‘I don’t have to hear my kid whine’; well, your kid’s chaperone does

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids in public school long enough to know that if this was a widespread problem, then it is the fault of the organizers. Sorry.

Schools are horrible communicators. If lots of kids were poorly dressed, then the organizers did not adequately communicate to families what the event would be like -- how much walking would be involved, whether it was outdoors or indoors, whether the kids would actually be spending time at the park having fun or they would just be performing and attending an awards ceremony.

Parents aren't mind readers. Most kids would be fine at school on a rainy, 55 degree day in shorts and crocs. I see them do this all the time. In fact my kids who are not allowed to wear shoes like that to school at all complain to me about being too hot in socks because they are indoors and buildings are not heated or cooled well.

Lesson to the organizer -- next year, specify that all kids should wear closed toed shoes with socks regardless of weather, and bring an outer layer in the event of rain. I wouldn't dictate pants or shorts and if kids wore shorts and complained, I'd just let them complain.

When it's a few kids, it's on those parents or kids for not planning well enough. When it's tons of kids, then this should be part of the planning process and it means the kids and families were not adequately informed about the event.

OP here and nope. Communications were thorough, frequent and great. INCLUDING a night-before warning about the weather. Sorry, if you don’t get that amusement park = outdoors and walking, you are ridiculous. It takes 20 seconds to check a weather app or Google the weather and tell your kid to prepare for cold and rain. Sorry, you tried it, but nope.

Look, I've never sent my kid to Hershey park without a raincoat. But if the majority of kids were not prepared for the event, the communications were bad. That's it. Like dud everyone get that night before message about the weather? Was it clearly worded? Was it sent at 7pm or 11pm?

And honestly, there shouldn't be a night before message. I'm telling you if I was planning this event, my takeaway here would be that all students are required to wear closed toed shoes and socks and bring a jacket, regardless of the weather, and I would put this in all caps in the permission slip with the note that kids who are not properly attired will not be permitted to board the bus. Problem solved.

This is an organizer problem. Yes, planning events like this is like herding cats. But then brush up on your cat herding skills because that's the gig.

And this is not even unique to parents or middle schoolers. I've planned events for executives. People can be dumb and sometimes you have to spell it out for them. If most of the people at your event have the same issue, it's no longer their fault, now it's yours.

Nope, checking weather before preparing for an event is a grown-up thing, not an organizer thing. I’ve been to numerous outdoor weddings. I didn’t need the bride and groom to tell me to check the weather. I know not to wear spike heels at an outdoor wedding, I know to always have a rain jacket or an umbrella, at least in the car. They don’t even have to tell me to wear sunscreen and bring sunglasses on a sunny day! I’m a Big Girl Now!

If you attended a wedding where like 70% of the attendees were miserable because their shoes were getting stuck in the grass or all the chairs were wet and they had not all brought something to sit on, would you walk around thinking "omg you are all idiots, why can't you be a BIG GIRL like me and check the weather and realize you needed to change before you came?" Or would you think "huh, the wedding organizer should have planned for this."

Wedding planners don’t plan for footwear choices of guests. I understand that even under tents or with carpets down, outdoors = possible dirt, grass, water, bugs, etc. I’ve lived through enough seasons on Earth to always have an umbrella at least in my car.

Wedding planners 100% plan for stuff like this and do not assume that guests will know to plan for uneven, wet, muddy, or buggy conditions. They do not assume everyone has an umbrella in their car (or will arrive to an even in their car). The whole point of event logistics is planning stuff like this. The assumption that hundreds of people are all going to prepare for a wedding, or a field trip, like a Girl Scout leader planning a camping trip, is simply unrealistic.

I hope people who plan school events are reading this thread and recognizing that stuff like this is just part of planning. People need to be handheld a bit. ESPECIALLY middle schoolers and their parents. It's just reality. Most people are well intentioned but everyone comes to the table with different resources.

If you’re too stupid to come prepared you suffer the consequences. I can’t help the fact you’re a moron

Is the moron on the thread the person suggesting actual solutions for this problem, or is it the person raging at a bunch of strangers because she has a bad day?

[Anonymous]

We truly are living in Idiocracy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids in public school long enough to know that if this was a widespread problem, then it is the fault of the organizers. Sorry.

Schools are horrible communicators. If lots of kids were poorly dressed, then the organizers did not adequately communicate to families what the event would be like -- how much walking would be involved, whether it was outdoors or indoors, whether the kids would actually be spending time at the park having fun or they would just be performing and attending an awards ceremony.

Parents aren't mind readers. Most kids would be fine at school on a rainy, 55 degree day in shorts and crocs. I see them do this all the time. In fact my kids who are not allowed to wear shoes like that to school at all complain to me about being too hot in socks because they are indoors and buildings are not heated or cooled well.

Lesson to the organizer -- next year, specify that all kids should wear closed toed shoes with socks regardless of weather, and bring an outer layer in the event of rain. I wouldn't dictate pants or shorts and if kids wore shorts and complained, I'd just let them complain.

When it's a few kids, it's on those parents or kids for not planning well enough. When it's tons of kids, then this should be part of the planning process and it means the kids and families were not adequately informed about the event.

OP here and nope. Communications were thorough, frequent and great. INCLUDING a night-before warning about the weather. Sorry, if you don’t get that amusement park = outdoors and walking, you are ridiculous. It takes 20 seconds to check a weather app or Google the weather and tell your kid to prepare for cold and rain. Sorry, you tried it, but nope.

Look, I've never sent my kid to Hershey park without a raincoat. But if the majority of kids were not prepared for the event, the communications were bad. That's it. Like dud everyone get that night before message about the weather? Was it clearly worded? Was it sent at 7pm or 11pm?

And honestly, there shouldn't be a night before message. I'm telling you if I was planning this event, my takeaway here would be that all students are required to wear closed toed shoes and socks and bring a jacket, regardless of the weather, and I would put this in all caps in the permission slip with the note that kids who are not properly attired will not be permitted to board the bus. Problem solved.

This is an organizer problem. Yes, planning events like this is like herding cats. But then brush up on your cat herding skills because that's the gig.

And this is not even unique to parents or middle schoolers. I've planned events for executives. People can be dumb and sometimes you have to spell it out for them. If most of the people at your event have the same issue, it's no longer their fault, now it's yours.

Nope, checking weather before preparing for an event is a grown-up thing, not an organizer thing. I’ve been to numerous outdoor weddings. I didn’t need the bride and groom to tell me to check the weather. I know not to wear spike heels at an outdoor wedding, I know to always have a rain jacket or an umbrella, at least in the car. They don’t even have to tell me to wear sunscreen and bring sunglasses on a sunny day! I’m a Big Girl Now!

If you attended a wedding where like 70% of the attendees were miserable because their shoes were getting stuck in the grass or all the chairs were wet and they had not all brought something to sit on, would you walk around thinking "omg you are all idiots, why can't you be a BIG GIRL like me and check the weather and realize you needed to change before you came?" Or would you think "huh, the wedding organizer should have planned for this."

Wedding planners don’t plan for footwear choices of guests. I understand that even under tents or with carpets down, outdoors = possible dirt, grass, water, bugs, etc. I’ve lived through enough seasons on Earth to always have an umbrella at least in my car.

Wedding planners 100% plan for stuff like this and do not assume that guests will know to plan for uneven, wet, muddy, or buggy conditions. They do not assume everyone has an umbrella in their car (or will arrive to an even in their car). The whole point of event logistics is planning stuff like this. The assumption that hundreds of people are all going to prepare for a wedding, or a field trip, like a Girl Scout leader planning a camping trip, is simply unrealistic.

I hope people who plan school events are reading this thread and recognizing that stuff like this is just part of planning. People need to be handheld a bit. ESPECIALLY middle schoolers and their parents. It's just reality. Most people are well intentioned but everyone comes to the table with different resources.

If you’re too stupid to come prepared you suffer the consequences. I can’t help the fact you’re a moron

How odd. Lots of parents here said to let kids suffer the natural consequences. But you all pushed back because kids would be cold and wet. Turns out you don’t really care about the kids. You just care about scolding parents and trying to get gold stars for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many shitty parents who think their lack of parenting is somehow helping their kids by “letting them suffer the consequences.” It’s not. Parent your kids!!!

100% this. You can’t tell me they didn’t realize it was cold and rainy if they didn’t have to drive their kids to school super early to get on the buses. If you walk outside, you notice it’s cold, you tell your kid to go back and get a rain jacket or put on different shoes. That takes less than a minute. If you are so late that you don’t have a minute to spare, you suck. “But they refused” nope, then you refuse to start the car until they are properly equipped for the day. OR be a decent parent and check the weather or instruct your kid to check the weather, then talk it through. It takes less than a minute in either scenario. Bad parenting. Full stop.

Sure, ok.

But also poor planning and execution of the trip. Knowing that people are often lazy about this, they should have set clear expectations of what kids should wear, and not let kids on the bus if they weren't wearing it. And the if the crappy parents throw a fit because their kid doesn't get to go on the trip, you calmly explain that those are the rules and they were informed in advance.

You don't let a bunch of ill dressed kids get on a bus to PA and then throw a fit later when those kids are uncomfortable.

You can't control other people. You can set boundaries and decide what you'll put up with. But other people are going to do what they are going to do.

If OP volunteers for a trip like this again, she should suggest a dress code for the kids that will be enforced before the buses leave the lot. That would be more productive than expecting a bunch of people to parent exactly as she does, even if her parenting is objectively better.

Or she could not volunteer for stuff like this if this is how she is going to respond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids in public school long enough to know that if this was a widespread problem, then it is the fault of the organizers. Sorry.

Schools are horrible communicators. If lots of kids were poorly dressed, then the organizers did not adequately communicate to families what the event would be like -- how much walking would be involved, whether it was outdoors or indoors, whether the kids would actually be spending time at the park having fun or they would just be performing and attending an awards ceremony.

Parents aren't mind readers. Most kids would be fine at school on a rainy, 55 degree day in shorts and crocs. I see them do this all the time. In fact my kids who are not allowed to wear shoes like that to school at all complain to me about being too hot in socks because they are indoors and buildings are not heated or cooled well.

Lesson to the organizer -- next year, specify that all kids should wear closed toed shoes with socks regardless of weather, and bring an outer layer in the event of rain. I wouldn't dictate pants or shorts and if kids wore shorts and complained, I'd just let them complain.

When it's a few kids, it's on those parents or kids for not planning well enough. When it's tons of kids, then this should be part of the planning process and it means the kids and families were not adequately informed about the event.

OP here and nope. Communications were thorough, frequent and great. INCLUDING a night-before warning about the weather. Sorry, if you don’t get that amusement park = outdoors and walking, you are ridiculous. It takes 20 seconds to check a weather app or Google the weather and tell your kid to prepare for cold and rain. Sorry, you tried it, but nope.

Look, I've never sent my kid to Hershey park without a raincoat. But if the majority of kids were not prepared for the event, the communications were bad. That's it. Like dud everyone get that night before message about the weather? Was it clearly worded? Was it sent at 7pm or 11pm?

And honestly, there shouldn't be a night before message. I'm telling you if I was planning this event, my takeaway here would be that all students are required to wear closed toed shoes and socks and bring a jacket, regardless of the weather, and I would put this in all caps in the permission slip with the note that kids who are not properly attired will not be permitted to board the bus. Problem solved.

This is an organizer problem. Yes, planning events like this is like herding cats. But then brush up on your cat herding skills because that's the gig.

And this is not even unique to parents or middle schoolers. I've planned events for executives. People can be dumb and sometimes you have to spell it out for them. If most of the people at your event have the same issue, it's no longer their fault, now it's yours.

Nope, checking weather before preparing for an event is a grown-up thing, not an organizer thing. I’ve been to numerous outdoor weddings. I didn’t need the bride and groom to tell me to check the weather. I know not to wear spike heels at an outdoor wedding, I know to always have a rain jacket or an umbrella, at least in the car. They don’t even have to tell me to wear sunscreen and bring sunglasses on a sunny day! I’m a Big Girl Now!

If you attended a wedding where like 70% of the attendees were miserable because their shoes were getting stuck in the grass or all the chairs were wet and they had not all brought something to sit on, would you walk around thinking "omg you are all idiots, why can't you be a BIG GIRL like me and check the weather and realize you needed to change before you came?" Or would you think "huh, the wedding organizer should have planned for this."

Wedding planners don’t plan for footwear choices of guests. I understand that even under tents or with carpets down, outdoors = possible dirt, grass, water, bugs, etc. I’ve lived through enough seasons on Earth to always have an umbrella at least in my car.

Wedding planners 100% plan for stuff like this and do not assume that guests will know to plan for uneven, wet, muddy, or buggy conditions. They do not assume everyone has an umbrella in their car (or will arrive to an even in their car). The whole point of event logistics is planning stuff like this. The assumption that hundreds of people are all going to prepare for a wedding, or a field trip, like a Girl Scout leader planning a camping trip, is simply unrealistic.

I hope people who plan school events are reading this thread and recognizing that stuff like this is just part of planning. People need to be handheld a bit. ESPECIALLY middle schoolers and their parents. It's just reality. Most people are well intentioned but everyone comes to the table with different resources.

If you’re too stupid to come prepared you suffer the consequences. I can’t help the fact you’re a moron

How odd. Lots of parents here said to let kids suffer the natural consequences. But you all pushed back because kids would be cold and wet. Turns out you don’t really care about the kids. You just care about scolding parents and trying to get gold stars for yourself.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many shitty parents who think their lack of parenting is somehow helping their kids by “letting them suffer the consequences.” It’s not. Parent your kids!!!

100% this. You can’t tell me they didn’t realize it was cold and rainy if they didn’t have to drive their kids to school super early to get on the buses. If you walk outside, you notice it’s cold, you tell your kid to go back and get a rain jacket or put on different shoes. That takes less than a minute. If you are so late that you don’t have a minute to spare, you suck. “But they refused” nope, then you refuse to start the car until they are properly equipped for the day. OR be a decent parent and check the weather or instruct your kid to check the weather, then talk it through. It takes less than a minute in either scenario. Bad parenting. Full stop.

Sure, ok.

But also poor planning and execution of the trip. Knowing that people are often lazy about this, they should have set clear expectations of what kids should wear, and not let kids on the bus if they weren't wearing it. And the if the crappy parents throw a fit because their kid doesn't get to go on the trip, you calmly explain that those are the rules and they were informed in advance.

You don't let a bunch of ill dressed kids get on a bus to PA and then throw a fit later when those kids are uncomfortable.

You can't control other people. You can set boundaries and decide what you'll put up with. But other people are going to do what they are going to do.

If OP volunteers for a trip like this again, she should suggest a dress code for the kids that will be enforced before the buses leave the lot. That would be more productive than expecting a bunch of people to parent exactly as she does, even if her parenting is objectively better.

Or she could not volunteer for stuff like this if this is how she is going to respond.

If the good parents don’t volunteer, either no parents do, or the morons do. I don’t want my kid in another state with morons like the parent who brought homemade peanut butter cookies to pass out to her group on a zoo field trip, and it was MY kid who told her that another kid in the group had a peanut allergy! Too many doofuses out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Communication is a TWO way street. When I send home messages on Class Dojo (we set up any new parent with the app during orientation) approximately 15/24 parents look at the message with the first 10 days. I also send the same message on paper in take home folders. This inability or disinterest in reading communication from the teacher has gotten significantly worse since appr. 2015. Before that, parents were much more on the ball. Also, parents didn’t flip out when it’s their fault they aren’t checking these two methods of communication. That’s also fairly new. Before that, parents would apologize if they missed important messages. Now they lash out at us.

Class Dojo is THE WORST. Why the heck can't we just have an email list? Or yeah, send notes home in folders. Class Dojo is trash software, I am always either getting like 14 notes from the school a day (about upcoming sporting events my kid isn't in, notices about what yesterday's spirit day theme was, etc.), or nothing. I cannot get Clas Dojo to alert me when my kid's teacher sends my a direct message, I just have to check the app periodically for it. Oh, and the stupid app created a "ghost" profile for my kid when she was in summer camp and it won't let me delete it.

Parents used to see and respond to teacher messages because they used to arrive a normal way. My mom was on top of things but if you'd subjected her to class Dojo, I think she would have homeschooled instead.

Most of my students’ parents don’t have email addresses so that wouldn’t work. I look at my kids’s Dojo accounts once or twice a day. It isn’t difficult. It takes maybe 2-3 minutes tops. The fact that all of this information ALSO comes home in my students’ folders means that there are many parents dropping the ball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Communication is a TWO way street. When I send home messages on Class Dojo (we set up any new parent with the app during orientation) approximately 15/24 parents look at the message with the first 10 days. I also send the same message on paper in take home folders. This inability or disinterest in reading communication from the teacher has gotten significantly worse since appr. 2015. Before that, parents were much more on the ball. Also, parents didn’t flip out when it’s their fault they aren’t checking these two methods of communication. That’s also fairly new. Before that, parents would apologize if they missed important messages. Now they lash out at us.

Class Dojo is THE WORST. Why the heck can't we just have an email list? Or yeah, send notes home in folders. Class Dojo is trash software, I am always either getting like 14 notes from the school a day (about upcoming sporting events my kid isn't in, notices about what yesterday's spirit day theme was, etc.), or nothing. I cannot get Clas Dojo to alert me when my kid's teacher sends my a direct message, I just have to check the app periodically for it. Oh, and the stupid app created a "ghost" profile for my kid when she was in summer camp and it won't let me delete it.

Parents used to see and respond to teacher messages because they used to arrive a normal way. My mom was on top of things but if you'd subjected her to class Dojo, I think she would have homeschooled instead.

Most of my students’ parents don’t have email addresses so that wouldn’t work. I look at my kids’s Dojo accounts once or twice a day. It isn’t difficult. It takes maybe 2-3 minutes tops. The fact that all of this information ALSO comes home in my students’ folders means that there are many parents dropping the ball.

DP. I am also on top of communication for children, but also hated Class Dojo. I hated when multiple teachers used multiple different communication platforms in a single school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids in public school long enough to know that if this was a widespread problem, then it is the fault of the organizers. Sorry.

Schools are horrible communicators. If lots of kids were poorly dressed, then the organizers did not adequately communicate to families what the event would be like -- how much walking would be involved, whether it was outdoors or indoors, whether the kids would actually be spending time at the park having fun or they would just be performing and attending an awards ceremony.

Parents aren't mind readers. Most kids would be fine at school on a rainy, 55 degree day in shorts and crocs. I see them do this all the time. In fact my kids who are not allowed to wear shoes like that to school at all complain to me about being too hot in socks because they are indoors and buildings are not heated or cooled well.

Lesson to the organizer -- next year, specify that all kids should wear closed toed shoes with socks regardless of weather, and bring an outer layer in the event of rain. I wouldn't dictate pants or shorts and if kids wore shorts and complained, I'd just let them complain.

When it's a few kids, it's on those parents or kids for not planning well enough. When it's tons of kids, then this should be part of the planning process and it means the kids and families were not adequately informed about the event.

OP here and nope. Communications were thorough, frequent and great. INCLUDING a night-before warning about the weather. Sorry, if you don’t get that amusement park = outdoors and walking, you are ridiculous. It takes 20 seconds to check a weather app or Google the weather and tell your kid to prepare for cold and rain. Sorry, you tried it, but nope.

Look, I've never sent my kid to Hershey park without a raincoat. But if the majority of kids were not prepared for the event, the communications were bad. That's it. Like dud everyone get that night before message about the weather? Was it clearly worded? Was it sent at 7pm or 11pm?

And honestly, there shouldn't be a night before message. I'm telling you if I was planning this event, my takeaway here would be that all students are required to wear closed toed shoes and socks and bring a jacket, regardless of the weather, and I would put this in all caps in the permission slip with the note that kids who are not properly attired will not be permitted to board the bus. Problem solved.

This is an organizer problem. Yes, planning events like this is like herding cats. But then brush up on your cat herding skills because that's the gig.

And this is not even unique to parents or middle schoolers. I've planned events for executives. People can be dumb and sometimes you have to spell it out for them. If most of the people at your event have the same issue, it's no longer their fault, now it's yours.

Nope, checking weather before preparing for an event is a grown-up thing, not an organizer thing. I’ve been to numerous outdoor weddings. I didn’t need the bride and groom to tell me to check the weather. I know not to wear spike heels at an outdoor wedding, I know to always have a rain jacket or an umbrella, at least in the car. They don’t even have to tell me to wear sunscreen and bring sunglasses on a sunny day! I’m a Big Girl Now!

OP is not interested in making sure the kids aren’t cold and wet. She doesn’t care, otherwise she wouldn’t keep fighting these points about communication. She’s here to slam other parents and to get us to tell her wonderful she is.

Wrong. She bought them rain ponchos out of her own wallet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We truly are living in Idiocracy.

We really are.

I can’t believe parents are still going on and on and on about how it’s the SCHOOL’S fault that kids aren’t dressed appropriately.

We live in an era of no accountability. Why take ownership of your own decisions when you can push the blame on someone else?

And we wonder why there’s a teacher shortage. Just look at this thread to find the reason why. Sickening.

[Anonymous]

Entitled wine moms think their husbands' tax dollars pay these chaperones to be their servants. They don't. Your bad parenting makes trips worse for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Communication is a TWO way street. When I send home messages on Class Dojo (we set up any new parent with the app during orientation) approximately 15/24 parents look at the message with the first 10 days. I also send the same message on paper in take home folders. This inability or disinterest in reading communication from the teacher has gotten significantly worse since appr. 2015. Before that, parents were much more on the ball. Also, parents didn’t flip out when it’s their fault they aren’t checking these two methods of communication. That’s also fairly new. Before that, parents would apologize if they missed important messages. Now they lash out at us.

Class Dojo is THE WORST. Why the heck can't we just have an email list? Or yeah, send notes home in folders. Class Dojo is trash software, I am always either getting like 14 notes from the school a day (about upcoming sporting events my kid isn't in, notices about what yesterday's spirit day theme was, etc.), or nothing. I cannot get Clas Dojo to alert me when my kid's teacher sends my a direct message, I just have to check the app periodically for it. Oh, and the stupid app created a "ghost" profile for my kid when she was in summer camp and it won't let me delete it.

Parents used to see and respond to teacher messages because they used to arrive a normal way. My mom was on top of things but if you'd subjected her to class Dojo, I think she would have homeschooled instead.

Most of my students’ parents don’t have email addresses so that wouldn’t work. I look at my kids’s Dojo accounts once or twice a day. It isn’t difficult. It takes maybe 2-3 minutes tops. The fact that all of this information ALSO comes home in my students’ folders means that there are many parents dropping the ball.

I'm sorry, but MOST of your students parents do not have email addresses? Babe, no. Maybe they don't check them, or maybe they won't provide them to you, but they all have email addresses.

Anyway, your solution to some parents not providing emails is to force everyone to use a crappy phone app? That makes no sense. Class Dojo is terrible. It doesn't work. And I say that as a parent who is on top of stuff and would check the weather before a field trip and in any case don't even buy my kid crap shoes like Crocs or flip flops -- those are pool shoes, not actual shoes.

Anyway, a huge problem with parental communication these days is the reliance in bad technology and multiple passive forms of communication by schools and educators. Yes parents are probably also crappier at communicating. But it's everyone's problem -- in my 8 years as a public school parent, ONE of my kids' teachers was good at communicating. And I work in comms. Schools are universally bad at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids in public school long enough to know that if this was a widespread problem, then it is the fault of the organizers. Sorry.

Schools are horrible communicators. If lots of kids were poorly dressed, then the organizers did not adequately communicate to families what the event would be like -- how much walking would be involved, whether it was outdoors or indoors, whether the kids would actually be spending time at the park having fun or they would just be performing and attending an awards ceremony.

Parents aren't mind readers. Most kids would be fine at school on a rainy, 55 degree day in shorts and crocs. I see them do this all the time. In fact my kids who are not allowed to wear shoes like that to school at all complain to me about being too hot in socks because they are indoors and buildings are not heated or cooled well.

Lesson to the organizer -- next year, specify that all kids should wear closed toed shoes with socks regardless of weather, and bring an outer layer in the event of rain. I wouldn't dictate pants or shorts and if kids wore shorts and complained, I'd just let them complain.

When it's a few kids, it's on those parents or kids for not planning well enough. When it's tons of kids, then this should be part of the planning process and it means the kids and families were not adequately informed about the event.

OP here and nope. Communications were thorough, frequent and great. INCLUDING a night-before warning about the weather. Sorry, if you don’t get that amusement park = outdoors and walking, you are ridiculous. It takes 20 seconds to check a weather app or Google the weather and tell your kid to prepare for cold and rain. Sorry, you tried it, but nope.

Look, I've never sent my kid to Hershey park without a raincoat. But if the majority of kids were not prepared for the event, the communications were bad. That's it. Like dud everyone get that night before message about the weather? Was it clearly worded? Was it sent at 7pm or 11pm?

And honestly, there shouldn't be a night before message. I'm telling you if I was planning this event, my takeaway here would be that all students are required to wear closed toed shoes and socks and bring a jacket, regardless of the weather, and I would put this in all caps in the permission slip with the note that kids who are not properly attired will not be permitted to board the bus. Problem solved.

This is an organizer problem. Yes, planning events like this is like herding cats. But then brush up on your cat herding skills because that's the gig.

And this is not even unique to parents or middle schoolers. I've planned events for executives. People can be dumb and sometimes you have to spell it out for them. If most of the people at your event have the same issue, it's no longer their fault, now it's yours.

Nope, checking weather before preparing for an event is a grown-up thing, not an organizer thing. I’ve been to numerous outdoor weddings. I didn’t need the bride and groom to tell me to check the weather. I know not to wear spike heels at an outdoor wedding, I know to always have a rain jacket or an umbrella, at least in the car. They don’t even have to tell me to wear sunscreen and bring sunglasses on a sunny day! I’m a Big Girl Now!

OP is not interested in making sure the kids aren’t cold and wet. She doesn’t care, otherwise she wouldn’t keep fighting these points about communication. She’s here to slam other parents and to get us to tell her wonderful she is.

Wrong. She bought them rain ponchos out of her own wallet.

And she posted about it here to get gold stars.

[Anonymous]

I don't get why you are whinning on here. I would have bought ponchos and what ever the kids needed in our group and forgot about it. That's what we've done. We've even gotten kids lunch who had none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you are whinning on here. I would have bought ponchos and what ever the kids needed in our group and forgot about it. That's what we've done. We've even gotten kids lunch who had none.

Yes, I also have gotten kids lunch. Maybe if we called out more crap parents they would actually realize that oh no, I have to take care of my kid, even on field trip days.