Too cold for six years olds to be outside for PE for 45 minutes?

[Married2aWelshman]

I'm all for getting the kids outside, particularly mine, but it was 0 degrees in London today and my DD1 told me that they did PE outside and they were all freezing in their tracksuit bottoms and school t shirts, also allowed school cardigans but that's it. No gloves, majority of them already coughing and spluttering as is the January norm. Some of the, crying. It's not like they were playing rugby and sweating their arses off. AIBU to have a word with the teacher in the morning?

limited Are you always so rude and sarcy in your posts?

I've got eyes which show me that kids often don't feel the cold as much as adults.

Do you have evidence to show the contrary (as you're asking me to prove my point.)?

I don't have a problem with outdoor PE in cold weather (I'm Swedish, we had PE in minus 25C), but they should have been dressed properly for it!

Minus two here and yes the kids are outside running in t shirts and leggings

But, but.... their legs'll fall off if you don't immediately wrap them up in thermals and cover them in a bubble wrap blanket as well!!!

but they should have been dressed properly for it!

OK, it may just be me, but how the heck is tracksuit bottoms, tshirts, and a cardi (ie, jumper type thing) over the top not being dressed enough?!

They're covered up and running about. It's the UK and 0 degrees, not -50 in deepest Russia.
Would be interesting to know where half of those complaining reside.
My bet's on most being soft Southerners

yes, do go and in and talk to the teacher, ask him/her to make them run more so that they get warm.

The issue isn't pe kit, the issue is movement.

Uugh are people actually justifying physical harm to children under the guise of a little pain wont hurt them/its only for a little while/it was alright in my day. Thats fucking stupendous. Why cant we just have some common sense? Yes kids can exercise outside in the cold. With the right clothing on. If kids are crying because they are too cold outdoors then put some gloves/hats/extra layers on. People are fucking saditst if they would deny anyone that.

When riding I usually wear gloves all year round because your hands are still and exposed so get cold and I don't ride often enough to build callouses so my fingers get sore.

The underside of riding gloves are leather and improve grip. I don't play netball but I guess that something like that or perhaps with rubber, would enhance your grip on the ball rather than hampering it.

So I imagine some netball players wear gloves when it's cold - unless it's against the rules of the game rather than your teacher saying you're being a wuss.

steppemum, no amount of running will heat up cold hands.

limited Are you always so rude and sarcy in your posts?

Not always Polly, but sometimes I get an irresistible urge.

steppemum, no amount of running will heat up cold hands.

I run a lot, in all weathers, and my hands always warm up when I run

Its okay with proper clothing, but that sounds a bit extreme. I can remember outdoor PE in mid winter at secondary school, but not the infants- we went in the hall.

mind you, my old primary had outdoor toilets - that was cold ( and hard tissue paper)

My hands don't! Not when I'm running and sure as hell not when I'm riding. I have poor circulation in my extremities, always have had. No gloves would be miserable. No gloves was miserable.

steppemum, no amount of running will heat up cold hands.

It was freezing here yesterday, and I walked to me friend's house for excerise.
Brisk walk, enough to get pink cheeks, after 10 minutes I pulled of my gloves because my hands were hot.

I also run, not much and not fast, I never wear gloves even in cold weather, I have my hands inside my hoody sleeves for the first 5 minutes until they get warm from the running.

Used to go hill walking, always removed gloves as soon as I had warmed up.

Of course exercise warms up your hands, it warms up your whole body.

mind you, my old primary had outdoor toilets - that was cold ( and hard tissue paper)

Eesh, you've just brought back memories of the old outdoor toilet block in early primary school and the tracing paper type slidy toilet paper!

I run a lot, in all weathers, and my hands always warm up when I run

So do I. Unlike you, my hands start off at body temperature but get cold if I run into wind, which in Britain could happen in June. So I wear gloves because they enable me to carry on instead of getting gradually colder and fatigued so I am either forced to cut the session short or grimly battle on. Exercise is meant to be enjoyable, isn't it?

I'd say running is possibly the most individual of sports so I won't make you wear gloves if you don't make me take mine off.

Steppmum, you are aware that everyone is not like you, right? That people are in fact individuals and therefore have different tolerances of temperature?

In winter, for training, the UK football team wear thermal leggings and tops with long sleeves, tracksuits, hats and gloves. I think a six year-old should be afforded at least the same; especially since they are less able to regulate their body temperature than an adult and immune systems are not completely formed until 8 years old. It was minus 2 yesterday and even walking at a fair pace to the station froze me to the bone. My parents called me "mollycoddled" as I didn't have to scrape the ice off my bed covers. I thought we were supposed to be progressing in light of new research, rather than repeating mistakes because "it never did me any harm" Some of you sound like the Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen sketch.

Some of you sound like the Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen sketch.

Nowt wrong wi' being Yorkshire.

My dd yr1 started doing pe outside in October. In shorts and t-shirt. On the school uniform list it says pe kits are black shorts and a white t-shirt outdoor pe kits are black goggers or leggings black jumper or jacket. They never did pe outside in reception so never got her an outdoor pe kit nor did I at the start of yr 1, neither did any of the other parents so they took them out in shorts and t-shirts. It was cold so went out and bought her an outdoor one and she was told she can't wear it because it's not the correct pe kit! Once angain made them go out in shorts and t-shirts. I just pointend out to the teacher it does say on the school uniform list that they can. This is coming from the a school that won't let them play out without a coat in the hight of summer. Don't mind them doing outdoor pe as long as they are adequately dressed for it.

It's not mollycoddling to prevent the communication of bugs that could develop into more serious infections in children with weaker immune systems. We encourage children to wash hands to not transmit bugs; to use hand gel in hospitals; why not properly covering them in cold weather to stop bugs being passed around? Surely you are in favour of children not missing school and learning due to multiple bouts of sickness?

Official advice to mothers of newborns in Sweden was not to put them outside for their usual daily naps when the temperature was below -10C.

I think that our attitude to cold might be a cultural thing.

Chuck them outside in almost all weathers is what they do here - ice or snow or posing rain. BUT dress them properly.

Ds is a toddler and wears wool base layer and socks, warm trousers, long sleeves T shirt, wool sweater, the over that snow boots, snow overalls and a proper hat and gloves (thermal, snow proof.)
They sleep outside in insulated buggy, sheepskin bag, couple of extra wool layers and a blanket. Here it's seen as cruel to keep them indoors unless the windchill is too extreme or it's a blizzard.

But you'd be having social services on your doorstep if you sent a child out on what I used to wear for PE in the 80s!

Let them play and do much more sport than they do right now (nowhere near enough outdoor time in the uk) but just dress them correctly. No one is saying cancel PE, just be dressed right.

But they put babies outside in proper clothing...

Hardly anyone seems to be arguing against outdoor exercise as far as I can see. Some people just think children should be wearing enough clothing to exercise in comfort. Like adults do!

Goodasgoldilox - eeep!

I do think it's partly a question of what you are used to. I am sitting here in fingerless gloves indoors typing at my own desk and am still freezing, but in my youth I often camped in winter, washed my hair outside in a bucket of warm water balanced in the snow, etc etc, and thought nothing of it! I couldn't do that now.

YABU they would never go out the door between Oct and April if you were waiting on decent weather. My dds do evening football training all through the winter in very cold temperatures I wrap them up but in a few minutes they are peeling the layers off . They're rarely sick and cold weather is good for killing bugs. Shame the teacher didn't get them to wear coats until they warmed up but that would be my only issue.