[Carey]

Do kids in NZ wear black slip-on plimsolls such as Uk kids wear for PE? I have a bag full of hand-me-downs of various sizes and wondering whether to keep them as my kids could use them or pass onto someone here before we go?

Also how do kids take their packed lunch to school? Do they use the rectangle shape ones, zip round, fabric-with-a-handle type? Do older kids use rucksacks to carry books to school?

[Kerry and David]

I'm sure some one will be along soon to give the correct answer but my observation when I was in NZ was that I saw loads of kids doing P.E with barefeet!

K x

[bartons]

My kids don't use them at their school, and I've never seen them anywhere in NZ (not that I particularly looked for them). Everyone seems to carry school stuff in rucksacks, from age 5 all the way up to 13. Lunch boxes: whatever you want, all shapes and sizes.

[peebles16]

Not too plimsolls from me too and we brought some :( Rucksacks yes and make sure they are big enough to take swimming stuff, reading folders and all the lunch stuff so relatively big even for 5 year olds :yes

Karenx

[Sam B]

Defo no plimsolls, all the kids do PE in barefeet, indoors or out. If they really need footwear, they might wear scruffy trainers (called sneakers here), but this is rare. They also do not need PE kit as they just wear whatever they have on at primary school. However at the middle school they have a separate PE kit uniform. But they still don't wear shoes.

Rucksacks - yes definitely, they have book bags (flat velcro-fastening protective vinyl things) to put their school exercise books in and library books, and then all of this goes into a rucksack along with their lunch box, so the bag needs to be quite big, at least big enough to contain an A4 style folder. Lunchboxes - all sorts, we find the wipe clean vinyl square zip-up ones quite good, and fill them with lots of different sized tupperware clip up containers with food in. Not important for lunch boxes or rucksacks to be trendy or the right ones here I have found.

All kids need ruck sacks right from the start and are expected to carry a lot of stuff, especially in the swimming term. You will also need swimming bags and lots of swim stuff and towels etc - but not until next summer now.

[Familyofmonkeys]

At daughters new school they can wear anything they want for PE apart from jandals (flip-flops) and most kids go barefoot aparently. I asked about PE kit and got some strange looks.....told me they do sports in normal school clothes (polo shirt/fleece and whatever they happen to be wearing on bottom half). Very different to UK where they had to have indoor shoes for classroom so they didn't hurt toes with chairs etc...here they are barefoot inside building and all shoes left outside to the elements.

Aparently all kids have rucksacs...and they do not seem to show any concern for chilled lunchboxes here...in UK all local primary schools in our old area would not let them even eat their lunch if box not chilled for health & safety reasons....would ring parents to pick children up for lunch!

[dharder]

Like others have said, I'd leave the plimsolls, ours do PE barefoot as well.

They do have a PE kit, though, shorts and t-shirt that go with the uniform that they should be wearing.

Ours have backpacks, with plastic lunch boxes. They do carry their stuff from early on, I found it to be considerably more than in the UK, and considerably less than in Germany (where most kids seem to have those wheely suitcase type thing to carry their stuff to school...).

Our school started to change the uniform when we got here, and is a bit all over the place with their rules at the moment, so I am not sure what kind of rules they'd have for trainers or shoes in general, but it sounds like anything other than flipflops, boots, or too colourful goes.

Daniela

[Sam B]

Specifically for Cambridge - none of the schools have uniform except the Catholic School (I think they have a uniform).

[Carey]

Defo no plimsolls, all the kids do PE in barefeet, indoors or out. If they really need footwear, they might wear scruffy trainers (called sneakers here), but this is rare. They also do not need PE kit as they just wear whatever they have on at primary school. However at the middle school they have a separate PE kit uniform. But they still don't wear shoes.

Rucksacks - yes definitely, they have book bags (flat velcro-fastening protective vinyl things) to put their school exercise books in and library books, and then all of this goes into a rucksack along with their lunch box, so the bag needs to be quite big, at least big enough to contain an A4 style folder. Lunchboxes - all sorts, we find the wipe clean vinyl square zip-up ones quite good, and fill them with lots of different sized tupperware clip up containers with food in. Not important for lunch boxes or rucksacks to be trendy or the right ones here I have found.

All kids need ruck sacks right from the start and are expected to carry a lot of stuff, especially in the swimming term. You will also need swimming bags and lots of swim stuff and towels etc - but not until next summer now.


Even bare feet in winter?

Eldest would like to know about the High school; anyone with older kids know?
Rucksacks too for them I presume?

[kowhai]

Must admit to having no idea what type of shoe a plimsole is ( I m guessing its a type of sandshoe ).
Anyway... in the middle of winter in colder parts of the country ie Central Otago , many children will wear sandshoes / sneakers or maybe simply the shoes they wore to school. In warmer parts of the country with no hoar - frosts , the children will most likely be running around in barefeet. You'll get used to the barefoot scene. My children have a PE uniform but its only worn on major sports days.

At high school you will find "most " kids wearing the appropriate footwear for the particular sport they are involved in, however its certainly not unusual to see a game of lunchtime rugby/ tennis being played bootless/ shoeless.

Rucksacks backpacks are used by the older children too.

[mgbridges]

My DS goes to a Catholic Primary in Auckland and the shoe requirements are as follows;

Terms 1 & 4 - Roman style sandals (although a lot of kids wear ones with velcro straps)
Terms 2 & 3 - black, fully enclosed shoes NOT trainers (again a lot of the younger kids have ones with velcro fastenings)
PE - trainers/sneakers (however they mostly go barefoot)

He has an official PE kit of polo shirt with the school crest on it, blue shorts and a sweatshirt with the school crest on it. The sweatshirt doubles up as an extra layer in Terms 1 & 4 if its a bit chilly.

In terms of bags he has two book bags (basically a fabric pocket with a flap and velcro fastening) which had to be purchased from the school. We also got him a good sized backpack/rucksack to put said book bags and his lunchbox in. Some kids have lunch boxes others small insulated cool bags. I just put a mini keep cool block in his lunchbox when the weather is warm.

He also has a drawstring bag for either his swim gear (togs & towel) or PE kit dependent on which term we're in.

Hope this makes sense and is of some help.
Anneliese

[Sam B]

Just checked with Sorrel - she says most children wear barefeet even in winter, but some children come to school in trainers, so they wear these for running etc. The High School kids in Cambridge probably do take in the proper gear for PE, but I'm not sure, but the middle school defo have barefeet as well. Saves a lot of money on shoes I'm finding!

[Carey]

Great! Love the thought of kids doing PE in bare feet; everytime I've suggested it here, I've been shot down in flames.

Shoes are SO expensive here, well if you have 3 kids, one of whom has monster feet which grow weekly!

[akp713]

Yeah I teach now at a high school on the North Shore of Auckland. Though the PE teachers encourage the kids to bring their sneakers the vast majority of them still go barefoot for PE when they're out on the fields, especially in the winter when it's so rainy and shoes would just get bogged down.

There was a recent article in the paper and on TV about a Podiatrist who claimed Kiwi kids were damaging their feet by running cross-country barefoot and doing PE barefoot. But the general concensus seemed to be the doctor was just trying to sell orthotic shoes and all the schools interviewed just laughed it off and said kids preffered not wearing shoes and it was better they run around barefoot than lay around doing nothing.

[dharder]

There was a recent article in the paper and on TV about a Podiatrist who claimed Kiwi kids were damaging their feet by running cross-country barefoot and doing PE barefoot.

Someone on a different internet forum just posted an article from the New York Times (I think), that basically said shoes are the damaging our feet (any and all shoes, no matter how 'good' they were supposed to be), and that the only healthy option would be to go barefoot :)

Daniela

[JandM]

I've never 'got' this stuff about it being better for the feet to wear shoes with certain support bands or a certain height of heel - I mean, there were a lot of those around when our remote ancestors first came down from the trees and took to walking upright, weren't there? I'd think it has to be healthier to go as nature designed us (apart from if we do something that needs special protection).

[castleclan]

NZ teachers don't have the worry of being sued for the damage done to a childs foot when there's an injury.

[castleclan]

Our ancestors werent playing tennis on acrylic and rugby tho.

[JandM]

Our ancestors werent playing tennis on acrylic and rugby tho.I think I'd concede those as being activities that call for special protection - to any feet I have a blood relationship or duty of care to, anyway!

[3littlepikes]

my kids will be pleased I am always yelling at them to not go outside without shoes on - they seem to like bare feet or crocs ?? me too