Winter gear vent

We had our first bit of snow yesterday and boy were the kids ever excited and eager to get out there and play in it :) However, I just need to have a little vent here on parent's choice of winter clothing for their kids! I have been telling them exactly what kind of gear to get for the past two months, and I have still ended up with non-funtional mitts, hats, etc! Yesterday I had two without snowpants (one at least had rain pants) and one with mitts that are very thin and he just throws off (same thing with his hat). Even some of those who had all the "proper" gear, in my opinion lacked the quality that would actually keep them warm. It bugs me when I see a parent arrive in a long, North Face, down coat and yet her child has a thin, cheap snowsuit...and he's the one who will be playing outside while she is at the office all day! So yesterday at pick-up I told each parent what was missing and sent them scampering to the stores...with specific guidelines to help them because I know for those who have 1 year olds, this is all new. The one little guy came with a new hat and mitts today...the hat is great, but the mitts do not stay on and are not waterproof...sigh! It just makes for such a difficult outside time when he is crying cause his hands are cold and every time I put the mitts on they fall off or he takes them off. Now I have to break the news that they will need to go and get more new mittens...but if they had listened to me yesterday they could have avoided this! Okay...vent done...just had to get it off my chest :laugh:

Hahaha... vent away!

No snow here for me yet, but I already have hats with no velcro so they're just flying off, and I never get rain pants and I live on a farm so the yard is always muddy. I just let them get their own pants muddy and take them off to dry them in the afternoon. Aparently none of the parents mind... cause I still don't have any rain pants. LOL

It's funny, because if you look at the schools... the kindergarten teacher sends home very specific instruction on what they need... but it doesn't seem to matter when it comes to home daycare. Apparently we are percieved as having 5 of eveyrthing just hanging around in the closet just in case.

Keep pushing those parents... they need to get it!

Well today the parents with the new non-functional mittens will arrive to find their son in my daughters pink mittens from last year...they are waterproof, have strings, and have velcro bands so they can be tightened on...exactly what I described to them before they went shopping last night! I do try to use positive reinforcement just like with the kids (I really rave about any atricle of clothing that is particularly great), but parents are much slower learners than kids! I also sent out a play by play (in my nightly email that I send to all the parents) of what it's like to get 6 toddlers and preschoolers ready for outside time (and on time to get my son to school)....explainin g that if 3 out of 6 of the kids have mittens with no strings or clips and I have to go searching for them because little Johnny decided to take off with one and hide it somewhere really clever...well, we could miss my son's bus or (we have the option of walking as it isn't far) arrive at the school after the bell and the doors are locked (like today). LOL, I guess I wasn't done venting!

This is what I have the most difficulty with. Man I have a little guy sill in his splash pants too. Luckly he is like an oven and is never cold. His hat and mits don't fit him they are too small and the boots are way too big. IT,s been like this for a year with him. I am having such a hard time to get him properly equiped. I know the parents are having a hard time financialy so they get what they can but when they tell me they bought a brand new camera or Iphone and cant even get their kid dressed appropriately it makes me so mad.

So thanks for the vent too :)

Thanks for this thread. It has given me the push to give parent's a specific "Winter Wear" checklist in the hopes that they will come with sufficient clothing from the start. One can hope right.....lol

It might be too late for that as most parents have already bought their winter stuff, but you can try! I told them in September and October what to buy...it helped for some, not for others.

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Originally Posted by bright sparks

Thanks for this thread. It has given me the push to give parent's a specific "Winter Wear" checklist in the hopes that they will come with sufficient clothing from the start. One can hope right.....lol

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For mine it was more a first snowfall was the wakeup call. But it meant some parents went shopping on their lunch hour and bought things according to the size on the tag or what size their robeeze slippers are - not even in shoes. Needless to say the coat is too small, the boots too big and she is here with nothing cause parents brought her in them and then proceded to take the coat and boots with them to exchange on their lunch hour. Ok so wasn't going out anyways since not everyone even remotely has proper clothing.

Big thing these days is that parents are told not to put child into carseat in winter coat because then the straps aren't tight enough. Too often I get a child in sock feet wrapped in a blanket dropped and then asked if I would store the blanket so it is warm for home time - ummm what about the snowsuit, I still need one even if he isnt' wearing it in the car.

Got a feeling we will still be venting in this tread for most of the winter. Parents do not think.

....or how about the "cutsie" bunny hats with the ears that stay on for a nano-second LOL! I even resorted to stretching the hat to fit DCG's head (she's 23mo). Nudda. Guess what I'm giving DCM tonight and asking her to bring a proper fitting warm hat tomorrow!

Having had 4 boys of my own and also having put the word out to please consider donating splash pants/snow-pants/mitts/hats that no longer fit to us...I now have a huge bin of stuff in all sizes. So,while I ask for the proper clothing, but I do have back ups...just in case.

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Originally Posted by sunnydays

It might be too late for that as most parents have already bought their winter stuff, but you can try! I told them in September and October what to buy...it helped for some, not for others.

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I get that, but its not my responsibility to tell parent's how to dress their children properly, so if they lacked common sense or the ability to ask my recommendations then oh dear nevermind, off they go back to the store. Like I have got a million other things to do other than parent them.

For mits that won't stay on, I just wrap an elastic around their wrist...works like a charm. I also dress boys in nice pink mits that i have so we can go outside to play.

Brigth Sparks...I totally agree! And although I feel a bit bad that the parents are going to have to go shopping AGAIN for mitts...on the other hand, I clearly told them what works from my experience and they ignored it...so it's not my fault!

Fruitloop...sounds like a good idea...although I don't know if I want to get into dealing with a whole bunch of elastics and trying to make sure I can find them etc etc...sounds like one more thing to keep track of in the hectic nature of the `rush to get ready to go out. I don't even want to give the parents that idea or they will be expecting me to do it ;)

I provide ALL outdoor gear. That includes Gap warmest coats, gap and assorted hats, sweatpants, sweatshirts, shoes and I make each kid a mitted sweatshirt that goes OVER their coats to protect their hands. Here's a pic of some kids with the sweatshirts on: http://www.nanshouse.com/apps/photos...toid=142470737

The mitted sweatshirts are an extra layer of warmth and because they are double layered they are great mittens without the work of putting on mittens.

The quality of kids gear has gotten so bad that I can't rely on it. I have two of eight kids right now who have already gone thru one coat and we've just had a handful of cold days. The zippers have already broken and most of the kids from home coats have failed velcro already. It used to be by Febuary the stuff started breaking down. Now the quality is so bad the stuff is useless by November.

I have very high quality gear so I just use my own. It takes a ton of real estate and cost a ton of money to accumulate BUT no matter what... every kid has what they need every day.

Take elastic from the fabric store and sew into rounds like you would use for making wrist bells. That then stretches over their hand and coat.

Since they can't really use their hands much anyways - especially the little ones that are crawling a pair of big kid/adult depending tube socks pulled over the mitts and up their arms works wonders. Used to do this when taking little ones in the wagon as they were unable to pull off the socks.

I'm not much of a sewer...well about all I can manage is buttons or small hand-sewn repairs....but I will try to sock idea or at least pass it on to parents and they can provide the socks. I put my daughter mittens from last year on my mittenless child today and they worked like a charm..they have a velcro band that you can wrap right around the wrist and tighten...he didn't get them off once and as a result we spent an entire hour outside because he wasn't crying dur to cold hands!

Playfelt you gave me another idea...I bet you can buy a strip of velcro and sew it onto the mittens...I am going to suggest it to his parents and they can use my daughter's mitts as a model :)

Actually one thing we did for soccer one year because the coaches were responsible for putting up the nets. Got some industrial strength velcro from homedepot that was sticky back. Then cut pieces of both fussy and loops and stick them back to back. Then they were just wrapped around the posts to secure the nets. That would work for the kids too and be adjustable to whoever needed to use them.

Buying mitts that are too big is the other thing they need to do as in bigger goes up further. You can also cut off the top of a sock - like one that has gotten a hole in the heel. Then hand sew the piece of sock to the inside of the mitts. That makes them longer and they go on before the coat and that helps hold the mittens on - at least there is no wrist showing to get in the snow.

These are good mittens that stay on....and children tend to love the designs:

http://www.mimitens.com/

Those are really cute...but I still require strings! I hate hunting for mittens for six different kids...I want them hanging from their jackets so we can put them on when needed and I don't have to think about it.

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Originally Posted by LittleFeet

These are good mittens that stay on....and children tend to love the designs:

http://www.mimitens.com/

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This sounds perfect! I may pick up some to have on hand! I still have to send my mitten-problem family out shopping though because they bought non-waterproof mitts...good for right now, but not once we get more snow and then the good old slush ;)

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Originally Posted by playfelt

Actually one thing we did for soccer one year because the coaches were responsible for putting up the nets. Got some industrial strength velcro from homedepot that was sticky back. Then cut pieces of both fussy and loops and stick them back to back. Then they were just wrapped around the posts to secure the nets. That would work for the kids too and be adjustable to whoever needed to use them.

Buying mitts that are too big is the other thing they need to do as in bigger goes up further. You can also cut off the top of a sock - like one that has gotten a hole in the heel. Then hand sew the piece of sock to the inside of the mitts. That makes them longer and they go on before the coat and that helps hold the mittens on - at least there is no wrist showing to get in the snow.

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I find it really funny that some of us are separated by just a few km's(I'm in Milton), and for others we are distanced by the hundreds and even thousands of km's, but we all have the same problems. It's amazing how dense some parents are when it comes to their kids and daycare needs. Even all my local dcp friends have the same issues as I do. It's like we are all working for identical famillies. Some, and I only mean a very small population, are fairly just plain clueless. Most are just lazy and careless. It's so aggravating. Luckily for me, this year I have gone from doing this full time to just wed-fri and it's only for one family. They are on the ball with everything so I have no complaints. Their baby starts here in Feb. Hopefully I don't have to eat my words by then

It would be nice if we could make the parents really think about what is really needed for their kids everyday by refusing to take their kids in the morning because they aren't equipped to handle a regular day. For some all it would take would be just once for them to screw up their morning trying to get it right

I always joke that with most parents here it was "Fashion over Function"

I used to keep extra winter stuff but one year I had a daycare parent actually tell me that I helped her save money. When I asked how, she said that since I always had extra snowpants for her DD, she didn't have to buy any. :ohmy:

Now, I require ALL kids to have the required outdoor gear daily and if they show up without it, I would turn them away at the door.

I still have some extra's but I don't tell anyone that I do.

A provider friend of mine charges a $2 fee per day to anyone she has to lend her extra's to. I thought it was kind of a nice idea.

Love the idea of "renting" required items.