Double Dry Drop

September 25, 2023 7:17 AM

How can I best drop off two kids, via a walking commute, on a very rainy day? Kids in question are a baby (needs to be in a carrier or stroller) and a preschooler (can scoot, walk, ride on the back of the stroller, or stroll if baby is in carrier). The walk is about 15 minutes though slower if preschooler is walking/scooting. Keeping this open ended so I can hear how others do it. I'd also love to hear about the gear you use for kids and adults.
posted by neematoad to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)

Best answer: Stroller with rain cover for baby. Pre-schooler in all in one rain suit and boots, and then walk/ride on back of stroller. Scooting if it's very rainy will probably mean more accidents.
posted by plonkee at 7:30 AM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

I haven’t personally used this but many families in my area have something like the Thule Chariot with a rain cover to transport multiple kids of different ages through the elements.
posted by rodneyaug at 7:30 AM on September 25, 2023

Rain cover for the stroller. Rain boots and hooded raincoats for everyone. Rain pants for the preschooler if they’re scootering or the kind of kid that will be squatting looking at things etc, or if it’s blowing rain.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:31 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

We are a car free family most of the time, so waterproof clothing for adults was already sorted pre kid. Kid gets outside time at kinder so she has rainpants and raincoat, rainboots and spare clothes anyway. When we were still using a stroller we used a transparent zip on bubble thing to cover stroller and kid.

When kid was in the carrier I had a carrier specific jacket, you can buy extenders to fit between the lapels of existing coats.

We primarily cycle with an uncovered cargo bike or more slowly alongside our learner cyclist but also walk. The best upgrade I have made for myself this year was fashioning a "rainskirt" out of a waterproof poncho. It packs down small and is far easier to put on and off than zipped on rainpants.

Umbrellas are more often than not used for dancing and end up being carried by accompanying grownup.

All the gear also gets used for playground visits when the ground is damp too so it is not just for commutes. We also had the kid in rainpants / rainsuits from when she was crawling.
posted by pipstar at 7:45 AM on September 25, 2023

I was so happy with a rain suit I had for my kid and so sad when he grew out of it.

We used the name brand Tuffo until he was too big for it and then used Haipu.

It now appears that both go up to 5T.

Both are easy to put on and take off - a double front zip - and stood up to my kid’s extremely rough use. I also used them over pants and jacket as a pseudo snowsuit.
posted by sciencegeek at 9:13 AM on September 25, 2023

I can't drive. Kiddo wears wellies, those waterproof dungaree things and a rain coat. I think the suggestion to babywear is very sensible. There are babywearing coats out there, but one of those zip in panel things fitted to your waterproof jacket would be just as good (website is British sorry but is just an example for the sort of thing I mean). Kiddo has a backpack with a complete dry set of clothing in a robust plastic bag. Good luck!
posted by sequel at 11:48 AM on September 25, 2023

You can get sling raincovers (cheaper ones exist). Or if your baby is tiny, you can get zip-in panels to allow the sling to fit under your own coat.

Your preschooler needs decent a properly waterproof coat, rain pants, and boots. H&M do excellent, hard wearing. cheap ones. You can also give them an umbrella, though you’ll likely be carrying it yourself most of the time.
posted by tinkletown at 2:13 PM on September 25, 2023

Best answer: I don't drive - I used a taxi for morning drop offs on rainy days. Especially once I had multiple drop-offs in the area - day care, pre-school and primary school.

What made it worse - primary school drop-off from 8am, pre-school from 8.15 am and daycare had to be there by 8.45am - so to make it in time I had to drop them off oldest to youngest, and if we were walking the younger ones were exhausted by the time we had done walking the multiple drop-offs.

So "TAXI" - I had a standing booking for rainy days with a driver I liked.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 4:57 PM on September 25, 2023

Honda Accord four door sedan and car seats.
Two children, two years apart, to YMCA preschool and public elementary school.

The Y is on the same block as our house, within sight of our backyard. We used the Mom and Me swim program, the summer sports activities, and the preschool for children ages three and four.
We would sometimes walk over with normal rain gear or in winter gear as long as the sidewalks were not treacherous, but not as a multiple-stop trip.

The school busses picked up riders on our corner, so the girls watched for them out the window. The elementary school and high school were not within walking distance. The middle school was (sixth, seventh and eighth grades), but they road the bus instead.
They did not drive to high school.

The husband and I took walks in the neighborhood and at local parks with our children, but not on rainy days.
posted by TrishaU at 6:22 PM on September 25, 2023

We did a double stroller with a rain cover at that age. It helps if you can load them into the stroller out of the rain (covered porch, lobby, etc). Kids in rain gear for extra protection. I always just wanted to keep moving so it was easier to have both in the stroller than to keep the older kid moving.

I find it too difficult to use an umbrella and push a stroller at the same time so I usually do rain boots, quick dry athletic leggings, and a good raincoat. I gave the opportunity to change after drop off so I prefer the leggings to rain pants.
posted by maleficent at 6:59 PM on September 25, 2023

Best answer: Depending on the age of the preschooler (and the reliability of independent walking), my choice would be:

- baby in a baby carrier, me wearing a rain coat big enough to zip up over the carrier (I wore an XXXL coat bought in a thrift shop for a while), or wearing those waterproof covers for baby carriers; and of course an umbrella for me;

- preschooler in wellies and a rain poncho (a sturdy one, not one of those foldable thin types that immediately get stuck to you and get rain into your shoes) (for some reason, I find it easier to find rain ponchos for kids than a well-fitting rain coat) and possibly waterproof pants if the kid likes to jump in puddles.

Source: been doing the daily 10min walking commute to daycare/preschool for years (with snow cleats on my shoes for extra safety during the snow season). Getting a rain cover to fit on a stroller was my nightmare and I only used it once or twice. Baby wearing FTW.
posted by gakiko at 2:11 AM on September 26, 2023

Response by poster: These answers were all awesome. Thanks!!! It solidified for me the available options. Moving forward, I am going to try:

1. carrier + umbrella for parent + preschooler in rain clothes and us all walking
2. baby in stroller + preschooler in rain clothes and riding on the stroller buggy
3. taxi
posted by neematoad at 11:53 AM on September 28, 2023 [1 favorite]