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!

Actually, the point about not needing to mend the knees of trousers makes a lot of sense. I have three boys and have never been able to pass down their trousers they have worn between the ages of 1-6. They get enormous holes on the knees. I am forever trying to patch them up. I don't even know what they do to them!

My Gds 9 wore shorts and just a T shirt all day at an outdoor activity on a cold day last weekend - we even had hailstones! I kept offering a jumper - he didn’t want it. He hardly ever does! Of course he was racing around, on the go, all the time. Like my dh used to be, he’s got inner central heating. I did notice a couple of dads in shorts, too.

In this bit of Canada it has regularly been -25 and below all winter. There are large numbers of kids 10+ not wearing coats etc. Whilst some of it is fashion/coolness, the likely main reason is the very limited storage space. Kids often share a locker that is only big enough for books. There is no room to store bulky boots and coats and the kids don’t want to cart all that stuff between classrooms.

Ahahaha! I live in Scandinavia but am not from here. I also was faced with minimum of 3 jacket types and the winter shoe concepts when I moved here and got kids! I haven’t managed to learn what is right though yet so my husband has taken responsibility for making sure our kids have the right things 😅 (weaponised incompetence can go both ways 😬)

I find Finnish kids are still in snowsuits when mine have switched to short sleeves and shorts already so I sometimes get 'looks' from other parents but its definitely warm enough (except for the time my daughter went out to play in the snow in a leotard and tutu because the sun was shining which made her think it's summer, even though it was below zero)

I’ve worn shorts all this week. Temps have ranged from 8-15 degrees. I have worn lots of layers on top though, inc down jackets 😅

my legs just don’t feel the cold unless it’s really cold

We are tough …. Haven’t you seen teenagers at the bus stop in just their shirts, in the depths of Winter? Who needs school coats! And since when have British youth ever conformed to what the rest of Europe wear?!!!

My 2 DS wore shorts all the way through primary school (state) through choice and the eldest still prefers shorts. He was the only person wearing shorts on a flight out to Grenoble at the weekend- he’s 20 now!

British living in France. Just back from a week in Leeds. It was freezing and chucking it down - still plenty of men in trainers, pulled-up sports socks, shorts and puffa jackets. Not the most stylish look but each to their own I guess.

DH wore shorts year-round growing up in Scotland. His mum's theory was that as long as the shorts were lined and he had a woollen jumper on, his 'core' would stay warm...

DS10 prefers shorts. He's worn the. Pretty much year round since he was 7. When he was younger I enforced trousers when weather was below zero. He will wear coat hat and gloves or a onesie at home.

My daughter starts wearing shorts to school around 10 degrees - she just prefers them. My son feels the cold more so it's more like 12+ when he starts thinking about shorts. They both prefer to hike in shorts almost any time of year. We are in Scotland though so if we waited for 20 degrees for our shorts they wouldn't get much use!

Plenty of kids wear school shorts year round - it rarely gets 'that' cold in Edinburgh and kids are always running around anyway.

Good auld Scottish saying! Above 14 degrees! Heat wave tapps aff!

Small boys used to wear shorts all year round in the UK in years gone by. According to my late mother it was because grazed knees mend on their own and cost nothing. Trousers which have holes in the knees have to be darned or replaced, both of which cost time and/or money.

Bizarrely this shorts-wearing tradition is now usually only seen among the wealthy youngsters at posh private schools.

I really want an answer to this, my boys wear shorts all weather! I ask them why they say they hate trousers. Even at school in the middle of January they had shorts on 😩

We're in Ireland rather than the UK but my 9 year old DS wears shorts year round, literally hasn't worn shorts in 14 months(I know the date as he was going to watch a soccer match when we were in the UK and we made him wear pants as it was January). He hates long pants.

I also live on the continent ans regularly see local children and young people in shorts. Its been mild here today 13° and lots of children were out in shorts.

My kids insist they are not cold.

10C is almost summer weather in Scotland

Little boys (historically) wore shorts because they have a habit of taking the knees out of trousers playing football or just messing around. In the days when clothing was expensive that really mattered. I remember my younger brothers going into long trousers and my mother warning them in no uncertain terms what would happen if they ripped them at the knee (1950s).

My DS went to a private prep where they wore shorts until yr 6. The year 6 would strut around until summer term when many would revert to shorts because they preferred them. The logic was that legs dry quicker than trousers and boys are less likely to slide tackle on the playground and take out the knees of their brand new trousers. Both were true of DS.
As a result DS prefers shorts whenever possible. As do most of his friends from school. His uni flat is a little cold so he has been wearing fleece lined joggers this winter but is straight into shorts as soon as he’s home.
He is a sporty, gym going rugby player. They really are superhuman when it comes to cold weather. I don’t remember him ever wearing a big coat, he does a bit of hill walking through the winter, his coat usually spends most of the time tied round his waste.
I have to admit that coming from up north I don’t increase the temp of the central heating, just wear more clothes. I don’t like thick bulky coats and have found that a decent cashmere jumper under a windproof jacket is sufficient. I know the cashmere reference is a bit triggering but honestly they are well worth the investment. M&S do a decent range of cashmere at resonance price.

Because they feel more comfortable in shorts?
I know some grown men whose preference is to wear shorts all the time even in winter.
It's a personal choice

Your kids need to toughen up 😂

In the few days of summer you will notice that they are now swathed in black hoodies, gloves and an optional balaclava.