To walk to nursery with two toddlers in the cold?

My granddaughter attended an outdoor nursery in Canada. They were only forced inside when the temperature dropped below -25C……no one suffered or complained

At 12 months they are still babies FGS. A good many still won’t be walking, so how can they be ‘toddlers’? The clue is in the name - toddlers ‘toddle’!

I was raised in Germany and I walked to the bus even if it was snowing or very wet. When the snow was so bad the buses stopped my DF pulled me on a sledge (I was small when he did this). We just got on with it.

I walked my DS in any type of weather and it was 20 minutes. He played outside at school and at home. We went to the park, visited friends on foot. I remember walking to a friend's on Boxing Day and it took hours because it had been and was snowing. It was all part of the fun and we weren't in a rush.

If your MIL wants to be useful and helpful she could come along!

As long as both children are properly wrapped up, there's nothing wrong with what you are doing. My dm had to walk everywhere with us in the 70s as she didn't have a car.

Buy a sledge and hope it snows. Then sit them on it and pull them to school - they'll love it. MIL being ridiculous.

Why would they be ill? More likely to get ill sitting indoors with the central heating on! Colds aren’t caused by cold weather, they are caused by germs. You carry on doing what you know is best. I really don’t understand why children aren’t allowed to play in the garden if it’s cold even though they want to. It’s fresh air

there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!

My nearly 2y/o dgc will be starting nursery soon, and during the visit this is exactly what was said. All the children have at least one outside play time every day, regardless of the weather (thunderstorms and extreme heat being the only exceptions).

Keep doing what you're doing and ignore your mil, it's none of her business!

Our DCs nursery has the kids outside every day, under cover if it's raining. Fresh air is a good thing.

Do avoid the traffic fumes if you can, terribly bad for little lungs.

I leave the car on the drive & walk DD (5) to school everyday with DS (5 months) in the pram, up a very steep hill, in all weathers. I am so much fitter for it & it sets my day up nicely; rain or shine. I feel lost when DH takes her as I’ve lost my daily morning walk.

you are not BU. I would respond with a thank you for the offer but no need, we prefer to wrap up warm & walk. Everytime.

Wonder how they cope in cold countries? You're mil is nuts.

She has no choice but to accept your answer. I’d ignore any conversation about it! I’d open a message and leave it read. Not respond to anything at all about it. Just show that you are ignoring it!

It's freezing. I'd def prefer being in the warmth of the car. In fact i warm up the car before my toddler gets in. Same when it's too hot. Although he goes to a forest school so he's probably outside all day anyway but I guess that's why I sent him there so I don't have to do it...

Keep walking. It's good for you all.

I always think it's the clothing that is wrong not the weather. If they are wrapped up and happy then it's up to you.

Keep walking Op! It's a great start to the day. It's a great start to life to be used to walking and they'll carry on walking into adulthood! Should be keeping you all really healthy.

If it was stormy a blizzard then maybe a lift would be nice but otherwise crack on!

Also what does she think people without cars do then?

Your DC has build up a strong immune system. 👏

Lol it's usually the patent generation who encourage us to walk more. We don't live in Siberia, coat, hat, fresh cold air, pink cheeks, moving so get warm! Honestly what a snowflake attitude 🙄

OP, my MIL was also from another culture and warmer climes, and also thought lots of my parenting was nuts. Luckily for me she lived in her home country, not here. However, when she commented on things like this, I'd just flatly tell her that here it's normal and that when you're born in a colder country, you don't notice the cold as much. It's not true, but somehow I managed to shut her up. Good luck, and I wish you many happy walks, chats, songs and games!
PS The few months I had to drive my kids to and from school when we moved house but not school immediately were among the most stressful of my life.

It's the direction cities are going in. The future will see more car sharing/hiring schemes, similar to electric bike hiring schemes. Private car ownership is incredibly inefficient given they are unused most of the day

Exactly the same in Sweden. The bike parking lot outside nursery was full of little bikes and Christiania bikes. Our little ones slept outside, very warm and nice.

I wouldn't call a 3-year-old a toddler but otherwise YANBU. When my DC were about that age we walked everywhere, with a single or double pushchair when needed, in all weathers.

I live in Denmark, she would probably need resuscitation from shock if she saw kids here tbh. Danish law technically not actual law 😂 says there’s no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing.

Last week we walked 25 minutes to nursery in the snow whilst it blew a gale, passed by many many children on their parents bikes/ in a Christiana bike or on their own bike, we came home in similar weather after 20m in the park before it got dark at bastard 3pm

Everyone was wrapped up warm, the movement kept us warm and it was absolutely no problem at all. Baby took a nap in the pram outside on the balcony and was toasty warm because she wore appropriate clothing!

Oh I've no idea it was mostly a flippant comment, but what with the pollution and space taken up by cars it wouldn't surprise me. Sorry I should have thought my post though more carefully!

ha ha - I have a Swedish friend who was horrified when touring a nursery in Italy when they proudly informed her that the children do not go outside at all when it is "cold" which apparently meant temperatures colder than +15C!

My kids attended nursery in Sweden when they were out in all weathers for several hours a day - even in the minus 20sC.