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?

Nope, not easier, especially when you have a kid who basically melts in anything over 25C!

Always applying sunscreen, watching for sunburn, the inevitable faff with swimming costumes, sand, sandals on / off / on / off etc, water trails through the house

Lots of our parks don't have shade so after about 10.30am in the middle of summer its too hot to go to them until late afternoon. You're then stuck trying to find something to do in the holidays during the worst heat, along with every bugger

Yanbu but personally I also find hot days a hassle
Because our garden isn't particularly child friendly and they hate having sunscreen put on.

What I would like though is to be able to plan decent weekend days out, especially outdoorsy ones. This winter has been interminably long with no end in sight still! I remember one Easter a few years ago it hit 26 degrees in our garden.

I socialise. Takeaway coffee or one of us brings a flask. We chat while the kids play/walk. Yesterday is was cloudy and a bit cold and I sat on a bench in a play park drinking tea and chatting to a friend for ages.

I think you have to embrace the weather where you live, it was minus 15C here today, we still told the kids (3 and 4) to get dressed and go and play outside because this is where we live and they have to learn to play out in it.
They climb the snow hills, ride their bikes, splash in puddles (in the sunny patches) and generally have fun because they have learnt to play in our outdoors.
All the dark months are the hard part for us but I think next yr as they get older and I can trust them more it will be easier to let them play out in the moonlight.

We live in the UAE. It was amazing having a newborn in January a few years back and not having to faff with snowsuits etc. None of mine have worn a coat in 8 years. The downside is that for 5 months of the year its too hot to be outside!

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.

Yes, it's amazing that any Australians make it to adulthood really

Oh, and when they start school you will buy two school hats that you can only buy from the school and they will manage to lose both. Without a hat they have to play in the shade. If you send a non school hat they will not be allowed to wear it. You will remind them daily to go to lost property and find the hats. The school will then hold a swimming carnival in the hottest month of the year and they will come home burnt.

In Warner climates one often ends up trapped inside during summer because it's too hot to take little ones out during the day. you clearly haven't experienced an Australian heat wave-count yourself lucky. I would happily accept a lifetime of British winter over another hot Australian summer.

The OP asked about warmer climates, most replies seem to have jumped to the disadvanatages of 40+ degree heat.

Imo it's obvious that a bit warmer would make live easier for most people

There is such a thing as bad weather and we've had lots of it. DS2 is miserable in winter. The cold sets off his asthma and it doesn't matter how many layers he wears or how much hot chocolate he drinks. His autism symptoms are worse too. Once we get sustained sunshine he is a different child, energised and happy. And it's so much easier when the kids can get out too for a prolonged time without being ill or dragging endless mud and wet in with them. I hope we get compensation for the crap winter and spring in the form of a cracking summer.

I am so over wellies; dressing up like the Michelin man; worrying that gloves/hats/etc are going to be ripped off and lost; dealing with whinging kids because they’ve ripped off their gloves and hat and are cold; the mud. So much mud at the moment.

YANBU. My kids go out in all weathers but I’m fed up of cold damp weather.

The OP asked about warmer climates, most replies seem to have jumped to the disadvanatages of 40+ degree heat.

The OP mentioned Australia and said it looked easier.

My tips for cold/rainy weather:

• Buy comfy waterproofs for the kids - Lidl’s fleece-lined ones are great, or a brand called Playshoes does great wader-style waterproof dungarees.

• Don’t bother with snowsuits or overly-padded things - they’re a pain as you have to take them off in the car anyway and it’s hard to buckle them into buggies in them. Layer them up in thin tops (with tights under trousers if needed), then fleece-lined waterproofs on top.

• Get loads of cheap pairs of magic gloves from Yorkshire Trading or similar and keep some in the car.

• Invest in a genuinely warm and waterproof coat for you (I really rate Didriksons) as well as a leakproof thermal mug that keeps its contents properly warm - much more bearable to hang around outside with these two items!

• Get cheap fleece balaclava thingies from eBay/Amazon for the kids = hat and scarf in one.

• Keep all outdoor gear as close to the front door as possible.

To a certain extent I agree with you. We live in Brazil while they can't really go out between 11-5 so they do make a mess in the house. On the other hand they go out at 5pm and play outside with other children from the street until 9pm, which is lovely. There is a playground in the square, a stone throw from the house so they (and the dog) come home covered in sand and bring it into the house despite being reminded constantly not to or if they are in the pool they will find 101 reasons to enter the house and rummage about for a toy. Leaving puddles in their wake. So a tidy house in hot climates is an illusion. They don't have gloves etc but they lose footware and tops in the playground or at the sports club.There is a box at our sports club that's full of single flip flops, swimwear, items of clothes and toys. My youngest doesn't play outside in shoes anymore. He's lost most of them.

We only use suncream for the pool, as we don't really go out in the sun between 11-5. At school their playground is covered and PE classes start at 4pm or 6pm. Rash vests or arm coverings stop the endless top up cream all over. But the more you use cream the less of a faff it seems anyway.

Bugs don't bother me. My kids would never run in long grass or lift up objects with their hands. They are just used to being on the constant alert for snakes and scorpions but that just becomes life. When we were staying in Europe in December they were a bit fed up that they couldn't spend as much time outside, they couldn't move as well in their coats and hats. They were like two Michelin men. They were slower and used up less energy and I noticed they were more hyper in the evenings. In December it can be up to 40 degrees outside and they spend a big chunk of their afternoons inside but It's different when you know they can go out as soon as the sun starts going down and they have a whole evening ahead, rather than being indoors and knowing that's it for the day.

If we do get the cracking summer we deserve after this appalling winter, the "consequences" (great MN vocabulary) for anyone who dares moan about the heat will be unspeakable!!

I will complain about the heat. I don't complain about the winter/cold. I burn easily. Anything about 18-20 makes me feel like I am melting.

It's balance right? Imo the best days for taking kids out are beautiful spring and autumn days. This winter has been long and we've had so much snow that some days it's been too deep to take my toddler out as it was up to his waist (I am in Scotland), but, on the other hand some summer days last year it was a nightmare due to biting bugs and sunburn worries.

I know how you feel though, this Winter has been too long!

I hated hot whether when my ginger DSs were small. A good overcast summer was far preferable to daily battles over hats and suncream.

The thing is, it's not often 40 degrees in Australia. I lived in Sydney for many years (and still visit regularly), and I'd estimate that you get a 40 degree day 7 times during summer at most. 30 is much more the "average" daily temperature.

That being said, my friend and I took our children to the Sydney Royal Easter Show on Friday and it was 34 degrees. We're almost half way through Autumn. It was hideous, but Sydney Olympic Park is notorious for being hot and humid. I went to a Guns N' Roses concert there in February 2017 and it was 48 degrees at 7pm. But that was the hottest temperature I have ever experienced in Sydney.

Those hot days are prohibitive in Australia. Where we're positioned means we have to be hyper vigilant about sun protection. You don't go to the beach (if you have a brain) between 11am and 3/4pm. You have to slather your children in sunscreen, put UV tops on them, wide brim hates etc. Hats are mandatory at schools year round.

That being said, our winters are fantastic. I live in the Alpine region of NSW, and we get hot but dry summers (unlike Sydney, which is hot and humid). This means that although it's hot during the day, it's a clear heat, and it cools down at night. In winter, we get predictable snow, but rarely get rain. I think we got maybe 5 days of rain last winter. Almost every day was crystal clear, blue skies, sun, crisp cool air.

I think the rain in the UK is the prohibitive factor, not the temperatures. People get about in sub-zero temperatures perfectly fine, but when you add rain onto it, it becomes much more of a drag. I couldn't live in the UK, despite the sometimes odious summer heat here. I would miss the predictability of the weather here, and the ease with which you can live your life here.

Agree with the OP it’s much easier in warmer weather. Also people are generally happier in sunshine and blue skies. Depression is higher in countries with darker days, being stuck inside and terrible weather. Even in very hot weather it’s still nicer, and yes I’ve lived where it’s been 40C most days, and I’ve lived in -18C which is really bloody cold. The long cold winters can be harsh, and yes it’s harder with young kids in those circumstances.
Living in the UK, I actually felt sorry for families who don’t regularly experience endless blue skies and beautiful weather. It makes a huge difference to family life - why else do Brits book sunny holiday destinations?

That’s my two cents. And by the way I love the UK, so please don’t get antsy about my UK weather comments.

The realisation that proper outdoor gear is worth the investment and some has quite literally changed my life.

I don't care what I look like now, i'm warm dry and comfortable and we go out and do outdoor stuff whatever the weather. In the right clothes it's actually quite enjoyable. In full waterproofs, DC can play on all the park equipment as normal and they get to have it to themselves. In fact, with no other DC there mum can have a go too, which is brilliant fun.

I hate being cold and wet, but boy do I hate sun cream even more.

By the time it gets to the end of winter I do start whingeing about the climate but there is no way on this earth I'd live anywhere where it was 40 degrees in a regular basis.

Yes the cold and the snow is annoying but I prefer it over intense heat.

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

I’ve managed to bring up a couple of kids with little problem. They’ve only been bitten by green ants and mosquitoes so far as the chemist sells a really good crocodile/snake/shark/jellyfish/spider repellent. Really, kids are simply taught not to stick their hands into dark cavities or pick up spiders. That’s it.

I have family with DC in oz and they find the summer too hot to be practical for outdoors a lot of the time. That said we lived in a Latin American country for a few years but had a warm and lovely climate. It was bliss, yes there were a few hours during the day in late spring you didn't hang around in the sunshine outside but everywhere was set up for shade. We loved the weather and months of sunshine are a mood lifter.