How cold is too cold for under 5s to play outside

[houches]

Hi there, just a bit of debate which could help me decide if I think I am being unreasonable about something.....

How cold would it have to be for you to ask school / nursery to keep your 3 or 4 year old inside?

Would you be happy for your child to be playing outside for 2 hours in the afternoon when the temperature is 15 degrees C, with variable sunny / cloudy weather, no rain, no wind? The children would have their coats on and be appropriately. They would also be running around the whole of this time in a large garden. Or would you say this temperature is too cold to play out? Or if it is not too cold, at what point would you say it would get too cold?

If it was my children, dressed by me, I'd say -20. But going by the way some of dcs' friends were dressed in winter, they could hardly cope with sub-zewro temperatures at all.

For me it comes down to; How bored is too bored leading to throwing your children into the garden in sub zero temperatures with little regard for their welfare?

If I kept mine in all winter I would go mad. So wrap them up, have hot drinks and dry clothes at the ready and let them go.

How very odd. 15 degrees is quite mild, in fact if they're running around they'll probably get a bit warm with coats on!

It seems strange too that the nursery would make such a change based on a complaint from one parent. What if someone else complains about them being kept in for no reason? Will it change back?

Why would you want them inside where all the germs are breeding?? Never too cold IMO [if have right clothing of course]

Was the other mother German? Its 18 degrees and sunny here today & i've seen dc with scarves & hats on! So 15 degrees might see a german child forced indoors .

I'd be kicking up a big stink if kids were kept in on such a lovely day, 15 degrees is lovely weather ffs!

Ah, Ploom, you remind me. What's happening on the "Would a German let a child walk through a wood alone?" thread?

I would say anything below 5 degrees with a biting wind would keep us indoors - that's with a 1 yo and a indoorsy type 5 yo. But 15 degrees is positively balmy!

IMO it is never too cold for children to play outside in the UK - so long as they are wearing appropriate clothing.

No such thing as bad weather - just bad clothing choices!

I agree hula I don't think it has every been cold enough to stop me or ds doing anything.

Do you really mean 15 C or do you mean 15F

assuming the children are adequately dressed, once it gets down to about -15C it starts getting a bit nippy, otherwise what's the problem?

If it had to be at least +15C then my kids would only be allowed outside about 20days a year in the not-so-balmy-north

TBH at 15C I wouldn't even be checking they had big coats, hats and gloves most of the time. At that temperature DD would have shed a coat ages ago, even when she was nursery age.

I work in Y1 and we have given them free choice as to whether they have a coat on or not this week. When they are running around they just are not going to be cold on the whole.

To answer the question when I think it's too cold - according to the health and safety rules from my original (Northern European) country, children should not be taken by nursery to play outdoors for more than 20 minutes if the temperature is below -20C. So I would say I would consider -20 too cold to play outside for 2 hours.

It's less than that here today and I have all the doors and windows open - gorgeous out there!

15 degrees F would make more sense, that is quite cold. I am really struggling to imagine anyone complaining about 15C though, it's about that here today and I was thinking what a nice day it was!

thesurgeonsmate - I dont know that thread!

No 15 deg celsius or 59 de Fahrenheit.
South east England.
Yes the mum is from a southern European country and the child has to have already an extra layer of clothing on compared to the others.
I was ironically reading up on EYFS which is find is quite common sense and very much backing the going outside in appropriate clothes and for an appropriate length of time, but also mentions understanding differences in how children are brought up.

How can it be right though that one parent isn´t happy & now they all stay out for less time?

How is that "fair"?

How long has the child lived in UK-long enough to have acclimatised?

Def fine for them to play out. Dd (4) spent 2hrs outside in leggings and long sleeves t shirt, she hasn't had hat or gloves for about a month.

Prissy parents annoy the crap out of me (i don't mean kids with illnesses obv,)
A friend once cancelled a park trip because it was cloudy and could rain, big deal...it rains, we get wet, cone hone, get dry.
Grrrr

Ploom, I went at checked the thread, it's in AIBU. It's a bit disappointing, the OP invites us to guess how a German parenting forum are getting on with a discussion about letting a 9 year old walk to school through the woods, but people have been guessing for a couple of days and the OP hasn't been back with the answer!

Dress up in appropriate clothing and go out whatever the weather. The crèche in a ski resort will have the toddlers out every day.

We live opposite the village school. When it's -15 they're playing outside. When dd was 10 and 11 the headmaster of the school in the next village was encouraging them to slide on the ice -

but it's in rural France and
each child has to have insurance to go to school

Double figures is warm. Ds could stay out all day, in all weather. It's generally me that wants to come in bacause standing with a baby in a sling can get chilly (and boring).