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Original poster

Dd always putting the heating on..

235 replies

HowLuckyAmI · 18/04/2021 23:50

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?

OP posts:
Original poster
HowLuckyAmI · 19/04/2021 09:10

She has a phone but is not glued to it just uses it for when she is out/ talking to friends family so would not be much of a punishment if we took that away tbh. The idea of deducting her pocket money is something i will discuss with DH.

OP posts:
CookieDoughKid · 19/04/2021 09:12

Electric blanket 10000%. They are cheap to run. She's growing, needs to be warm.

4amWitchingHour · 19/04/2021 09:13

She gets £10 pocket money a week and the gas bill has gone up by £40 a month. Perfect - tell her you can no longer afford her pocket money as she keeps turning the heating on. Losing the whole lot for a month might be the short sharp shock she needs to stop doing it.

NotSorry · 19/04/2021 09:16

I sometimes wake up cold in the night and switch my electric blanket on - it's two sided so DH controls his own side

AlexaNeverListens · 19/04/2021 09:19

"Next time you touch the heating, I'm stopping your pocket money until you learn to do as you're told and leave it alone"

What's hard about that?

IamMaz · 19/04/2021 09:21

I am always cold! When I was young and lived at home I bought myself a fan heater for my bedroom. My dad went mad because of the cost.
Even now I am always cold - indoors and with central heating. Our house is boiling but I am sitting here with icy hands.
I hate being cold...

5zeds · 19/04/2021 09:25

Did you tell her she was not allowed to touch thermostat or turn the heating on?
If so, stop her pocket money for four weeks to pay for the gas she’s taken without permission. If it continues, put a lock box on it and remove other privileges.

FAQs · 19/04/2021 09:32

If she is waking up because she is cold I wouldn’t punish her, electric blanket is a great idea! Low cost and keeps everyone happy. My daughter has one because she is always cold, she is a tiny size 6 teenager and always cold, I’m menopausal and sleep with the window open.

Bomchiccawick · 19/04/2021 09:33

Electric blanket or hot water bottle

LindaEllen · 19/04/2021 09:34

DSS does this a lot. He's 17 so can stay at home on his own when we're not in. He will turn the heating on as a matter of course as soon as he gets up, but he will be wearing a t shirt, and often shorts. We've always said the first port of call is a hoodie and long trousers at the very least, and see if you're still cold then.

His room is quite small and his computer is on all the time, so within an hour or so his room is stuffy and hot with the radiator on. He also refuses to have his door open - so we will come home to the heating running full blast, and him sitting in his room in shorts and t shirt with the window open because it's too hot in his room!!!!

He's basically turning the heating on because for the 5 minutes it takes him to make his breakfast he's a bit chilly (due to shorts, t shirt and nothing on his feet). But he always takes his food up to his room and stays there until dinner time. So the heating really, really isn't necessary most of the time.

5zeds · 19/04/2021 09:35

If she’s waking up because she’s cold she could put another top on or an extra blanket. She’s being wilfully disobedient turning the heating on. She may as well be stealing from OPs purse.

ILoveAllRainbowsx · 19/04/2021 09:43

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

SteveArnottsCodeine · 19/04/2021 09:53

She needs an electric heater in her room and you need one of these thermostat guards.

HerMammy · 19/04/2021 09:54

Is your DD always rude and disobedient? You’ve told her repeatedly not to touch it and she does, time to be firm. For an 11 yr old she’s awfully cheeky and entitled.
My DD15 puts the heating OFF, says she’s too warm, I do like a toasty house.

daisyducky · 19/04/2021 10:05

I get cold during the night and use an electric blanket rather than heating the whole house. So another vote for that. They also switch themselves off too so it won't be on all the time if she forgets to switch it off

Beetlewing · 19/04/2021 10:11

Is she skinny? I was underweight at that age and although I could move about during the day to keep warm, I seemed to have not enough inner heat to warm my bed up at night. More blankets don't help because I didn't have the heat to transfer to them iyswim.
In those days we didn't have central heating though so I would sneak in with my mum for a cuddle

Endofmytether2 · 19/04/2021 10:44

Apart from. Stopping her pocket money until the extra I'd paid off I would also reprogram the thermostat to whatever your normal nighttime temp is, evey hour if necessary, so that if she is still switching it on it will at least turn off again when the next hour preprogrammed slot comes around, and so on and so on.

I had this a while ago with my 2 teens; they weren't deliberately leaving it on all night, but as it was set to go off at 10pm, if they were still up they'd put it back on and then forget to turn it off before they went to bed.
To get around this and the late times they were sometimes staying up, I simply reprogrammed the thermostat so instead of going off to 16° at 10pm and then back on to 20° at 6am, I set it at 16° at 10pm, 11pm, 12am, 1am, 2am, 3am and 4am.

Now they're more settled back into a routine, etc, I've changed it to 10pm,12am, 2am as they're always asleep way before then, except for the odd Friday or Saturday night.

Mine was more from a wasteful point of view rather than a money issue as it wasn't regular enough to be causing a big rise in costs.

Endofmytether2 · 19/04/2021 10:45

**is paid off

IbrahimaRedTwo · 19/04/2021 11:10

Any suggestions on how to get her to stop doing this?

She's 11! You tell her to stop it and you punish her if she doesn't.

Notaroadrunner · 19/04/2021 11:19

Are electric blankets safe to leave on if she falls asleep though? I wouldn't leave one on all night. I'd definitely stop her pocket money. She needs to accept the consequence of over use of the gas. Apart from that she needs consequences for blatantly disobeying you and Dh when you have told her not to turn it on. Tell her to put on a fleece and warm socks in bed if she's that cold.

Maggiesfarm · 19/04/2021 11:24

@Notaroadrunner

Are electric blankets safe to leave on if she falls asleep though? I wouldn't leave one on all night. I'd definitely stop her pocket money. She needs to accept the consequence of over use of the gas. Apart from that she needs consequences for blatantly disobeying you and Dh when you have told her not to turn it on. Tell her to put on a fleece and warm socks in bed if she's that cold.
There are electric blankets you can leave on, I wouldn't fancy that. Warmer night clothes and bed linen may be the answer but the girl is obviously cold or she wouldn't be turning the heating on.

I would have thought having the heating on low all the time was cheaper than having it go on and off. I doubt she has the thermostat on full. Would it really break the bank? I'd be more inclined to economise in other ways.

ChrissyPlummer · 19/04/2021 11:32

I was like this - always freezing. Extra layers really don’t help, if the air around me is cold, I’d never feel warm. My parents would never put the heating on in the morning as “there’s no point, we’re not in long enough”, even though I was freezing. I once dared to get the fan heater and my dad crashed into my room and ripped it out the wall. Never quite forgiven either of them for that and it must be nearly 30 years ago.

Honestly, if she is that cold, an extra dressing gown/jumper really won’t help. I’ve lived in some miserably cold situations and if the rooms aren’t heated properly, no amount of layers help. You just feel uncomfortable and still cold. I’m approaching menopause now, so always warm in bed but still feel the cold during the day on occasion, hate sitting with the French doors open, even in summer. Thankfully I now own my own house and can have the temperature at whatever I see fit.

mrsm43s · 19/04/2021 11:52

She's cold! If you don't want her turning on the central heating, you need to find some other way of warming her overnight, such as a portable heater or an electric blanket. Blankets or a dressing gown is not good enough. I can't believe so many people want to punish a cold child for turning the heating on, that's what it's there for.

tofuschnitzel · 19/04/2021 11:55

@NiceGerbil

OP not been back?

OP what has she told you about why? Esp during the night.

You're posting at 4am, don't you think OP might be asleep at that time?
sergeilavrov · 19/04/2021 12:02

Please don’t punish your daughter for being cold. I understand it’s a financial burden for you, but the answer isn’t her living in discomfort. I’m also a cold person, and blankets etc. really don’t help because there isn’t heat to begin with.

It’s important to find a solution so she isn’t waking up through the night, she needs her sleep. Hopefully you can ask and really listen to what she thinks would be a good solution that would keep her sleeping through the night, like an electric blanket.