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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think parenting small children is easier in warmer climates?

170 replies

tryingtobefunctional · 31/03/2018 15:59

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?

OP posts:

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 02/04/2018 11:19

But "hotter is better" isnt true after a point.

fair point, I was comparing life between here - grey, miserable, depressing and damp - and more sunny European or mild countries where you don't need air con (or just to get rid of the bugs).

Friends living in sunnier (mild) countries have a much easier and pleasant life. Friends have relocated 2 years ago in Thailand and the lifestyle is amazing compared to here for them.

TuftedLadyGrotto · 02/04/2018 12:35

In the summer here in UK I'm too hot in jeans and t-shirt, which is what I wear the rest of the year, but with more layers.

I look hideous in shorts, and find them uncomfortable. Skirts and dresses I find a faff, and also come with sweating and chafing (yes I use anti-chafing cream)

I'm also a runner and running in heat is unbearable. I did a 10k race last year when is was 27°C and I thought I was going to die. I got sunburnt despite wearing factor 50 sports suncream.

Miserable

timeisnotaline · 02/04/2018 12:41

It would be much easier back in Australia! Also compared to london flats we would live somewhere much bigger so even in the wet/ cold weather there is more room to play , hang washing etc and it isn’t so very cooped up. You can put a paddling pool in the backyard and just let them out, you would have some shade in the backyard so it’s not like they’d be in the sun all day unless you were taking them out. Lots of good things about the uk and London especially (because it’s where we live not so we know it) but it would be easier to bring up small children in oz. I like running and hate the cold and it’s much easier to go running there personally than here.

Vespertina · 02/04/2018 13:43

I've experienced life with baby & toddler both in the UK and in a tropical climate. Hot sweaty, clammy weather day in day out is just not for me and even if you have a pool and air con, to me it gets boring as hell very very quickly. Going anywhere is exhausting, carrying them is horrible and sweaty and you can't go for lovely, long relaxed walks like you can in this climate - you need to lug litres of water on top of all the other stuff you have to carry.
Give me wellies, rain suits and layers any day of the week over yucky sticky weather! A few weeks of 20 degrees or so is perfect for me too a year but I know it doesn't suit everyone.

mrsplum2015 · 02/04/2018 13:46

Timeisnotaline it's interesting as I found running way easier in uk. Have given up since moving to aus as it's too hot for me... Running in cold and rain warms you up, running in even 20.degrees warms me up too much! ....

Also surely living in London in a flat is the same as living in any city in a flat? Not what most people wirh children choose.... For the same price you could surely get a 3 bed house in commuting distance of London with more space to dry laundry and kids to play?

slippermaiden · 02/04/2018 13:53

As someone who doesn't enjoy super hot weather I disagree with you. It's a pain putting on sun cream constantly, remembering sun hats or losing sun hats. If we lived in Oz there would be the worry of spiders, snakes, jellyfish, sharks, scorpions maybe? And if we lived in tropical part crocodiles!! No give me safe old English waters and countryside. No need to hibernate when it's cold or wet, decent coat and boots etc.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 02/04/2018 14:00

I also have to disagree, living in NSW as I do now.
I'm currently sick to death of the hot weather continuing, as the humidity is also high and it means that even the slightest bit of exertion has me breaking out in a muck sweat (I sweat very easily, especially through my head, as do my boys).
We're also currently experiencing higher-than-usual levels of particularly unpleasant mosquitoes where we live, some carrying rather unpleasant diseases (Ross River disease, for one) thanks to the weather this summer. And then of course there are the snakes and spiders - but to be honest, they don't worry us too much where we are.

I'm looking forward to getting back to the UK next week, and getting togged up and going for walks and to the park and out and about. We don't mind rain and wind and snow and getting dressed up, but we do all get a bit sick of being too hot, too sweaty, having to find shade wherever we go, wearing hats and sunscreen etc. etc.

There are pros and cons to both. If our entire 3 week stay in the UK is rain-drenched, I can see the boys getting a bit ticked off with it - but then a couple of years ago we went to Tasmania for a week and it rained on and off every day there too, and even snowed! (October). We still went out and about and did everything we were going to.

So largely I would say it depends a LOT on whether you naturally prefer hotter or cooler weather - and I and my boys definitely prefer cooler!

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 02/04/2018 14:18

it has been raining so much the last few weeks, South East, that we can't go anywhere. I can walk quite well with wellies, but the mud is so deep that we have to carry our younger ones most of the way if we want to go for a walk.
Parks are mud, the woods are a mud bath, the fields are even worst. There really is nothing to do outside, unless we drive quite a way to find a beach, and it's hardly worth it being in the car for hours for a 15mn walk.

It's not a huge deal, it's just boring. I agree you can go outside with a bit of rain, but when it's more than a bit of drizzle, everybody is stuck. We are flying to a warm country for the Easter holiday in a couple of days, and I can't wait!

Allington · 02/04/2018 14:39

It sounds like the ideal place to be a parent is somewhere where the temperature range is only ever between around 15-25 degrees, I wonder if such a place exists.

Cape Town! We're in a complex of flats with 24 hours security and no through traffic - children play outside relatively unsupervised from age 5 or 6, and before that I'd simply take a camping chair and a book and maybe a glass of wine and settle down within eyesight.

It can be wet and windy in winter (not wet enough in recent years!) but never for more than a few days at a time. And even in winter DD hardly ever needs a coat, just a jumper/fleece. In summer it's shorts and a T shirt. Yes to sun cream, but DD is black (adopted) so even there I'm not too bothered in autumn/ winter/spring!

Having said that, I grew up in the SW of England, and have happy memories of being outside in all weathers. I have tried to introduce DD to the pleasures of walking in the rain when back for a visit - she sort of gets it, but it's definitely not the norm for her

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 02/04/2018 14:48

My kids love going skying, we all love the snow and it's fantastic to be a couple of hours fly away from ski resorts. Unless my office and the schools are at walking distance, I would hate to live in the mountains though!

stegosauruslady · 02/04/2018 16:09

Surely the idea would be to travel from place to place so you could keep your temperature in the early 20s?!

I agree, it is much easier to parent when you can easily spend more time outside. Its one of the reasons I love camping so much, chuck kids in field and they entertain themselves in a delightful wholesome way.

Fartootiredtobeawake · 03/04/2018 07:38

My daughter plays outdoors unless it is torrential rain! We have a largish garden and have fence off the patio, so the backdoor can be opened and she can play safely. Yesterday she had wellies, her raincoat and an umbrellla, she was happily playing out there, splashing around. When we had the snow it was hard to get her in. She loves being outside whatever the weather.
I admit I would prefer if it was warmer, but she is now old enough to play by herself so doesn’t need me to be with her. I can watch from the kitchen!
I grew up in a hot climate and we would have activities in the veranda when it was too hot to be in direct sunshine but sometimes it was far too hot to be outdoors!

mrsnec · 03/04/2018 08:00

I am in a med resort with 2 toddlers. I absolutely love our house at this time of year. We have a 500 sqm plot. Large covered area outside with a tv and lounge area and all of the dc's toys. Temperatures in the 20's. At the moment we are in the garden most days 9am until 6pm.

When it gets too hot I will have to bring them inside with the aircon on. But I only needed to do that for an hour or two a day for 6 weeks last year.

Winter was a nightmare though when it was wet and cold and because it's harder to keep the house warm than it is in the UK we have mould and damp and dd was constantly bringing bugs back from nursery so we were all ill for about 3 months. Winter is grim.

banannabreadforme · 03/04/2018 08:06

We have lived in Dubai and in summer the heat can go over 50 degrees. You can't go outside, the temperature is unbearable. In winter the temp is lovely. But 6 months of the year you can't go outside

BanyanTree · 03/04/2018 09:10

Yes I do. I used to live somewhere very hot. Everywhere we lived there was a pool and a playground in the grounds of the apartments. There were lots of beaches and outdoor activities. It seemed a travesty to stay in. The mums would just text to meet up somewhere and it was no hassle for anyone to have a good time. We also didn't have to pay to get in everywhere. We didn't spend fortunes on 4 seasons of clothes. It was shorts, T shirts and flip flips all round.

Redpony1 · 03/04/2018 10:35

*In the summer here in UK I'm too hot in jeans and t-shirt, which is what I wear the rest of the year, but with more layers.

I look hideous in shorts, and find them uncomfortable. Skirts and dresses I find a faff, and also come with sweating and chafing (yes I use anti-chafing cream)

I'm also a runner and running in heat is unbearable. I did a 10k race last year when is was 27°C and I thought I was going to die. I got sunburnt despite wearing factor 50 sports suncream.

Miserable*

You sound like me!!

I'm a horse rider & runner, i can't function over 20degrees

There's been almost a complete divide on my FB this weekend. My horsey friends have whacked on the water proofs and spent all of the wet weekend outside with their children, playing in puddles with dogs, horses, or just on family walks.
The non-dog/horsey people seem to have spent the wet weekend indoors 'wishing it wasn't raining'

It's th UK, it rains. A lot. Children don't melt in the rain!!

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 03/04/2018 13:58

Children don't melt in the rain!!
children don't melt when it's only 25 to 30 outside either. Its not about melting, it's being stuck in the mud, and miserable when none of us like the rain. If I have mud nearly up to my knees in the wood, my little ones would lose their wellies in it, they are tiny. Even my dogs are not that keen, and they stink when they are wet.

We are flying to the beach tomorrow to catch up on sun for a couple of weeks and vitamin D, I can't wait. Of course we do need water, but our bodies don't need rain, however they really need sun to function.

It's frightening that doctors see an increase in rickets in the UK.

sofato5miles · 03/04/2018 14:27

I left the UK because of the winter light and weather. When I go back in the summer, I am in jeans, boot and a jacket at 20C.

We are currently in the Middle East and the sun shining outside, while we have the ac on is a joy. So much nicer than stuck inside warm, while it's dark and cold outside at 4pm.

We have raised three children around the world and I have found doing it in heat much, much easier.

rainbowfudgee · 03/04/2018 14:43

My kids are fine in the cold and wet. They are always dressed appropriately and don't complain. I hate being cold and wet though and even dressed in loads of layers and waterproofs I always feel cold. Warm (not hot) weather is much nicer. I slow have low vitamin D levels and take supplements

TuftedLadyGrotto · 03/04/2018 14:46

My ginger, pale skinned children are definitely at risk in 25-30. And like me one of them feels too hot. They aren't at any risk today with some cloud, a bit of rain and some mud.

For a few months they are at significant risk in the sun. Especially as their school refuses to help them put suncream on and has hardly any shade.

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