to think parenting small children is easier in warmer climates?

[tryingtobefunctional]

I have 2DC pre-school age and we've been stuck indoors for months/weeks due to snow and rain showers. I am constantly clearing up toys, food, drink, wiping stains and general mess and always looking for socks, shoes, coats, scarves hats, and trying to catch each DC and dress them appropriately each day.

I remember what it was like for those couple of months last summer when I could put a little dress on DD and just a nappy and a vest on DS , put suncream on them, and go and sit outside in the garden or in the park or the playground and just let them play. You can't make a mess out of grass, or playground equipment which is nailed to the floor.

I have friends on Facebook in australia with similar age kids and every day they're at the beach. It just looks like it's easier.

AIBU/delusional?

I think I just want seasons back! As a child I remember there being 4 distinct seasons and there was something nice about each one, which I would love to explore with my own kids. Now it just feels as if it's grey and raining from September to march, with some bit of sun crammed into the remaining months!

This depends. When i was younger, we spent all day outside. You went in to get things like water and food. All the compounds had trees with seats and that's where most people spent their time or on the veranda. There was little supervision because everyone is where you can see them. There was no rules on getting dirty. You just played because that's what kids do.
Loved rainy season because the rain during the day is warm and you were allowed to run and play in it. As long as it was not your best clothes and the temperatures didn't drop.
The only down side is your were prone to getting malaria but every child has had it few times and it's down to the weather and mosquitos.
No fears of snakes. They rarely came where people lived.
One thing we had to avoid was Rocky places at midday because for some reason all snakes will be out having a sub bath. You don't disturb them and they stay out of your way.
Hot weather is better, Even more so if you don't need sun creme. You get up in the morning, get dressed and get on with your day.
It was always cooler outside. The doors always open. You knew somebody was not home when the door is closed. My little cousins still do the same as I did.

I agree it’s easier in warmer (but not scorching!) climes. But I disagree that wetter, snowier days mean been being inside. I was outside all the time with mine rain, snow or sunshine. They loved charging about in the rain and jumping in puddles. It is easier to do it when it’s sunny, but bad weather doesn’t mean you have to stay inside and if you get into the habit, the faff factor goes down significantly.

No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. I spent all my time as a child outdoors at the stables, shovelling muck in my wellies and wax coat. I loved it, I love being outside, rain, snow, mud, wind. I can think of nothing worse than living in warmer climates and having to smother in greasey SPF every time I left the house.

Afternoons at school where not great because you had to stay in doors. Everyone after lunch (lunch was at 1pm to 2pm) felt lethargic. Try teaching children who are half asleep. The days seem longer too. 6am most people are up because the sun is out.
The eating times can be very regimented for some reason in accordance with the daytime weather.

Mm summer not so much fun when DC allergic to suncream

I agree with Plums. My DDs (pre-schooler and Y1) did an Easter Egg hunt yesterday in pouring raining wearing warm coats, waterproof trousers and wellies.

Come July, DD2 will be wilting and moaning about the heat.

In the summer the time I save by not putting on coats is used up by applying suncream.

We’re a winter family.

YANBU.

Snow boots, salopettes, scarf, hat, gloves, boots X 2 then it's minus fucking twenty anyway outside makes for a fun hour (only 15 minutes of which is spent outdoors)

@codswallopandbalderdash, derailing, but have you tried the Child’s Farm one? It’s pricey but you need very little. It’s the only one that doesn’t irritate DD1

Its easier with lots of safe outdoor space, and with a temperate climate IMO.

I've always been deeply aware of how much easier it is to parent my kids because they can be outdoors so much with minimal supervision (line of sight, not helicoptering, when small, and simple rules and occasional glances out of the window less once over 6 or so). We live in a small village, 3 miles from the next small village, with tons of open space, right next to the village playground, a little football field and a copse of about 30 trees, there is a bigger communal green about 15 meters down the road. There are well maintained cycle paths separated from the road by a few meters of grass verge right the way to the next village. All the kids play out. On a Sunday an hour can pass without a single car moving, and on busier days visibility is good, few people park on the road.

It would be much harder in a high crime or high traffic area or somewhere without open space obviously.

Its bloody freezing here in winter though, I suspect the only comparable part of the UK is northern Scotland, maybe. We get weeks in a row where temperatures don't go above minus 10 at any time of day in winter. Summers are warmer and more reliable here though. We're in Southern Germany.

YABVVVVVU. Toddlers. Sunscreen. I rest my case.

I don't understand this idea of being inside for months on end. As above get decent outdoor clothing and go out. We've been out today in cold and rain (dcs are 5 and 8), we went our all day yesterday. We'll go out every day even in snow, rain etc. It has to be pretty torrential to stop us.

It's the attitude that stops you. I don't take much in the way of spare clothes. Surely with waterproof trousers and wellies it doesn't matter how deep a toddler goes sin a puddle.

Yes, but then you have mosquitoes that sometimes carry diseases like dengue, west Nile virus, chicken Gunia etc. I grew up in Florida, and have plenty of friends in the Caribbean. I've also worked for over a decade in Asia. The sun is too hot to be out at certain times of the day, even with sunscreen on you can still be burned. Lots of people stay inside where there's air-conditioning or a fan.

YABU

those Aussie kids sat in the garden or playing on the beach are in danger of being eaten, bitten, stung by many of the world most dangerous snakes, spiders, jellyfish, crocodiles, sharks etc.

No thanks

Yabu. As pps have said it is so hard in Australia through the really hot months. Just as hard as the freezing months in UK really...
And going to the beach with little kids is OK in moderately warm weather but on a 40 degree day it's impossible to keep them cool enough or protected from the sun. Even getting onto the beach is a pain with carrying them across hot sand and also carrying drinks snacks sunscreen toys shade......

Moved from London to rural Sweden three years ago. It started snowing mid November and we have not seen the ground since. I wave my age 9 kids off at -25 to catch the bus to school. They are expected to play outside during breaks up to -20. Even last night was -17 but only -7 this afternoon so they were out skiing.

Wrap the kids up. Warmt and waterproofs and send them out. They will be fine.

Depending on where you live though there is not a permanent risk of death from wildlife! Drowning is a real risk though. Far less relaxing socialising with young children around a pool beach or river than in someones child friendly house or garden!... And obvs skin cancer more likely..

I would rather be somewhere that a decent waterproof and enough layers mean you can get out, than somewhere (like I live now) where Air conditioning is the only way to live, and you plan trips by where the a.c. is.
It's March. It's well over 30C. By the end of April, outside play at school will stop, as it's over 38C in the shade. Will start again in October.
Too cold? too wet? you can do dressing for.
Too hot you need to stay indoors after about 8am, and even that involves hats, long sleeves, trousers and sunscreen.

I'll have a middle East winter, and English summer tho - with some extra rain!

Depends what you mean by 'warmer climes.' We're in Dubai and it hit 42 degrees today. We went out for breakfast and DS (2) played in the playground but by 10am we were back home indoors with the patio doors locked to stop him getting out into the garden. He refuses to keep a sun hat on and even smothered in Factor 50 I don't want him outside in this heat. It will only get worse over the next few months so our summer will be spent in expensive, germ ridden soft play areas.

YABU every climate has its difficulties.

I live in Texas and it’s already high twenties here and it’s only March.

The grass here isn’t soft like U.K. grass so it’s not so nice to crawl on and you have to watch for spiders, mosquitoes and snakes all of which can do serious, life threatening harm to little ones.

People go walks with their babies before 7am because it’s too hot after that and keeping them cool outside is difficult.

Lots of back gardens and parks have pools in them so that danger has to be monitored too.

And of course reapplying sunscreen all day on hot grumpy children isn’t always that easy.

With hot weather comes (really really loud) thunder and lightening which wakes everyone up.

Of course there are advantages to the weather too, just as there are in cold climates.

Well I agree with you OP but that's because I'm raising my kids in the Caribbean - its 82oF, balmy and we just put our flip flops on and head to the beach, movies, pool, or wherever. We have snakes, scorpions and centipedes but nothing deadly. No masses of bees or wasps.

Much easier than bundling them into coats, layers, gloves etc etc.

That being said, as much as it's wonderful raising them here, this is a tiny island and in the next few years they're going to be bored shitless during the long, hot summers so we'll probably have to fly them back to the UK to stay with family and do cultural things like museums etc.

DH is back in Scotland with DS1 (6 years old) at the moment and they went to some dinosaur day out exhibit in Edinburgh - DH said it's was freezing cold and pissing with rain. DS1 enjoyed it but was absolutely frozen.

So I get where you're coming from. The main annoyance we have here is putting sunscreen on the kids all the time and sand in the car...

YANBU. My DSes are both better behaved when they can run around outside with impunity! This is somewhat hampered by our shitty climate...

I completely agree with you. It's been a long, horrible winter. It is so difficult thinking of things to do when the weather is bad. It feels even worse because we had a fairly crappy August...it was lovely and hot in May/June when my DC were at school and soon as the holidays started, it was rubbish. So much easier and cheaper to sit in the park with a picnic, give the kids a ball and let them run round.

I'd agree, although you should experience the fun of having an overheated baby in a sling on a 40C day, and pouring bottled water on their head to prevent heat stroke.

yanbu....my kids were born in Singapore, we had easy access to a swimming pool, parks etc and could just put sandals, hat, sunscreen on and be done.