Originally Posted by sunshst:
I have a shoe bench outside the front door. Kids sit and take their shoes off before they enter the house. All drop offs and pick ups are conducted outside. My door only opens to let kids in/out. Parents do not come inside, and on occasions when they do, shoes must be take off outside before they enter. This was a rule even pre-covid. I also have it as a rule in my handbook so no one can complain about it.
I wish I could have done that while I was open, but my front door area is uncovered & in pouring rain/bad weather & having babies in hand it wasn't feasible; of course all my littles were actually under 24 months so it was no shoes past the front door to start with because the kids were crawling on the floor all the time...
I had a shoe rack literally next to a stool on the wall by the front door. Parents handed me the babes, sat down & took off shoes (some nursed at drop-off) or they stood at the door. Sometimes I had 2-3 arrive at one time so that was crazy (only 4 kids all together), but it worked well for many years