flourcent dilema please help

**mushpea** · 07-11-2010, 06:54 PM

ok now its getting dark I am going to put flourcent jackets on the under 5's but what do i do about the 2 7yrolds,,,, they are both sensible crossing the road and stay where i can see them,,, i dont really want to make them wear one cause they are both embarresd by it and I dont want them getting builled for wearing one but is it wrong to make the younger ones wear one and not the older ones wear one especialy as a 4yrold and the 7yrold are sibblings.
we only have one half busy road to cross in the mornings and a few very quiet ones
so what would you do make the 7yrolds wear them and risk them being laughted at by their mates or say because I know them well enough and can trust them to be sensible and do as they are told they dont need to wear one.

**babs** · 07-11-2010, 07:03 PM

morrinsons are selling jackets with sticky badges a keyring and arm straps for £1.99 each good buy i thought use jackets for younger ones older ones get badges to stick on school bags and wear arm straps ....

**miffy** · 07-11-2010, 07:05 PM

I've got some arm bands that you slap around your arm and they fasten - older ones like these!

Lots of clothing, bags and even shoes have reflective strips on now so check what they are wearing - you might not need to buy anything

Miffy xx

**loocyloo** · 07-11-2010, 07:06 PM

i have a rule that everyone wears hi-viz jackets regardless of age! the older ones i now have, have grown up with the jackets so they don't know any different! when DS or DD have friends to tea, i make the friends wear them too! i tell them that i KNOW they can walk properly etc, but its so cars and other people can see them and to keep them safe.

as far as i know, none of mine have been bullied or laughed at for wearing one. they just say its loocyloos rules and it keeps us safe. and actually now, especially as its getting darker earlier, there are quite a few children in hi-viz, not just those with childminders !

when i started using the hiviz, i had sashes for the older children, but i didn't like them that much. i think the jackets are better! this website http://www.brightkidz.co.uk/ has lots of interesting hi viz stuff.

**mushpea** · 07-11-2010, 07:12 PM

yes i have been on that website loocyloo and I have bought some flourcent jacket s from the lady on here that does them and they are great, i put them on the smaller ones in the holidays so i dont loose them but i dont make the older ones wear them as i think its a matter of trusting them to come back and stay where i can see them, so thats why the older ones arent keen to wear them now cause i dont put them on them in the hols as i treated it as a grown up trust sort of thing.
like the idea of the arm bands though,, might look around for some.
thanks

**FussyElmo** · 07-11-2010, 08:01 PM

I think if you told the older ones that they didnt have to wear them in the summer aslong as they came back and they kept your trust then I would not be putting them back into the jackets. You dont want them to think that earning your trust wasnt worthwhile.

I think the children at 7 can be trusted to walk sensibly in the dark and the first time they didnt well its flouresent jacket time again

**loocyloo** · 08-11-2010, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by FussyElmo

I think if you told the older ones that they didnt have to wear them in the summer aslong as they came back and they kept your trust then I would not be putting them back into the jackets. You dont want them to think that earning your trust wasnt worthwhile.

I think the children at 7 can be trusted to walk sensibly in the dark and the first time they didnt well its flouresent jacket time again

thats why i tell them its nothing to do with them per se and THEIR behaviour, its to help OTHER road ( and pavement ! ) users to see the children. my children do all stay with me, or if they walk ahead wait at arranged points for the rest of us to catch up. i trust all of them, even my littlies to walk sensibly, but its a safety issue as far as i am concerned. ( if mine don't walk sensibly or run off etc, then they have to hold a strap or the buggy! )

i would possibly look and see there were any reflective strips on the older childrens coats or bags and maybe give them some stickers or things to make them more noticeable. one of DSs friends turned up at school today with a HUGE hi-viz waterproof coat! looked like one of the workmen you see doing roadworks! no one is going to miss him!