Julia asks:
On a similar topic, what is up with wearing outdoor shoes in bed? Our son just started going to preschool and they have children going to bed with their outdoor shoes on! This is in the middle of November in Colorado. The childcare is very highly recommended, not to mention costing us a bundle. Does anyone have suggestions on how to deal with this? Is it normal for kids to wear shoes in bed? Should we complain and ask that our son is allowed to take shoes off? I am so unprepared for the whole issue, I did not even believe my son when he first told me they keep shoes on.
Has anyone else experienced this?
My thought is, yes, you should request that your son be allowed to sleep without shoes. After all, you are the parent.
Are they getting into beds with sheets and blankets, or lying on mats on the floor? Lying on mats w/shoes seems OK to me. Do kids in preschool/daycare keep their shoes on all day anyway?
Maybe they have to keep their shoes on so as not to spread foot fungi?
I don’t remember taking shoes off in kindergarten for rest time on mats on the floor.
I would think keeping their shoes on would be normal and acceptable if they were lying down on cots or mats with a light blanket.
It might also be a practical consideration that helping 10 preschoolers get their lace up shoes back on might be a logistical nightmare at the end of nap time.
Of course, as the parent, you always have a right to ask for changes.
I’d say that going to bed with shoes on is quite unhygienic… do you really think that they actually change the bedclothes every day ?
I’d recommend shoes that are easy to open, like with Velcro fastenings. You can have some warm slippers or even woolen socks to wear indoors.
In the nursery at church, the workers are supposed to take their shoes off and wear some sort of foot covers, for hygiene purposes. I suppose it’s a dilemma – which is worse, what’s on the shoes or what’s on the feet?
Likely practical considerations like getting the shoes back on and keeping from losing them or putting them on the wrong child are some of the reasons for napping in shoes. I agree with ev about sending your son in shoes that he can manage himself.
Hope you can work it out without hard feelings! 🙂