Evening star., 1936-12-16
Bad-Weather
Clothes for
School Age
Sensible w ardrobe e
Should Be
Provided.
BY ANGELO PATRL.

T TITLE children are dressed for the
weather by their mothers. Sweat
ers and rubbers and leggings are
worn according to her judgment. Now
If that judgment has been reasonable
and administered with an eye to the
child's comfort and preferences as
we'll as to his protection, he will be
likely to go on accepting sweaters and
rubbers as the weather indicates. If
his experiences have been to the
contrary, he is soon going to fight
against all extras, weather or no
weather.
First, I would have no umbrellas
for school children. They are not
safe In traffic, pedestrian or vehicular,
because the children cover their faces
with them and push blindly ahead.
They need to see where they are
going. II the wind blows hard they
have trouble holding the things
against the blow and their distress
when an umbrella Is blown inside out
is pitiable. They need no umbrellas.
Give them rain hats and watershed
ding overcoats and, if necessary,
rubbers.
Rubbers are q bone Of contention
always. School children hate them
because they are usually too tight.
1t takes time to get them on and
there are only about two minutes
between bells at dismissal time. Then
they get lost, kicked around the room.
Nobody knows whose is which, and
there has to be discussion and delay,
and the teacher hates that. She
must be on time or the schedule for
dismissals will be all out of order.
and that Is bad. DismissalS have to
be prompt and orderly. Avoid rub
bers when possible. When they are
necessary be sure that the child's
name Is printed inside them. Give
him small clothespin to pin them
together. He may use it, and if he
does it will keep his rubbers together.
Sweaters are troublesome, too. The
school rooms are heated to Summer
heat, the halls are cooler, and the
yards are cold. The child ought to
take of the sweater in the room,
but wear it in the yard. He hates 20
take it off and put it on. There Is So
little time and so much fuss. He
leaves the sweater at home and then
his mother scolds. He wears it in the
class room after that and then his
teacher scolds him. It is small won
der that the school children hate to
wear the extras that unusual weather
demands. But they have to learn to
use their good sense. And the school
schedules ought to provide q little
leeway for such occasions as stormy
days.
Things will be easier at home If the
children are taught to dress for the
weather by consulting the thermom-
eter, reading the weather reports and
the like. If childs mother says, 1T
is cold today. Better wear your heavy
jacket" the boy will say, mo, it isn't
cold. I'm all right" If he has been
trained to look at the weather for
himself, to read the temperature, con-
suit the paper about the possible
storms or changes, he will not have
to be told what to wear. The decision
has been made by the weather and
he accepts that.
Try not to bundle children too
much, especially the little ones, who
take all the clothing that is put upon
them without protest. They are in
convenienced. They fall easily. They
are tired by the weight of the gar
ments they carry. They store un-
pleasant experiences about wearing
hard weather clothes and make life
miserable for their mothers on reach
ing the age when they protest.
CCopyright, 1860