Bad Kids' Clothes Are No Fun!
How kids' apparel choices affect outside play.
By Heidi Drake
I was waiting for my first grader in front of her school the other day—it was 29° outside and I was shivering a bit even in my down jacket, hat, gloves, and snow boots. As the stream of students flowed out the front doors, I was shocked to see the assortment of flip-flops, PJ pants, and no-jacket ensembles the kids were wearing; and it wasn’t just the middle schoolers.
I’m one of those moms who lets my girls dress themselves (pretty much), but I do have rules about clothing fitting properly and being both weather and age appropriate. I’m also a firm believer that kids need to spend as much time outside as they can, without risking illness or injury because of their clothes.
According to a recent article on kids' poor clothing choices and based on a study published by the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, inappropriate clothing directly affects how much time our children get to play outside and the quality of that important time. Over 50 child care providers were interviewed and stated that the following “clothing mistakes” cause them to limit or eliminate outdoor play at their facilities: inadequate weather protection (no coats, hats, or gloves in winter or sun hats and light cover-ups for warm weather), unsuitable footwear (flip-flops, open-toed sandals), and fancy or expensive clothing that needed to be treated with care.


