Dd always putting the heating on..

[HowLuckyAmI]

For about 3 months now DD aged 11 turns the heating on randomly when it really is not needed. Mostly she gets up in the middle of the night/early hours to switch it on then goes back to bed which then leaves the flat stuffy.
Ive asked her nicely to stop doing this, if she is cold than she has access to an extra blanket/dressing gown etc which is at the end of her bed. Instead she is turning it on making the whole place ridiculously hot.
I have covered the thermostat so she cant turn the dial but she has learnt how to turn it on direct from the touch pad.
DH has said to her if there isnt a good enough reason for her to do this and it wont stop then there will have to be punishments as she is delibrately ignoring our requests and the gas bill is huge!!
Any suggestions on how to get her to stop doing this?

[Azuretwist]

I would get medical checks.
Then if she is still cold buy her thermal type vest under nightmare, thick sheets, make the bed up with blanket. Plus work out the heating so she cannot put it on. Electric blanket she can control as next step.

[Maggiesfarm]

[quote 3Britnee]@Maggiesfarm op said it's adding £40pm to the bill.[/quote]
Flipping heck, that is a lot.

[Cherrysoup]

Electric blanket. Dumb question, have you sat her down and told her she simply isn’t allowed to turn it on? Has she understood that you just can’t afford this? In the middle of the night, she should be cosily warm from her own body heat if in bed.

[Gwenhwyfar]

@Aquamarine1029

Is she frequently this disobedient? Her sense of entitlement needs to be nipped in the bud and quickly.

Or maybe she's suffering because she's too cold?
You sound nasty.

[3Britnee]

@Maggiesfarm op said it's adding £40pm to the bill.

[minddeter]

No, it is not 'beyond my wit' at all, I just found it odd people saying something must be 'wrong' with someone if they're cold when others aren't. People are different in how cold affects them.

I have always been someone who feels the cold. I'm not unhealthy at all. I also like being warm, some people prefer a 'cool and comfortable' thing at home I suppose.

[Maggiesfarm]

It's quite cold now and it is April. I feel the cold terribly and there's nothing wrong with me.

The child may already have warm night wear and bedclothes.

I'd let her put the heating on, no doubt there are other things the op can economise on but she may find that her bill is not that much higher anyway.

[IbrahimaRedTwo]

Not you I am sure, but someone said such like 'then you should seek medical attention' in response to someone saying they were cold even with a blanket on or such (I am paraphrasing). I find this odd, given that a symptom of many diseases is being hot/sweaty/overheating at night and otherwise

Is it really beyond your wit to get that some illnesses or conditions may make you feel extremely cold, and others may make you feel overly hot, and that post was talking about one of them in particular?

If you are so cold in the UK in April that you need fleeces and pyjamas and heated blankets and heating at night, you should see if something is causing that. Because its not normal.

Amazed that has to be spelled out but there you go.

[aSofaNearYou]

Fair enough @minddeter!

[minddeter]

@aSofaNearYou

To the contrary, a lot of people with ill health overheat at night, so I find it ironic that some people on this thread think there's something wrong with you if you feel the cold.

I don't think anyone's saying that, are they? People are just saying there's a difference between being freezing cold, and being a bit colder than you'd like. If nobody else in the house is cold at all then it obviously isn't actually freezing.

As PPs have said, I would absolutely expect her to try wrapping up warmer before just disregarding what her parents have said, and making everybody else uncomfortable. Remember that it is easier to warm up if you are too cold than to cool down if you are too hot.

Not you I am sure, but someone said such like 'then you should seek medical attention' in response to someone saying they were cold even with a blanket on or such (I am paraphrasing). I find this odd, given that a symptom of many diseases is being hot/sweaty/overheating at night and otherwise.

[CatCup]

Buy her a heated blanket.

[nocoolnamesleft]

Poor kid. So cold that it's waking her up every night for 3 months. And getting told off for trying to get warm.

[BitOfFun]

I could cry for this poor child that no one is listening to.

[

You mean this cheeky besom who is being openly defiant? Jeebus.

[BitOfFun]

I have only read your posts, @HowLuckyAmI, so apologies if I'm repeating others, but how is she 'getting away with' such blatant disobedience? I've got a feeling that you need to get MUCH angrier with her, so that turning the heating on becomes more unpleasant for her and she will do as she is told.

[aSofaNearYou]

Why are we making the assumption that everyone else finds it too hot just because there OP does? She's not said, beyond it being cold in the house in the winter (when seemingly she still didn't have the heating on even though she was cold).

Well we don't but we do know her DH is involved too and also wants her to stop. He's definitely not menopausal.

Either way, I got the impression from the OP that the gas bill was the main reason they objected.

[Babyboomtastic]

Why are we making the assumption that everyone else finds it too hot just because there OP does? She's not said, beyond it being cold in the house in the winter (when seemingly she still didn't have the heating on even though she was cold).

I'd be interested to know if the OP is approaching menopausal age, given the dramatic effect that can have on comfortable temperature range.

Also, isn't it odd that the op had answered a lot of questions save for the one asked many times - what temperature is it? If it's 20 degrees in the night, then the daughter is probably being unreasonable (though they still need to understand why) whereas if it's 14 degrees then she really did need to turn the heating on.

[Twenty2]

@IbrahimaRedTwo

I'm pretty fit and healthy and I am still using an electric blanket at the moment. England is freezing at night!

England has a range of temps but nowhere right now is it "freezing". It was almost 10 degree at night in London, for example for the last week. That is nowhere near freezing.

I'm in NE England and I assure you that even just in the past few days we had 0° and frost overnight.

[aSofaNearYou]

To the contrary, a lot of people with ill health overheat at night, so I find it ironic that some people on this thread think there's something wrong with you if you feel the cold.

I don't think anyone's saying that, are they? People are just saying there's a difference between being freezing cold, and being a bit colder than you'd like. If nobody else in the house is cold at all then it obviously isn't actually freezing.

As PPs have said, I would absolutely expect her to try wrapping up warmer before just disregarding what her parents have said, and making everybody else uncomfortable. Remember that it is easier to warm up if you are too cold than to cool down if you are too hot.

[3Britnee]

*too

[3Britnee]

But op's child isn't expected to sleep freezing cold. She's been offered several blankets and layers. But she wants to go straight to turning the heating on, making the temperature of the flat to hot for everyone else. Why does her comfort trump everyone else's, when she could make herself comfortable without impacting anyone else by putting more layers on? Especially when the costs have been explained to her and she's been told not to do it.

[minddeter]

@IbrahimaRedTwo

4 degrees at 3am in Manchester last night. It's not that cold.

I'm not wanting to derail OPs thread (&where I am is colder than Manchester)! But I genuinely am cold at night without my blanket on. There isn't anything wrong with me, but I cannot sleep when I'm cold. I don't think it is right that a child should be expected to. Other factors as well as to weather including how well insulated one's house is,the structure of one's bedroom, the individual all have an effect in things like this.
To the contrary, a lot of people with ill health overheat at night, so I find it ironic that some people on this thread think there's something wrong with you if you feel the cold.

[IbrahimaRedTwo]

4 degrees at 3am in Manchester last night. It's not that cold.

[minddeter]

@IbrahimaRedTwo

I'm pretty fit and healthy and I am still using an electric blanket at the moment. England is freezing at night!

England has a range of temps but nowhere right now is it "freezing". It was almost 10 degree at night in London, for example for the last week. That is nowhere near freezing.

Yes, I wasn't meaning in the literal sense. I'm in the North so it is very cold!

[aSofaNearYou]

@Babyboomtastic

If it's solely upto the person who pays the bills, does this mean that a SAHP isn't allowed to turn the heating on if they are cold either?

No, but a SAHP should be mature enough to understand their partner saying "the bills are too high, you need to put a jumper on". Which is one of many reasons children need to respect the rules their parents put in place.

[aSofaNearYou]

@mrsm43s

Telling a freezing cold child to put an extra blanket on is like telling a starving child to have a glass of water.

Why do we have central heating at all? Surely we could all just wrap up in a big pile of blankets daily if they're the panacea for all coldness!

You're not getting it. I don't think she is freezing cold, certainly not to the extent a starving child is starving. That is the OTT drama I am talking about, and it doesn't do anyone any favours. I think she is somewhat cold, and choosing not to cooperate with fixing the problem, and to be badly behaved instead.