Mumsnet Talk

AIBU to think that if you are going to drive in a heated car to a heated shopping centre then you should not dress your toddler or baby for sub-zero temperatures and then stay there for three hours?

I went into town with my sister, my DS and her toddler the other day. I'm in the S.E and it's very mild for November so I had on a T-shirt and light jacket as did my son as we were going to be inside. My sister was wearing a light top and no jacket as she is a bit big but my DN was dressed in tights, fluffy boots, a vest, fleecy top and a huge padded coat, plus a filthy but warm lacy pushchair insert.

At one point I asked my sister if she wanted to unbutton DN's coat as she was pouring with sweat, hair sticking to her and scarlet-faced but she just laughed and said she couldn't be bothered.

I have been known to "lose" hats, hats FFS, worn my sister's children now and again in hot shopping centres. Why does she do it? My toddler has warm clothes and boots for, er - walking. In the cold and wet and snow when he is ten minutes from home.

But she isn't the only one who does this is she? I am always seeing babies swaddled under layers of blankets that you'd use for freezing outside temperatures in the fecking heated mall and judging by the swathes of bags hanging from the pushchair they haven't only been there for a few minutes.

Roaring most of them are, obviously hot and bored and very uncomfortable. If any of my DC were in that sort of state I'd be racing home, but no, the poor children are relentlessly trundled "raaaan taaaaaan"

You are absolutely right. I did a first aid baby course with St John's Ambulance and they said one of the most frequent reasons they get called out is to deal with babies in shopping centres who are having fits from overheat.

I'm always in trouble for DD not wearing enough cos I dont realise how cold it is.

Your sis actually said she couldn't be bothered

YANBU

Your sister sounds strange and you obviously do not a good relationship with her.

YANBU. I put dd's padded jacket on for the walk from the city-centre car park to the shopping centre, but once we're in the centre her jacket (and mine) come straight off. MIL hates it when I do this. She's of the opinion that all children should be swaddled in layers till they literally cannot move. When dd was a baby, she'd keep putting her hat on even when indoors. I'd whip it off and ten minutes later it'd be back on

Shopping Centres are just too damn hot anyway. Go into a shop and the staff will be in T Shirts. They need to sort the heating issues out. And YANBU.

Lucky I truly believe that babies are more at risk from overheating after the first few weeks. My DS has been cold on a few occasions too.

Bikini that is awful, but believable. At my last job a parent left a pram with a tiny baby in it all covered up with layers suitable for the December outside temperature next to a radiator in the staffroom during the school Christmas Bazaar for an hour.

By the time I noticed it an ambulance was needed.

omg your sisters kids need your help & support good luck

Ninks, that's awful

LOL @ raaaaan taaaaaaan!!! You sound like you're in my neck of the woods - are you talking about Bluewater?? lol.

But no, YANBU. The only cold part of going shopping in a shopping centre is going from the house to the car and then from the car to the shopping centre. Sake! <<rolls eyes>>

I don't have a good relationship with my sister no, see this thread, but I do try to keep an eye out for her DC in all respects.

You don't see snow suits about so much now. There seemed to be a lot of snow suits for over anxious parents babies when my dc were small.

We had one. The one and only time we tried dd in it - what a laugh. Talk about overkill.

It was like she was being prepared for sub zero temperatures in space - not a trip round M&S. There was no sign of her in the buggy. It looked like we'd taken our king sized duvet out for a spin .

Shouldn't this be in Food? mmmm...roasting children....

School drive me scatty because they make DD wear her sweatshirt and coat outside, but she is a really hot little bod and doesn't need wrapping up. I tried sending her without a sweatshirt, but they found her one out of lost property. At nursery she had a febrile convulsion as she'd been so wrapped up - since then I've let her judge what she needs to wear, but school aren't having it. What is this obsession with wrapping kids up? If we don't need a dozen layers, why do our kids?

Oh and your niece, I'd have undressed her myself.

Should we roast small children in shopping centres (or anywhere else) ? Urm,let me think..
No, I think it would be bad.

Why dont you talk to your sister about this rather than just posting here.

You sound like you really really hate your sister.

'Why dont you talk to your sister about this rather than just posting here.'

Lol...Nooo. People can't go off having rl conversations willy nilly...we'd have nothing to talk about!

Ixia your poor DD, that's a very sensible approach.

My sister is a very er, aggressive person. I did make sure that I pointed out DN's state in front of other listening and viewing people shortly after.

Which resulted in her toggles being unbuttoned.

I'm not a reporty sort of person but I do worry a lot about my sister's DC. Mostly, even though it pains me to listen to her ranting and raving, I spend time with them and make sure that they're as OK as they can be, but sometimes I need a rant and I thought that the overdressing of babies was fairly common.

Georgimama

No I don't hate my sister.

Think.

Would I have anything to do with her if I did?

'Why dont you talk to your sister about this rather than just posting here.'

Have I been transferred to Netmums?

Ninks I think it is quite common too. I remember once being in a shopping centre with my baby and the woman behind the counter in M & S telling me off because my baby was not dressed properly and needed coats, blankets etc.

My DC are grown up now but I remember friends putting their DCs into their cars dressed up in snowsuits for a five mile drive. This was in the 1990s and cars did have heaters (even then!). Even more amazingly these friends were health care professionals married to GPs. For a long time I thought I was negligent to not swaddle up my DCs, but eventually my common sense told me that they didn't need to have much different clothing to me.

'Why dont you talk to your sister about this rather than just posting here.'

You are quoting me Ninks.You made no reply or any other comment so I dont know what your point is.