Best Kids' Rain Jackets for Fall
It's raining, it's pouring! Is your child ready? Rain is one of the classic elements we all have to weather. Sometimes it's transitional—the pit stop before it starts snowing. In other places, rain is the staple element of the colder seasons. Regardless of which climate you live in, if it rains, your child needs covering. Sure, it can be fun to run out in the rain a few times in your regular clothes, play around, and get wet, but you don't want your kids to get caught on the walk home from school or on the playground during recess without some rain protection. So what are the best kids' rain jackets for fall? Read on to find out!
The Best Jacket Is...
1) Lined
You want your kid's rain jacket to be waterproof, but you also want it to be comfortable. And warm. Some rain jackets are just waterproof shells. It works great for keeping off the water, but it's not very easy to wear. With school backpacks and lots of energy, your child might get rubbed the wrong way by a rain jacket without a softer lining.
An additional point is that as fall gets going, temperatures go down and it gets cold! You want your child protected from the chill as well as the rain. The colder temperatures are projected to fall—again, some of you live where it will eventually snow—the more vulnerable your child is to seasonal colds and chills. Grab a rain jacket with multiple inner layers to trap heat and keep your kiddo on the go!
2) Hooded
This may seem a bit obvious, but not all rain jackets have hoods. Some do have hoods, but they are shallow and don't quite cover your child's head. Then they fall off as soon as your child starts walking. Look for a rain jacket with a good hood that will keep the rain off your child's head. Bonus points if it's big enough to also fit a kids' hat of some kind. Drawstrings in the hood will also help with this. Try on the different rain jackets and see which is the best fit for your child.
3) Brightly Colored With Reflective Detailing
Can a rain jacket keep your child safe? Yes! Not only do rain jackets protect your child from the rain, they can also make your child easier to see so no accidents occur in the gloom of a rainy day. An entire rain outfit including rain boots and umbrella should be brightly colored, but at least choose a colorful rain jacket so your child stands out against the elements. All the warm colors like yellow, orange, and red really pop on a darker day. Bright green can also be a good color for your child's eye-catching jacket.
Another feature that can help cars see your child is reflective detailing. Some jackets come with designs that reflect light so headlights cause this kind of jacket to shine brightly and bring your child to the attention of any driver on the road. Having a combination of bright colors and reflective detailing is a great way to have your child be stylish and safe!
4) Lightweight
Despite the layers, a good rain jacket isn't too heavy. That would limit possibilities when it is time to play around in the rain! Plus, your child would have to carry all that weight around and that can be quite exhausting. Extra weight also makes it tough to carry around when it isn't raining, making it more likely your child will leave it somewhere, forget about it, and probably lose it. See which combination of layers and lightweight makes sense for your child and where you live.
5) Washing Machine-Safe
Kids often get messy, even without a bunch of puddles to splash in. When kids play outside in the rain, they will almost certainly come back a little dirty—and their rain jackets will probably need a wash as well. Make sure the rain jacket you get for your child this year is safe to put in the washing machine. This means the jacket can keep some of the mud off your child and cleaning up is still easy. Skip the laundry hamper, just throw your child's rain jacket in the washing machine and you're done!
6) Dry by Design
The final element of a good kids' rain jacket is when it's truly designed to keep things dry. For example, elastic cuffs made snug on your child's wrist block water from entering the sleeves. Extra elastic around the waist can do the same at the bottom of the jacket, keeping your child dry even when he or she trips and falls into a puddle. Pockets for carrying little items found here and there might have buttons, or even better, zippers, to keep things dry. Choose a rain jacket with "dry" as its design priority and you will have found what you are looking for.
Now that you know the elements of the best kids' rain jackets, go out and find one for your child!