I went into the Toddler Room during the rain, and it was clear the children had so much bottled-up energy. There was screaming, there were behaviour issues, and you could see the educator was trying to run an activity. She even pulled out some sort of balancing cushion for them to walk on. But it was obvious that many of the children just wanted to jump and run. One girl kept running to the little music radio and trying to turn it on so she could dance.
And I had a very reasonable question in my head. Why on earth do they keep children inside every time there is summer rain? It wasn’t even cold outside. It wasn’t hot or cold, it was just rain. Put the children in proper clothing for the weather. It’s called a raincoat. Put on the gumboots and go outside for a walk, for goodness’ sake. Why is this not allowed?
When I was little, we were outside all the time. If you don’t want to dress the children properly, fine, then set up an indoor hall. When I was growing up, we had a Swedish wall, we had rings, we had hoops, we could climb on it, and no one ever fell. People even had Swedish walls in their flats, and many still do. Because yes, sometimes it’s very cold, icy or stormy outside. But that doesn’t mean children shouldn’t move. Everyone understood this, especially in Scandinavian countries. Children need to move, either outside or indoors.
And this is what really annoys me about Australian childcare centres. The owners and managers often think of band-aid solutions or choose risk-averse ways of running their program. I think many educators have barriers that are anchored in their beliefs, stopping them from enjoying outdoor play in any weather. The irony is that ACECQA does not promote indoor play only on rainy days… Look at the resource they recommend – raincoats, gum books, umbrellas, watering cans; chalk; objects to float.
Yet, whenever I wanted to stay out in the rain with the children, the manager would come and ask me to go inside…
Be honest. What happens in your room when it rains?
Options:
- We go outside. Puddles are life
- Indoors, but we set up climbing and movement play
- Mostly indoors because we’re not set up for wet weather
- I wish we could go outside more often