Monday 23 September 2013

Is This A Hanging Offence?

So here I am, happily working with a class of children who only started school three weeks ago. Most people involved have played their part in helping these little treasures to adjust to pupildom [is that a word?] but I am not sure how the children will feel when they discover that this will be their way of life for the next fourteen years.

children

Carrying bookbags and lunchboxes, they arrive with Mums[Dads, Aunties, Grandparents, Older Siblings...] And because it is Autumn, they are all wearing their smart new winter school coats. 99% of the mums have put name tapes in, which is a help – and my colleagues prepared the coatpegs before term started. Every child has their name, and an icon [vehicle, animal, cartoon character] on their peg so they can learn to identify their special place in the cloakroom

Charlie_and_lolafire-engine-decal-uL2aspider-man

Here’s the thing – in the morning, they take off their coats and hang them up, and usually the adult with them checks they have got the right coat on the right peg.

But after the children have been outside for playtime, or at the end of the lunchhour, there are always two or three coats on the floor. And we, the staff, say to them “Hang up your coats properly” or “This is your coat – please come and put it on your peg”

hooks

But on Friday, I realised something – a significant number of the coats do not have proper hanging loops inside the collar.  Maybe the manufacturers expect the children to hang the coat by the top edge of the hood. But our hooks are small single ones [left] not large double ones [right] So it is really hard to keep a thick hood on them.

Hence quite a few coats fall off when dislodged by another child.

And every coat I picked up from the floor came from the same shop

tesco

I do not blame Mums for trying to get a bargain when it comes to buying schoolwear, and I don’t suppose a hanging loop is high on their list of criteria for a winter coat. But I think that maybe the manufacturers should give some consideration to this detail!

7 comments:

  1. I do agree with you. I think the designers haven't any idea of childrens, or even adults needs.

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  2. Good point. As a childless adult I find this annoying so multiply it and it must be maddening! I can vividly remember that the sticker I wanted was already taken on my first day of infants, so I chose one with a red background, and it had a panda on it.

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  3. A loop is so helpful. Perhaps the store assumes (wrongly) that the coats will usually be hung on a hanger. Well, maybe a loop could be added to each of those offending coats? Sounds tedious, but it would help. Where I live, no one is wearing a coat yet, much less a jacket, and not really any sweaters either. I never wore my winter coat last year. I'd sure love some good chilly, crisp autumn weather right now! Enjoy the little ones.

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  4. Hi Ang - I keep the little bits of ribbon from inside tops, and one of the uses for them is replacing hanging loops when they 'break' or aren't there at all. I'm amazed at the number of moms/dads/carers who can't sew these days though.....

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    Replies
    1. The number of 'iron on' [and then 'fall-off'] name tapes is indicative of the decrease in needlework I think!

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  5. It drives me mad as we use coat hooks at home and very few coats of any description have hooks in them.

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