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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Kids not wrapped up in this cold weather!

206 replies

bluesteakandcheese · 14/12/2019 15:06

I know it is nothing to do with me how others see fit to dress their children. But it really gets to me when I'm walking round town and see young kids and babies with no gloves or hat on.
Why do parents not think it is appropriate to wrap their children up against the cold? I just don't understand it!

OP posts:
NemophilistRebel · 14/12/2019 16:14

It’s 6 degrees across most of the country, not really hat and glove weather yet

littleducks · 14/12/2019 16:15

Hats and gloves? Don't think it's really that cold yet. I assume if they were really cold they'd be shivering/whinging/crying.

Babybel90 · 14/12/2019 16:15

My 2 year old hates wearing anything more than a t-shirt, if I put a hat, coat and gloves on her she’d take them off, I just end up carrying them and periodically saying in a loud voice “are you sure you don’t want your coat on?” so people won’t think I’m a bad parent. She’s always very warm when I feel her back/chest and MIL is also a very warm person who I’ve seen go out in the snow in flop flops and not feel too cold so maybe it runs in the family. We’re all different aren’t we?

Elbeagle · 14/12/2019 16:16

Even pre verbal children have a really useful and effective way of expressing discomfort. It’s called crying. If they’re not crying, they’re probably not uncomfortable.

ChristmasSpiritsOnThRocksPleas · 14/12/2019 16:17

I don’t think it’s cold enough to necessitate a hat. My kids are wearing them though but purely out of preference.

Babyg1995 · 14/12/2019 16:18

My son has always refused a hat and gloves takes them off constantly but if it's a mother or father all wrapped up and the child's in paper thin coats ect that boils my blood .

Mumtotwo82 · 14/12/2019 16:18

My boys constantly refuse hats gloves scarves. If you make them wear them they take them off 10 mins later again and again. I give up eventually. No matter what type I get them everything is hot and scratchy. Some kids just don't feel the cold as much. Please don't judge parents

NotTheOriginalGreen · 14/12/2019 16:19

My DS has severe ASD. Hats, gloves etc are extremely distressing for him. I put a hat on him, he throws it off, I put it on again, he has an enormous meltdown. Sometimes I just need to get him to school, or wherever, and causing a meltdown like that will only ensure that we’re stuck in the cold for an hour unable to move until he calms down. People always say ‘well obviously that’s different’ but the fact is you simply don’t know what is going on with any child you pass on the street. It’s better to give the benefit of the doubt rather than jump to a snap judgement of the parent.

Namechangeymcnamechange11 · 14/12/2019 16:20

My DS won't keep a hat and gloves on. They're thrown off and I'm not replace them on a daily basis.
Anyone judging can Foxtrot Oscar.
Rest assured he will be in a warm coat, vest under his t shirt and warm trousers and a cardigan or jumper.
He wakes up sweaty from any nap or bedtime sleep in a not overly heated house. He certainly doesn't feel the cold.

FudgeBrownie2019 · 14/12/2019 16:23

DS1 is 14 and is one of those people who never feels the cold; he's still in shorts and t-shirts when he's not at school despite it being 3 degrees this morning. He's been like it since he was born.

Before having the DC I'd probably have thought "poor thing must be cold" seeing a little one without hat and gloves. 14 years on and I think parents have their own battles to fight.

Absoluteunit · 14/12/2019 16:29

DD is autistic and hates wearing a coat. She feels temperature differently to other people. My friend's little boy is also on the spectrum and wears shorts all year around - it's the only way she can get him out the house.

Please don't judge - you don't know what these families have been through that day just to get their children out of the house.

caoraich · 14/12/2019 16:30

Another glove chucker awayer here too.

Also car seat advice in the UK is now much more clear about not wearing thick clothing in car seats. So if we're e.g. going shopping in a shopping centre my baby won't be in a coat. She is under a blanket in the car then put into a pram under a fleece thing while we're in the shop so is barely outdoors without a coat for any time. I've definitely noticed some judgey looks from older people though.

Vulpine · 14/12/2019 16:32

Its the grownups who shock me more. I saw a women in sandals today and a man in shorts

Shoppingwithmother · 14/12/2019 16:32

What do you think will happen to these children? It’s not that cold - they won’t get hypothermia or frostbite.

People are very different in how cold they feel and that includes children. I hated wearing coats as a child and I still do now - I just never feel that cold and very often feel too hot.

kateandme · 14/12/2019 16:36

i also think sometimes the cold is in our minds.the fear,hate thought of it makes us colder.that why some people in colder climates can get used to it.but most kids dont have this,so just dont care and go out have fun!not always but sometimes
plus god do they like to refuse to get dressed so adding hats and gloves to that.ha ur avin a laaaf.
seeing some of the girls skirts(belts) round here i do wonder how the hell they arent freeing though.and this is teenagers.

InsertFunnyUsername · 14/12/2019 16:36

Hey dont judge me, judge my 20mo DD. Shes the one chucking them!

My only battle is gloves. She will wear a hat or her hood up. Will keep a blanket over her, but will bite, pull at her gloves until they are off. I just make sure her coat is pulled over her hands as much as it can and her blanket is high up. Check the underneath of the shitty parents buggy next time, bet you'll find all the appropriate winter wear Smile

InsertFunnyUsername · 14/12/2019 16:38

You will also find DDs dad next to her in shorts and a t shirt. He is a 33 year old jacket refuser who works outside!

feelingverylazytoday · 14/12/2019 16:39

It's 8° here, not that much colder than it was in late summer really. Not really wrapping up weather yet, apart from little babies.

megletthesecond · 14/12/2019 16:41

It's not that cold if they're moving around. What can you do, duck tape it to them?

My dd only wears gloves and hats if it's snowy.

Tiredmum1511 · 14/12/2019 16:41

I'm usually thankful if my DD at least has a jumper on. Often even keeping clothes on is a struggle. Coats and hats are a bonus

ElfAndSafeKey · 14/12/2019 16:44

Sometimes its not worth the fuss and you have to wait until they say they are cold to put them on.

FastAway · 14/12/2019 16:45

I’ve come to the conclusion children don’t really get cold. My two hate gloves hats and scarfs although I do insist sometimes. Warm coats and a vest under their tops are the test I can do.

Tumbleweed101 · 14/12/2019 16:45

My son would boil when he was a baby (still does as an adult) but my daughter needed the extra layers. I’d imagine most parents know their child best to judge if hats etc are necessary. Depends how long they are outside too, going from car to shop etc and they are likely fine. Going for a long coastal winter walk, perhaps not so much.

FastAway · 14/12/2019 16:49

A friends little boy is very disabled, and part of that is that he can not regulate his own temperature and can become dangerously hot. The looks she gets wheeling round a boy in a wheelchair on oxygen dressed in shorts and vest in this weather....

81Byerley · 14/12/2019 16:50

@Elbeagle On really cold days I used to use a pair of ladies knitted mittens and put them on the baby right up to their armpits, then put a cardigan or jumper over the top, followed by their coat. Looked just like baby mitts and the baby couldn't get them off!