To think that British people need to get better at winter?

[honeytea]

I have noticed lots of people worrying about the cold weather and their DC coming to harm due to eating/sleeping/playing outside.

I am confused as to why in a country that we all know has miserable weather for much most of the year some children don't have clothing that enables them to spend time outside. The risk of vitamin D deficiency, the higher chance of getting ill when inside and childhood weight issues could all be made better if kids were encouraged to spend more time outside.

I know it isn't all families, I have just been supprised at the amount of people worrying about thier children being damaged by winter weather. It doesn't even get very cold in the UK, nothing a pair of breathable woolen thermal underwear and a good coat/all in one wouldn't solve.

I am British but I now live in Sweden, here the kids at daycare/school have to spend at least 2 hours outside by law, it doesn't matter if it is raining, snowing or -10 the kids are still out playing/eating/sleeping. The schools only shut due to weather when the temp drops below -40.

AIBU to think that we need to get better at winter, it does after all happen every year for about 6 months

Barbequed - my next door neighbour (working, decent income) had loft insulation fitted last week on a grant.

My Mum has also just qualified (retired, private pension - no entitlement to Pension Credit) for the same insulation - again on a grant. They are coming to fit it in January.

Warmfront is also still running.

When we go to the snow we have to carry tyre chains (Dh keeps teaching me how to install them), but I just carry cash to pay the chain installers if the Police stop everyone and make them use chains/cables. Does anyone use tyre chains or cables in UK?
We also carry a bag of kitty litter and a garden trowel in the trunk, it's excellent for getting traction on ice/snow and if you get the right one it's eco friendly non toxic etc etc. It's also good for the steps on my Mums UK house and her slopped driveway.
I'm getting a bit worried about moving back to UK now, we'll be living on top of a hill, and I'm more worried about ice than anything. I can see me in the car sliding down the hill into the other houses and cars

I'm in the NE of scotland, so yes we do tend to get snow every year, some more than others. 2010 the village was effectively snowed in for 3 weeks for anyone without a mahoosive 4x4 or tractor, 2011 was much milder but the constantly melting and refreezing ice was deceptive and loads more people fell over and hurt themselves.

Agree the appropriate clothing is essential, winter tyres on cars etc. but I am mostly annoyed that the council doesn't do more to help with clearing roads etc. yes the main road from the next bigger town to The main city is kept clear, but if we can't get out of our villages all around TO that road, we are screwed! I know other countries use tracks etc on cars, why don't we here? Still, we do seem to keep going here in Scotland a bit better than when snow hits down south. Our school was open when the snow was deep, whereas a friends in suburbs of London closed more often with a flicker of snow only!

I do think that in general the Uk doesn't cope well with winter weather. Airports/schools closing, unheard of in countries where the weather gets much worse. Why don't we visit and learn their secrets? Ah because the budget has been spent on a "fact finding" mission to the Maldives in May for the councillors, oh dear.

In the US they add vit D to milk so you really would have a hard time missing it, though they never tell you vit D is fat soluble so you really should be drinking at least low fat milk.

Not sure but I have an illness and am extremely thin and so am coming from a slightly different angel. I take my hat off to those Scandanavians!, they do so well, been to Sweden myself-in July!! .

I ment angle (although of course I am an angel)! . @mathanxiety, that's a good idea, adding Vitamin D in the milk!!. All in all I try and enjoy winter but I much prefer summer!.

The problem is that our winters are so unpredictable in Southern England. Some years you will get snow that stays for several days, then you will get a few years where you are lucky to get one light dusting, all melted by noon. If our snow landed in early December and stayed till March we would be much more au fait.

To be fair, I think we are also a bit rubbish at summer.

I think we do overcast with a bit of drizzle quite well though.

They give all babies vit-d drops in Sweden, I guess they contuínue once they get older.

Mybaby1day was it very very light in July, that is the other problem with Sweden it is light for nearly 24 hours in the summer so it can be very hard to sleep!

Woken up to -16 today, off to the midwifes in a little while with my winter gear on.

My dd will come out of school with a coat, hat, scarf and gloves on. She has a run round in the playground and then takes her coat off and her hat off and runs about just in her uniform as she tells me she is too hot. She then walks home like it. I am the same, I get too hot all bundled up.

I disagree that scotland or the north part of england can do snow,didnt people abandon cars on the motorway ine year in scotland and they were left for days?!
Im from canada and always chuckle when it snows here as the attitude is ridiculous,nobody is pro active and the pavements are just left for people to hurt themselves.

Ive been living in london for 6 years and there has been some snow every year. Tbh I am starting to think the British enjoy moaning about it and then hetting very defensive saying "its unheard of!" to get so much snow.

I think a lot of problems in the UK in winter is simply down to the density of population. If the roads are already full to capacity then everyone having to drive more slowly because of the weather causes gridlock. A single broken down car can cause bedlam.

The places that tend to cope well with the weather tend to be those where there just aren't as many people.

As for feeling cold, damp makes a big difference, I'd swap a UK winter for a midwest or norwegian winter

I grew up with miserable winters in the U.S. (Great Lakes/Midwest) with subzero temps, mounds of snow, miserable windchill and survived. But a lot of that does have to do with the preparedness for such weather. People are aware of rituals of winterproofing as soon as autumn chills kick in. Snow tyres get placed on, winter coats get pulled out of storage, snow shovels, and a steady supply of ice-melter (mix of salt and grit) at the ready.

We were sent outside for recess most days at school unless of heavy rain (with threat of lightening) or temperatures/windchill below -6C. Otherwise it was business as usual.

I was amused during the first proper winter I spent here (2010-11) when the whole country shut down in the days running up to Christmas because of 5 bloody inches of snow. The attitude locally seemed to be to just "pop on the kettle and wait for it to melt" whereas in the States people would be out with their salt and shovels and helping to clear the pavements and streets so life coud GO on.

It is laughable, to be honest, and i get why councils don't spend money on resources for coping for a day or two of miserable weather---but little things that WE could do like having warmer clothes or keeping a snow shovel and some grit by the front door can make a HUGE difference.

YANBU

www.thelocal.se/44798/20121202/

Sometimes it's just about what you get to hear about

Spoons my dp is a truck driver and the Swedish trucks are not the ones getting stuck it is trucks from other parts of Europe.

Also you will notice it says it can take several hours before the roads are clear, that is hours not days/weeks like it is in the UK.

Imagine if it was headline news whenever there was a 2 hour delay on UK roads, it would be the only news!

Also the area they are talking about is very remote, it's not like the m25 being closed.

My journey into the city by train today was not delayed and all the roads are open despite snow and -16 temps.

I'm not sure major roads over here do get closed for weeks.

Just pointing out that it's a very British thing to presume that it's only this sort of thing that happens over here. We will ferry/drive to Denmark this Christmas, in the summer we'd take a cheaper ferry and drive through Germany, in the winter there's too much chance of getting stuck in one of Germany's legendary traffic jams

What's the Denmark ferry like in December spoons? We've used it many times in summer, all fine. A couple of times in October, very rough crossing resulting in feeling sick the whole time. But haven't dared a winter one yet. My biggest concern is our little dog who has to stay in the car. I worry that he will freeze to death overnight in the middle of the north sea.

Well, it turned out to be a light covering of actual snow, this morning. Easy peasy!

5alive4life I came up with a theory a few years ago that they spend so much time moaning about bad weather, they don't have any time left to prepare for it

I'm in Scotland, I'm a bit weird as I actually like the winter. :)

I think Crazy's theory is correct though. Most of the people I know really don't prepare for winter properly and I voiced my concern on the sleeping outside thread about UK buggies. They really aren't weatherproof and most will slip very easily on the ice.

I would love to live in Sweden, all the babies look so cosy!

One of our neighbours skidded on the ice coming into the estate this morning, lost control and went straight across our front lawn and drive (lucky my cars in the garage or it would have been wiped out), swerved to avoid a parked van and crashed into someone's garage.

He's one of the many that treat this estate like brands hatch and obviously didn't let a bit snow put a stop to his Formula 1 ambitions. I wish people would learn to drive properly in this weather, and I've noticed that all the BMW drivers around here seem to have great trouble getting up the bank out the estate when it's icy. I don't know why it's always them but I had to help push one out last year when my 11 year old fiesta had no bother (this is a serious musing btw, not a dig at BMW drivers )

FlaminNora - was flat as a millpond last time. It's the cost of it that makes me feel sick!

Hope your appointment went well Honeytea. Be careful in these conditions. I managed to slip on an icy zebra crossing at about 37 weeks with DS, and I can assure you that heavily pregnant + bruised coccyx = baaaad

BMW's are rear wheel drive ipswichwitch - they are notoriously difficult in icy conditions. That seems counter intuitive when you think they are manufactured in Bavaria which gets lots of snow in Winter, but they have mandatory winter tyre laws over there (they came into effect yesterday in Bavaria I think) which makes a hell of a difference on a RWD car.

Yes, Ace is correct, BMWs are rear wheel drive, so if there's no traction the back slides out and the car just goes in a circle. Or sideways down the hill. Year before last we had one which was also an automatic and it was possibly the most hopeless car in winter conditions. Couldn't fit winter tyres because it was a company car.

Chains don't get used much here because you have to take them off as soon as you are off the snow, because otherwise they chew up the road surface, so they are not terribly practical in most areas. Lots of people don't have winter tyres because you need somewhere to keep them/keep the other set, so if you don't have a garage or shed you can use it really isn't practical.