To let my toddler sit in the window with me while it's thunder and lightning outside?

[Whothefuckfarted]

Was sat at the living room window with my toddler watching the pouring rain bouncing off the road outside and listening to the thunder overhead. Saw a flash of lightning too.

My DH had a right go at me, said to take her away from the window in case she got struck by lightning through it.

I thought it was a silly thing to say. I got a bit pissed off... she was enjoying watching the rain..

He said it's dangerous, and to ask mumsnet their opinion

AIBU?

He's being an idiot wrong. If lightning strikes your house, it makes not a blind bit of different where you are sitting. Lightning will always go for the highest point, so unless you're sitting on the roof with an umbrella and your house is in the middle of an empty field, you're fine.

Not sure about being struck by lightning through the window lol. But me and my son are doing the same. He likes watching the raindrops "racing" down the window :)

Glass is a poor conductor of electricity.

YANBU.

Err no. YANBU. Your DH is being a bit weird. Unless the 'window' is actually an observation tower with a tall metal spike on top of it. In that case, he was perfectly reasonable.

Never heard of anyone being struck by lightning through a window. When lightning struck our next door neighbour it went straight through the chimney. Have also heard of it going through telephone cables but possibly that was only in olden days. Is glass a particularly good conductor of electricity?

How do people even think of these things? If I sat in front of a window watching a storm for a thousand years it would never once occur to me that lightning might come through the window. So I don't know who IBU because I just don't have that sort of risk radar. I would scoff at him though if he were my DH.

I've done it. Best way to stop a child becoming one of those poor people too terrified of a storm to enjoy it.

Having said that, years ago when I was a student, a flash of lightning did come through a friend's bedroom window and singe her carpet.

Haha what a ridiculous thing for him to say. Where did he get that rubbish from? It would hit your tv aireal or chimney! I love watching storms.

It can come through an open window I think?

DH is a nutter wrong.

I'm guessing the window was closed, I think that would've been safer than if the window had been open.
When I was a child I was told to close all the windows to reduce the chance of being struck.
I think safer still would be to sit in your car. However I don't think it's often people are hit by lightening while in their homes!
I think it was a good idea to demonstrate to your toddler you weren't afraid of the thunder.

He's not too impressed with the responses so far and wants me to post this link - metro.co.uk/2011/05/11/girl-10-survives-lightning-strike-through-double-glazed-window-7280/

It didn't enter my head at all to think something like that. We were just watching and listening.

shutthefuckup The window was open

Tell DH to go back to school.

From the link "Lightning expert Professor Martin Uman, from the University of Florida, told The Sun lightning getting through windows was ?very rare?." So an awful lot safer then than some other things she could have been standing close too.

Well that's what I thought, I said she's more likely to get hurt on the playground or travelling etc, does that mean she should never get to go to the park or get in a car??

His response: This is an avoidable risk. Car travel isn't.

Glass is an electrical insulator, to stop current passing through. The metal in the window frames however, will be a pretty good conductor. If you have metal free, wooden window frames, then she's probably a lot safer sat there than she is near any sockets or phone points, and certainly safer than being sat under a tree! Mind you, if lightning did manage to hit the window pane, anyone near it would be fucked as the glass would almost definitely explode. HTH

Car travel is also an avoidable risk. It is possible to walk everywhere instead, take forever though.

presumably she's never going to be allowed to have a bath or a swim? these are multiply more dangerous (and yes they are avoidable)

he's an overprotective twit.

I love watching a good storm. YANBU, he is being paranoid.

What does he think the outside of fuses are made of? Or the insulators on pylons?

We watched the storm standing outside our house..

Until it started bucketing down and was WAY too close for comfort!

LOVE, love love a cracking thunderstorm!

The ones in egypt are soooo huge though in comparison to the ones here, Egyptian ones rattle your fillings!

I would love to go storm chasing!

Oh and YDHIBVU...

Make her sit on a rubber placemat and she'll be fine

Seriously though, would never have occurred to me. My MIL however, covers all mirrors and sits under the table with all the electrics turned off, moaning softly when there is a thunder storm.

Hissy I would too! I remember watching that film Twister and thinking how exciting it looked and how I'd like to live there

He's not too impressed with mumsnet now I knew he was being a bit PFB.. which is quite adorable but still.. it made me feel awful, like I'd done something terrible to endanger our daughter. Hence I got rather pissed off.