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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To keep the kids off school due to the heat? I'm in Oz.

120 replies

user1477282676 · 08/02/2017 07:44

I'm British, this is all new to me. Other parents don't seem to keep theirs off....well not in our school! Some schools close when it gets over 38 but it was 41(105!) today and I swear to God I almost passed out walking home.

I don't drive...can't drive...so we walk to and from school. it's fine in the morning but 3.00pm is the hottest part of the day and it's a mile long walk on unshaded streets.

I felt a fool today. There was no traffic at all...nobody on foot...everyone drives in air condtiioned cars and there was no sign of anyone.

I've nobody to ask for a lift...my DH is working away till Friday or he would have finished work early.

I know I can't do that walk again. I couldn't breath and towards the end, a woman came out of her house and asked me if I had far to go and was I ok...SO kind of her.

DD was hot but not that bothered by it...she's tougher than me obviously! I did drink a lot and we had hats.

OP posts:

ThomasRichard · 08/02/2017 07:45

Do you have bikes, or could you call a taxi?

Duckstar · 08/02/2017 07:45

Could you get a cab there and back?

Skinnydecafflatte · 08/02/2017 07:46

Could you take an umbrella as a sunshades? Not ideal but it'll help.

MrsMoastyToasty · 08/02/2017 07:53

Time to learn to drive perhaps?

LemonyFresh · 08/02/2017 07:53

Large umbrella or taxi

stolemyusername · 08/02/2017 07:55

Carry an umbrella for shade and take water with you, wear a hat also.

It's warm at the moment but it's going to be worse here over the weekend - but come winter we'll be wishing it was still summer 😉

mmgirish · 08/02/2017 07:56

A bicycle is a great idea. I live in SE Asia and I cycle to work here and it's a really quick way to travel.

We had sports day today in 35 degree heat. We were all outside for 3 and a half hours. It was so hot! (I used an umbrella whilst manning the high jump)

ZeroDarkHurty · 08/02/2017 07:58

I'm in Australia and know how you feel (although fortunately am able to drive). I think the school would be unimpressed if you kept your dc off so I'd agree with getting an umbrella, a big bottle of ice-filled water, and perhaps uber there to save your energy on the super hot days for the walk home.

LunaMay · 08/02/2017 07:59

I'd keep them off if you have to walk in it, 43 here today and expecting 44 tomorrow, lots of people already on facebook saying theyre not sending kids in. Keep cool and relax in front of the air con with a movie...thats my plan for work!

Tranquiltess · 08/02/2017 08:02

Do you have the humidity too? It's a killer, I agree. Ours don't close at 41deg, don't know what the cut-off is. Umbrella and ice cold water with ice blocks in a little cool bag. Have been known to walk along with the cool block on my face much to the kids amusement....

Socksey · 08/02/2017 08:04

I used to live in 40 heat in SubSarharan Africa (came from Scotland) .... no air-con etc.... umbrella and water.... you'll get used to it.... give yourself a little longer so you can stroll in.... the kids will acclimatise faster than you....
One tip I had when I first moved over was to use an oral rehydration solution once or twice a week.... it really helped...

MissDallas · 08/02/2017 08:04

Only 41 degrees? It gets to over 50 here in Doha .

Seriously though, you need to learn to drive and in the meantime I probably wouldn't send my kids to school if it gets much hotter. It is frightening how quickly a short stroll can turn into a survival situation.

Socksey · 08/02/2017 08:05

BTW.... freeze your water bottles so they defrost to give you icy water ( as long as you have electric.... but that's another story.... lol)

Tranquiltess · 08/02/2017 08:05

Oh yeah, hope you've discovered hydrolyte... Comes as ice pops (or ice poles!) too!!

murphys · 08/02/2017 08:07

Also live in a hot country, and no we wouldn't keep dc off school because of the heat. They do cancel sports when it gets above 36+

Umbrella when walking is quite the norm here, lots of water. I would also consider getting a taxi as it is quite a walk I agree.

Iwasjustabouttosaythat · 08/02/2017 08:14

Yeah you need to sort something out. If it's a once off because DP isn't there then I would keep her home tomorrow. Unless you can just get a taxi? The heat is a fact of Australian life though (and it's getting worse) so you need to find a solution long term.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 08/02/2017 08:16

Book a lesson today! Is it all automatic I'm Australia? If it is you'll pass really quickly,if not then just do automatic anyway.

Sounds horrendous and my worst nightmare,I'm a person who loves winter!

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 08/02/2017 08:17

Bikes sound a great idea- make sure you wear a wide brimmed hat.

GwendolynMary · 08/02/2017 08:20

No school bus? Or regular bus route? That's how we manage torrential rain and scorching 41 days school runs when the car isn't available.

Schools in Australia don't really send kids home unless you are out west of West. Even then, it's got to be 45+ with broken air conditioning kinda conditions.

IAmNotAWitch · 08/02/2017 08:24

Get a big black umbrella.

That's what I use for the school run in summer.

Has been quite strong this year, but you will get used to it.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 08/02/2017 08:28

Black umbrella, Wouldn't that absorb the heat?

Tumilnaughts · 08/02/2017 08:30

I grew up on the edge of the Mojave desert in California and it would get up to 46 degrees sometimes and we NEVER were taken out of school, even in black/brown outs when the power would go off and no air con, we would still have to be in the classroom.
Just drink a lot of water- like more than you think is possible. Freezing bottles and letting them defrost throughout the day is a great way to keep hydrated and was a saving grace for much of my childhood. Especially when I was one of about three kids that had to walk to and from school every day.

Aussiemum78 · 08/02/2017 08:32

Is your child eligible for a bus pass?

GrassWillBeGreener · 08/02/2017 08:47

When my mother first went to Australia she got a teaching job in Elizabeth, which was then a very new town north of Adelaide - the school reflected it, newly planted saplings so no shade, prefab classrooms and I'm not sure if they even had fans. Apparently the rule then was that the school shut if the temperature reached 40 by midday - but usually what happened was it reached 40 a little later than that and kept on rising ...

Is there any school bus available? How old are your children? I seem to remember that you should have a bus or at least a bus pass if more than a certain distance from school, and it is less for kindergarten children - do you live just under the cutoff, or have you not felt that there was a suitable bus? Hot weather that might be the best option depending on where any bus stops.

Agree with all the advice above re iced water and umbrellas and so on. If you get to the school early is there anywhere you can wait and cool down before the walk home?

murphys · 08/02/2017 08:49

Get a big black umbrella.

Why black?

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