Why do British kids wear shorts in cold weather?

[Parapapapan]

I’m at Efteling with a lot of kids from different nations, mostly Dutch/Belgian/German/British from the language they’re speaking. One thing I’ve noticed is that if I see a child in shorts they are typically English speakers. I live on the continent and you rarely see kids in shorts in 10 degree weather and colder.

Im curious! Can anyone help explain why they wear shorts? Don’t they get cold? My kids would moan so much and be so miserable when cold!

Doesn’t this have some historical legacy? That boys used to wear shorts until they were a certain age and were allowed to move into long trousers? It might be connected to the school system. Or something about rationing of fabric during the war?

Small boys always wore short trousers - see photos of Victorian children in sailor suits, or illustrations in E.Nesbit's books. Slightly older boys wore knickerbockers - breeches that buttoned below the knee, with long stockings. See E.Nesbit again. Adult men wore knickerbockers for outdoor pursuits too. I think they went out for boys in the 1920s, and then it was shorts for younger boys, long trousers for older ones until around the 1970s, I think.

Makes sense really; it was easier to darn a pair of socks than keep mending a pair of trousers that a boy had ripped or gone through at the knees.

10c is mild round our way, so my shorts-enthusiast child would have her legs out with no complaints about the chill.

It’s been a thing for decades. If not longer.

to be fair you get used to the temperatures you grow up in - when we went to greece a couple of years ago they were having cold weather (for them) and the locals were all in puffa coats and tracksuit bottoms and me and the kids were in shorts and t shirts.

one of the shop staff did comment to us that they could tell we were Northern Europeans!

My ds wore shorts every day in primary school. His choice, there were trousers in his wardrobe if he wanted them. Less so now in secondary school.

I've never thought to ask him why.

And I didn't realise it was a uniquely British thing though.

I guess they get more snow in mainland Europe so it's maybe colder in places? We've had quite a mild winter in my corner of the country

DS wore shorts all year round in infants/junior, even in snow. The thing he hated most about secondary is being forced to wear long trousers and even now in year 11 he is straight into shorts as soon as he gets home. His preference.

My son rarely wears trousers. He only wore some to school when there was snow on the ground. I leave him to it.

Even if you aren't from Scotland I would consider that temperature to be warm! 15C is shorts and tshirt weather ☀

Because it’s the Easter Holidays, abroad, and so shorts were packed?

But also I have teenage boys who’d wear shorts most of the time if they could. More comfortable. See also no cardigans and no coats…

Cos we're well ard ain't we.

I know a couple of boys that wore shorts year round, they just seemed to run hot. It was definitely their choice.

I'm in Finland and one of my coworkers was telling me that when she goes on holiday in Lapland she can always spot the British tourists, because they don't do their coats up! I laughed, then I remembered that I almost never do my coat up no matter how cold it is. She did tell me she told some British parents off once though, because their small child only had on really thin gloves, far too thin for winter in Lapland, and told them they have to put proper winter gloves on their poor child before she lost any fingers to frostbite!

My son has sensory needs, hed be naked given half the chance! Most days throughout the year are shorts. I always take long pants everywhere but its a battle!

Sorry for the weird question @TMFF . I didn’t think they were forced of course.

The replies have been so interesting! Thank you! Its been worth asking my weird question 🙈. I’ve learnt that my observation could be historical reasons, wanting to appear hardy/outdoorsy, used to colder temperatures, posh schools, less darning! I expect it’s a combination of all these reasons to make British kids (and adult men it seems?) more likely to wear shorts.

Maybe also that it doesn’t get as cold as in Scandinavia where I live so less likely to wear shorts all year round (as like British kids, I let my kids choose what they wear and shorts haven’t come out yet for either them or their friends!)

I think there is also some rigid thinking among some Europeans (particularly the French and Italians) around seasonal clothes, albeit more in the older generation. I have relatives who will simply not countenance taking off a scarf, or wearing short sleeves before May - even if there is a heatwave in April! But then they also all think that a fresh breeze will kill you stone dead (along with swimming within three hours of eating, drinking cold water after exercise, and any number of other bizarre folk beliefs).

If you're on the move your legs don't get cold. At least that's what my DH tells me and he wears shorts all year round!

I live in Shetland and on a sunny summer's day the locals will be in shorts and vests while the tourists from the cruise liners will be in full puffer jackets, gloves and wooly hats.

My grown up kids start shedding layers about March time and my DS will wear shorts and no coat most of the year unless the weather is really extreme.

Also other European countries are funny about the cold. I was at uni in France, it was end of April and it was baking hot, high 20s, but because it Was Not Summer the locals were all wearing their thick coats still. Us British students were the only ones in shorts.

My dad born in Glasgow in the 50s- wore shorts. You weren't allowed long trousers until about 14... Yes still wore them in snow
My brother also will choose shorts and flipflops in snow- he is in his 40s....

Being a bit more serious I think the British are used to more humidity across all temperatures we experience here. We don't often have dry cold seasons, better to have less material to cling to your legs.

I wish there was more moving about 😅. Sometimes it feels more time waiting in drafty/shaded queues before then a short brisk walk to the next ride to get slightly warm before you stand around again 😅

Born to be hardy!!

I remember wearing knee socks even when it snowed back in the 70s.

I have relatives who will simply not countenance taking off a scarf, or wearing short sleeves before May

'Ne'er cast a clout 'til May be out' is an old saying.

It's debated whether this means the month of May, or May blossom, which is mid May or earlier, depending on weather.

I think our weather, in England at least, is less predictable than in other countries. April can see snow or t-shirt weather.

3 of my 4 boys are year round shots wearers my eldest doesn’t feel the cold much at all, never has. His dad is from Orkney and we live in the north of Scotland. I’ll be in lots of layers an they’ll be in shorts t shirt and a hoodie makes me feel cold thinking about it.

Traditionally British children (boys) did not wear long trousers ever until they reached a certain age, somewhere around 12? It's still in living memory that this was genuinely a cultural norm. It's referenced in James and the Giant Peach for example, which was published in 1961.

Obviously that's not a cultural norm now but British tolerance for cold is still more than other European countries IME. I live in Germany and they all think we underdress our children basically all the time. I did actually have to learn that there are at least three categories of coat which I'd never encountered, a new category of shoe, and I am constantly hassling my husband (who still follows British clothing theory) about making sure the children have the right number and kind of layers so that the Kindergarten staff don't think we are neglectful.

My theory is that Britain doesn't really get cold enough for the wrong clothes to actually be dangerous, and it rains so much that we tend to just go inside when it's too wet/cold instead, so we don't have the awareness of cold weather gear which is needed in countries which do get really cold and/or have a culture of children being bundled outside to play in all weathers.

Also I have noticed that in Germany it isn't considered warm until it's nearly 20 degrees C. Whereas when I was growing up if it was 20+ degrees it was a heatwave. It's been 13 years and I'm only just getting used to the air outside being warmer than inside for basically the whole of summer. I rarely ever experienced that in the UK, even on the hottest days it will be even hotter inside. So I think Brits consider warmth to start much lower down the scale than other nationalities do. I wrote a FB post about my confusion about this in one of the first springs I was here, because as soon as it got to about 13-14C it seemed like t-shirt weather to me but everyone was still going around in coats! I have completely acclimatised and keep my coat and scarf on now at such frozen temperatures and I switch to my Winterschuhe in about October and keep them on until roughly now.