DS4 doesn’t want to wear summer clothes. Is is a complete nonissue?

If it's any consolation, my dad was exactly the same his entire life.

Regardless of the weather conditions, he'd be wearing the same trousers, t-shirt and jumper.

And if he took his jumper off, you KNEW it had to be absolutely bloody roasting outside. It happened maybe 3 times a year.

I'm like you, I need 27 degrees to wear something sleeveless and then a breeze on my upper arm will see my putting the cardigan on. It's temperature for me though, not sensory.

I remember a friend wearing a T-shirt in the snow. He said it was because long sleeves bothered his eczema. He did have some autistic traits though.

Arket do a linen blend long sleeve tshirt which is nice and cooling, and pairing that with linen trousers will stop him overheating Linen-Blend Long Sleeve T-Shirt – Dark Blue – ARKET GB

Dd (3) is fine with shorts/T-shirts and summer dresses in the day but at night insists she needs long trousers and socks. She will happily wear a t-shirt but sobs if I try to put her in shorts or leave the socks off. One day I took the socks off once she was asleep and was woken at 5am by hysterical sobbing because I had taken them off. So now I have decided to just leave them on and assume if she gets hot she will take them off

Well, yes, that's why you need layers. I wouldn't go out in shorts in May either. It will get cool by the evening or in the shade/wind.

I have always been like this. In shorts or short sleeved tops I feel cold. It has to be really baking hot, heatwave temperatures for me to wear a vest or short sleeves and I still wear long skirts, or trousers and sometimes even footless tights under the skirt. The slightest breeze on exposed skin makes me feel cold.
My eldest son is the same, my youngest son will wear shorts but absolutely hates short sleeves on tops.
I do think it’s sensory, even without any neurodiversity. We all respond to temperature differently.

Mine was the opposite, you couldn't get trousers or a coat on him.

I work in schools. Kids and their inbuilt thermostats are odd. In winter they play outside in their coats. In summer they won’t take their hoodies off. Leave them to it.

Actually I recall taking DS to the beach in Devon one year and he wouldn't even take layers off for that - he went in the sea in long joggers and a long sleeve t-shirt!

I work in a secondary school and a number of kids wore coats during the heatwave, and we are in a hotter part of the UK, where it got to about 28°. Many others in leggings and white socks under their skirts plus a jumper over their shirts.

Some kids just aren't as bothered by the temperature as others I think. Just buy some very light, looser fitting things. I love linen clothes I summer and would wear full length linen trousers and a longer sleeved linen top on hot days, no problem.

Just leave him to it. We should trust kids to know when they're hot or cold a bit more, not everyone experiences temperature the same.

My DS was like this all through primary - always kept his jumper on, even in the summer, unless a teacher made him take it off (rare). At 18 now he's the complete opposite and wanders round in t-shirts all through the winter.

Temperature in the sun is meaningless. Put your thermometer in the shade. It’s only 19 in Merseyside today and there’s a bit of a breeze. Not really warm.

Does he feel cold often? It can be a sign of anaemia.

He just doesn't like it. It's often far cooler to cover up than expose maximum skin to the sun's heat in any case - and being forcefully told to wear less clothing than he wants to wear or stripping him whilst he is asleep and vulnerable isn't going to be pleasant for him, anymore than somebody being forced to wear too much is.

I hate being told that I'm not hot/cold/hungry/whatever. I know how I feel - and anybody trying to make me wear more or less clothing than I want to would always get short shrift.

My just turned 8 year old is like this well sort of , he will wear short sleeve T shirts. Shorts are a no no & it is really warm here in Ireland at the moment but he's happy & says he's not too warm. I managed to get him to wear shorts yesterday for non uniform day in school but I gave him a choice & that's what he picked. He would never wear short pyjamas, he likes his legs covered at night but in fairness I'm the same. My younger son went through a phase of only wearing long sleeve tops but he has been living his best life in shorts for the last 2 weeks with t-shirts but he is adamant about putting a jacket on when we are walking to school. I will say my oldest has a medical condition that can make his feel cold also so he is valid in his feelings, he's happy & if he's comfortable I'm happy

We live in the Caribbean - 11 year old spent last two years in jeans and long sleeve jumpers.
We were back visiting UK when it was the hottest weather on record (3 years ago?!) and I remember him running around Horsham park in jeans and sweater when It was 40oc.
He eventually decided shorts and t-shirts were the way to go in the last year…

You could also put him in T-shirts and a light zip up cardigan or hoodie, so it’s easy to shrug it off if he gets hot without the fuss of pulling something over his head.

Also, as someone who comes from a hot country, I have a different threshold for how hot it needs to be before I’d consider it warm enough to wear shorts. Absolutely minimum 24 degrees. Am always astonished at British people dressing kids (and themselves) in shorts and t shirts or short dresses with no tights when it’s 17 degrees!

My 14 year old DS only wears shorts for swimming. We have trousers for all seasons, and long sleeve tops too. Its just a preference but we respect it.

Shirt pyjamas didn’t exist when I was a child, we managed just fine in full length year round (just kick off the duvet, which was the same weight year round too) I wear jeans in summer, full length, and rarely is it too warm if you are in the U.K. certainly not at the moment

My boy was like this, he would only wear what he was used to. For example, he would wear shorts when it was snowing.

I ignored it and he grew out of it.

I don't like having skin exposed no matter how warm, I do it for practical reasons but would feel more comfortable in flowy light clothes rather than shorter sleeves or legs. It's probably a little sensory issue but nothing to worry about. Lots of kids have the opposite issue, they want shorts and T shirts in winter which is much trickier to navigate as it's not good for them in cold weather.

My son is a bit like this, he is ND though.
What's the temperature where you are? As sometimes I find people putting their kids in shorts far before they would wear shorts themselves.
It's 21 here today in the south east and I'm in long sleeves and jeans, absolutely would refuse shorts! But then I did grow up in Australia where this is a winters day...

Lol my brother was like this growing up.

He's 58 now and hasn't really changed.

I don't think I've seen his actual legs since I was 7.