To wonder why some mothers leave their baby barefoot in December?

[monkeynuts123]

I have seen this a bit lately. I understand barefoot at home but why on earth would anyone take their baby out in December barefoot? Not even socks on, bare little toes poking out the bottom of trousers. Covered with a blanket perhaps in the street but once in a playgroup baby is barefoot, or even sometimes out in the street barefoot. I'm thinking of one particular example and it's not that baby takes them off, just there are never any socks, why?!

Ok. It's nice to know you're such an excellent parent. I will hang my head in shame. Then take him barefoot to McDonalds cos he'll only eat their chicken nuggets, and he's 12 and he's still in nappies and a push chair.

Tights. Tights. Tights. Tights. Tiiiiiiiiiiights!

Oh don't be hard on yourself bears, you probably only take him to McDonalds once a week, and that'll be for breakfast

Oops. That was a x-post and a half.

Tights are good but not great once walking. Even with grippy bits he'll rearrange it so the grippy bits aren't on the bottom of his feet. Then he'll come a cropper on the laminate floor and I will get judged by some perfect parent for giving him a head injury.

No, the defrosted egg burger things are too far, even for me.

parent parent parent paarreent

Oi I'm on your side you know OP.

Well you whip the tights off when you're indoors so he doesn't slip. Then get 'em back on for going outside.

Out of interest - do you get judgey about babies not wearing gloves when out / at playgroup? If not, why are hands exempt? I could understand if we're talking about children walking outside on cold ground with nothing on their feet but with babies that's not so much an issue.

Fwiw dc2 (9 months) rarely wears socks, his snowsuit has bootees (and mittens) and he has some sleep suits with feet - but he can't crawl or cruise well when wearing them. He never wears shoes because squishing his feet isn't good. He gets dressed in appropriate layers for the weather and has a blanket over him if needed. So far none of him has frozen off .

I'm one of those weirdos who put baby grows on with clothes over the top. I abandoned socks when ds1 was tiny and have never looked back.

sock ons

tights

That's a tad impractical. So yes, I am lazy but it's enough trouble to catch DS and put coat/hat etc on him and wrestle him into pushchair, I won't be able to cope with the removal of tights and trousers as well. How old are your babies? Are they the naughty kind? Mine is.

I had DS in tights all last winter. I tried again this year, but that happens is that he screams blue murder and gets very panicky if he can't get them off when he wants to. And I mean screams continuously - not a little cry then he subsides.

Why put him through such distress? I'd judge someone far more for forcing their baby into something that causes prolonged distress rather than a few bare toes (especially when we regularly put his feet back in the foot muff - once his feet are sufficiently cold he leaves them in there).

Contrary thing that he is, he always wants his wellies on indoors - but nothing on his feet/head/hands/lower leg in the pushchair. Running around the park he always has his socks and shoes on (until he sits down suddenly to remove them).

Luckily he is fab with all kinds of food, though, so hopefully we can avoid the McDiet you envisage for him.

Tights indoors are fine. We have laminate and both of mine have coped fine. Probably improves their balance!

I find it hard to believe that a baby with unpleasantly cold feet/hands/nose/whatever will be anything other than grizzly or crying.

My DD hated socks, in summer she'd be barefoot and we would get "aww poor feet" comments. In colder weather she was in tights. If she didn't have cold feet then I don't see why it matters.

I also agree with picking my battles. I just happen to think teaching a young child to keep his/her clothes on when outside in winter is a battle worth fighting. Babies simply do not have the brain capacity to make that choice for themselves.

My childminder sent my eternally barefoot 10 month old DD2 home yesterday in socks that she had bought for her .

I may just wander over and join the Judgy Childminder thread....

Neither of mine have ever grizzled about cold. I do not have a clue why that would be, but it's true. If I'm honest, I underdressed my pfb because I was so paranoid about overheating. She never complained, but she MUST have been cold. Certainly as a nearly 4yo she feels the cold.

If my baby expresses a preference for no socks - I think my baby has enough intelligence to know that it doesn't want socks. No socks is not dangerous for walking around on many floors it's marginally safer but not such that it matters - so I'd go with its choice.

Parenting is not dictating your preferences on the child, it's helping them learn to look after themselves. Letting them have choices in safe areas like - cold feet or not...

Is it safe to allow a baby to wear no socks outside in sub zero temperatures? Or are you just talking about inside?

It's not sub zero here (was about 8 degrees today) but I do take my DD2 out in the pushchair with no socks - albeit under a sherpa fleece buggysnuggle. I think that's safe - I wouldn't do it otherwise (obviously). I wouldn't let a child walk around on the pavement barefoot, regardless of the weather.

FruitSaladIsNotPudding If it's safe to have your nose and face out In the open then yes - and rarely is it ever not in the majority of the UK and in those circumstances socks alone would be very unlikely to be enough.

Am sure babies don't realise that the sensation of having cold feet is related to lack of socks. But I do think they can feel cold = unpleasant=grizzle.

It's to do with circulation though, isn't it. You can get chilblains on hands and feet because they are extremities, I've never known anyone get a chilblain on their nose. And I think feet are worse than hands - I obviously don't wear gloves in the house, but am uncomfortable without socks.

Are feet so different from hands? My dd always rips her socksoff and as I deal with the glares from strangers I just think "I'm not wearing gloves and I wouldn't mind being barefoot so to hell with it...