Day Care Kids Don’t See the Sun
Cincinnati kids who are in day care, which is half of kids ages 3-6, face obstacles when it comes to playing outside. It’s not because of the area’s dicey weather or a perceived lack of green space. The barriers that were cited by child care workers in the study are a bit less intuitive.
One big problem is flip-flops. Kids who show up wearing them don’t get to play outside and may be responsible for keeping the whole class indoors.
Other big issues include parents who intentionally don’t send coats, teachers who don’t want to bundle up all of the students and kids who eat playground woodchips. Also problematic are parental demands that pre-schools focus on academics more than outdoor exercise.
To me, kids and the outdoors go together like peas and carrots, especially when the knee-biters are in big bunches. Given how nature-hike-happy my youngest’s childcare center is, I find it surprising how many kids don’t go outside on any given day. Am I alone in this?
Why on earth couldn’t a kid go outside in flip flops? That’s what they’re for.
Here in Tucson, the temperature cut offs go in the opposite direction, but our daycare likewise has a twice a day (at least) plan, and there are spare coats around in winter.
I do understand why some centers have to keep all kids in if one kid doesn’t have a coat, shoes, etc. If the daycare just meets the teacher-to-kid ratio, if one kid has to be watched inside, that means there’s not enough teachers to cover the other N kids outside.
I must agree. I had a childcare for 10 years. It was in my policy that they at least bring shoes to go outside and I asked them to leave a cheap pair to stay at my house in case. Or I would buy things like that to have around a garage sales. Maybe for a large daycare this part could be tough but parents should have no problem buying an extra pair to keep on hand in a cubbie.
I find this surprising as well. Our daycare has a policy that dictates the children have outdoor play twice a day — the only exceptions are if it’s raining or the temperature is below 35 degrees. In those cases, the kids have a “dance room,” which is a large room walled in mirrors in which they’re allowed to run around, etc. The daycare keeps 2 or 3 extra coats per classroom.
Why would a parent intentionally not send a coat??? Kids need to be outside!!