my problem.

I see where you're coming from and agree HOWEVER being the mother of a 4 year old girl who since she was about 2 1/2 refused to wear anything but skirts and dresses, I get the mom, too. My daughter wears what looks like nice dresses, but have either been given or bought 2nd hand and I know it only fits for a very limited time, so I don't care one bit what happens to it. If you've warned the parents and they continue to send her in dresses then they've made the decision to live with the dirty consequences and probably don't care either.
That being said, I do tell my daughter that she has to at least put on leggings if not splash pants to play outside if it's mucky or just not that warm. And she's mastered how to place her skirt/dress over top of splash pants. :laugh:
If they don't provide what she needs to play outside, I would let it go. If they're really annoyed by it, they'll either send her in pants or send pants for outside.

Sincerely, the mother of the girliest girl I've ever known! :p

I send the kids home in whatever they wore. Yep, that means even if they wore a shiny new white dress with white tights and white shoes. Hey, I am running a daycare here. Kids are supposed to be able to have uninhibited play and THAT is exactly what they get. If a parent doesn't want their pretty clothes to get ruined then they shouldn't send them in pretty clothes.

I agree with the other ladies. I have suggested that everyone bring splash pants for the spring weather and if they chose not too, then the little ones get dirty. If we come inside and their clothes are wet from playing outdoors I will change them, but if they are just dirty from playing then they go home dirty.

Kids need to be kids. I always tell my families to never send their kids in anything they wouldn't want to see get ruined. I've never had a problem (knock on wood). To be honest, if they went home perfectly clean I would think they didn't have a very good day. What day is complete without some rolling around on the ground and making dirt castles??? :)

I think parents know the risk as long as you have told them about sending kids in things that can get dirty.

My daughter is 6 , loves dresses but I haven't been sending her to school in them because i am worried the teacher will think that it is inappropriate school attire since they often paint etc.

But what good do the dresses do me in the closet if she can only wear them for special occasions once or twice before she outgrows them?

Maybe the parents are like me and just figure it is okay to use the dresses and take the risk because either way the dresses have a ticking clock and she may as well enjoy them as long as they fit her???

I think I will write a note in my daughter's notebook for the teacher telling her not to stress if the dress is ruined.:p

Same over here. If they come dressed all pretty, I might make a comment at the door when they're dropped off. "oh, what a pretty dress, we'll have to be extra careful at the sand table today" lol And they go home just the way they came. One ruined dress should be enough. My clients have all said to me, the dirtier they come home, the better. I believe in kids being kids. I'm not going to stress myself out over someone getting some dirt on their dress.

I honestly think it's a bias on my part; boys clothes are all meant to be rough and tumble...but the girls with their frilly white sweaters...I shudder;) I used to send my child off and loved his muddy, messy self at the end of the day...as michellesmunchkins said...how much fun are they having if they go home sparkling clean?

I'm the same as everyone here. My own daughter wears dresses sometimes because she loves them (and I have two boys, so now that I have a girl, I want to put her in dresses..lol). But, I don't care if she gets them dirty and the don't get in her way of playing at all. All the kids wear splash pants for spring fall, but other than that, I don't worry about getting their clothes dirty. I do have painting smocks that I use for painting though because I don't want to ruin clothes unnecessarily.

Yup - you play in whatever you came in - as long as it does not pose a RISK ... aka I have removed costume jewellery and other 'bobbles' from clothes to avoid them getting caught in climbing equipment.

I have little 'princesses' here who like to dress up - however their parents have no issue with them getting dirty usually the 'dresses' that get sent here are the ones they are about to 'grow out of' so they are getting their last use out of them anyway.

A must for me is RUNNING SHOES though ... if you want to wear little dance shoes in the car here fine but for outdoor PLAY you best have proper fitting shoes conducive to safe feet ... same with closed toes sandals please !

In my first few years in business I had parents sending their children in nice white or pink clothing and I guess I have an evil streak because I would point them directly for the blackest mud possible. The parents learn quickly when you do that. Now I warn the parents every couple of months in my newsletter that clothing worn to daycare must stand up to mud, all creative mediums and all food because we have FUN!

I do insist that splashpants are left at the daycare all year round which helps protect them but you can't use those when it gets too hot.

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Originally Posted by gcj

I see where you're coming from and agree HOWEVER being the mother of a 4 year old girl who since she was about 2 1/2 refused to wear anything but skirts and dresses, I get the mom, too. My daughter wears what looks like nice dresses, but have either been given or bought 2nd hand and I know it only fits for a very limited time, so I don't care one bit what happens to it. If you've warned the parents and they continue to send her in dresses then they've made the decision to live with the dirty consequences and probably don't care either.
That being said, I do tell my daughter that she has to at least put on leggings if not splash pants to play outside if it's mucky or just not that warm. And she's mastered how to place her skirt/dress over top of splash pants. :laugh:
If they don't provide what she needs to play outside, I would let it go. If they're really annoyed by it, they'll either send her in pants or send pants for outside.

Sincerely, the mother of the girliest girl I've ever known! :p

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This exactly!

My DD is the same re:skirts and dresses and in my house I have two section of clothes:
folded in drawers = everyday clothes i.e. daycare
in the closet = "Weekend" clothes...nicer ones to last longer :laugh: (thanks to my mother doing it to me since I was such a rough-houser) :p

Don't worry about it. IF they DO same something then remind them of the splash pants, I bet you shed have them the NEXT day :D

I would say that as long as you have mentioned to the parents that you won't be held responsible for dirty/mangled dresses and tights.... just play on!!
I also have one of those girlie-girls. She would wear "long, long pretty dresses" every day if I let her. And as someone else said; at least they get worn enough times to feel like you get value out of them!
I actually have a section in my handbook that discusses appropriate clothing for daycare, and that I cannot promise they will be clean and shiny at the end of the day. I tell parents to bring extra clothing if they anticipate going somewhere "special" at pick up.
I am with Reggio on footwear, though. If Little Miss was showing up in frou-frou shoes that she couldn't play in, I would be asking parents to ensure that she has PROPER shoes to play in!!

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Originally Posted by Mamma_Mia

This exactly!

two section of clothes:
folded in drawers = everyday clothes i.e. daycare
in the closet = "Weekend" clothes... :D

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. I am bowing down to you....2 sections of clothes? I feel totally inadequate...I'm lucky if the baskets (with the folded clean clothes) actually make it back up to their rooms some days;)

Parents HAVE to leave at my home: rain boots, splash pants, and a rain coat, plus mitts/hat. IF they choose not to provide me with these items, then their kids get dirty.

If the kids clothes get dirty, then tough - they're kids, they're not hurt!? If they complain to me, then I just show them my list of items to keep at daycare.

I don't mind having the little ones dressed up - I think it's cute. I have special days where they can get dressed up without having to worry about getting dirty. Kinda like a PJ Day!

As a parent who did send her kids to daycare in the previous years:

I have 2 boys and a girl. One of my boys is always wearing jeans with freaking holes, the other one likes to be clean, even sometimes wearing a tie. My girl is 4 and I let her decide what she wears (except for the clean dress that I want to keep for special occasion). So she was going to daycare dressed up like a princess, she loves to wear dresses and skirts...etc...

The dcp would freak out, asking me to dress her in pants. But I really didn't care about her getting in the mud. Was it a saafety issue? no! than it's alright with me. I only required my daughter to wear appropriate shoes, not the kind of shoes you wear with the dresses you know!

As a daycare provider:

Parents are warned. I let the kids be kids. I will not start to stop them from having fun because of clothes! I used to only have dcb, but now I have a dcg, and her parents started to send her in nice outfits (because of own my daughter was dressed up). They stopped after 3-4 times! hahaha! My daughter won't get too dirty, but their daughter seems to attract dirt like a magnet! hahahah!!!

So let that girl get dirty! That's mu conclusion

I have a little girl and must admit that since day one I have been addicted to buying her amazing clothes!! It is so funny for anyone that knows me as I am the leisure suit queen and am lucky if my hair gets brushed! She is too young to pick her own clothes so when she is dressed nicely, it is solely for me!! I don't care if she gets filthy ( and she is very much a tomboy), she will grow out of things so fast I'd rather she wore them and got dirty then have them hanging in her closet! I tell parents that their children 'will' get dirty here so no one is surprised at the little grubs they pick up at the end of the day!

I remember my 3 girls going through so many stages when they were little, all dresses, no dresses, just pants, all pink, all purple, all black - teenagers! Anyway, no matter if the little girls are going through an all dresses stage, the parents had better buy cheap not expensive because at daycare fun means messy sometimes.