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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Bad weather only really matters when you have children

232 replies

Welcometotheterrorzone · 21/08/2021 21:07

This might be a bit of a 'well duh' thread but...
Since when did so much of my happiness depend on the weather?
Child free friends still seem to have amazing weekends and holidays despite it pissing down all week. 'Let's just go to the pub or musuem or stay in and watch interesting box sets' all of which are denied to parents of small children.
Now my life seems to revolve around 'please don't rain' 'did I just feel a spot' and 'we've paid £1,700 for this cottage and we are going to the beach, kids, get your waterproof trousers on!'
I mean, I chose this life, but I never expected to have to spend half my life in a car 'waiting for it to ease up a little?'

OP posts:
tempester28 · 21/08/2021 22:59

Yep! you will feel a lot with young kids including the weather

CaptainThe95thRifles · 21/08/2021 23:00

Ah yes, of course parents are much more affected by the weather than - for example - farmers desperately trying to harvest in this bloody weather Grin

I mean, god knows it's shit if you need to be out in it for any reason, but it's about a thousand times worse if your actual livelihood depends on it.

Oatsamazing · 21/08/2021 23:01

I would say working outdoors in the rain is more miserable than than being stuck indoors with the kids

Plumtree391 · 21/08/2021 23:02

The weather is going to be nice and sunny from Monday onwards.

Theunamedcat · 21/08/2021 23:03

@thriftyhen

No! Bad weather only really matters when you have dogs and horses!
Agree with this nothing compares to the stench of wet dog and as soon as you get in the house the damm thing shakes spraying everything in sight

Puddlesuits are easier

Original poster
Welcometotheterrorzone · 21/08/2021 23:03

@PixieLaLa are we not allowed to moan now? I love parenting, I don't love standing in a park in the rain for three hours a day during my four weeks of annual leave. Everyone has aspects of their life they moan about, I'm sure even you.

OP posts:
PixieLaLa · 21/08/2021 23:08

It’s the fact that you think you are more entitled to better weather simply because you have children that I thought was ridiculous.

Fairunibutterfly · 21/08/2021 23:09

Stte. I’m not so sure. A few years ago we went on holiday to South Wales. Dd1 about 3, dd2 was just over 1. It was the wettest 2wks ever. We brought waterproofs, a big pack of playdoh and colouring books.

We went out when it drizzled for walks in the woods and some indoors things. When it poured it down we made play doh food and played restaurants, coloured and read. We went outside our lodge for a quick walk whenever there was a break in the weather. We ended up having a really good holiday.

We went to north Wales a couple of years ago, again with waterproofs and made the most of it despite a mix of weather.

I get it’s more challenging in Covid times but unfortunately Britain is known for its rain so we have to get on with it.

Summerfun54321 · 21/08/2021 23:09

Young kids are crazy little creatures and trying to get them to do anything feels like herding cats. I expect the suggestions on this thread for walking, crafting and playing board games are for children old enough to have the ability to control their hands, their speech and their emotions 😂

DynamoKev · 21/08/2021 23:11

People who moan about the weather will always find a reason to moan about the weather.

Original poster
Welcometotheterrorzone · 21/08/2021 23:11

@PixieLaLa where did I say that? I simply said that it's harder to fill the time?

OP posts:
DynamoKev · 21/08/2021 23:12

@Summerfun54321

Young kids are crazy little creatures and trying to get them to do anything feels like herding cats. I expect the suggestions on this thread for walking, crafting and playing board games are for children old enough to have the ability to control their hands, their speech and their emotions 😂
In that case why would “good” weather make any difference?
PixieLaLa · 21/08/2021 23:13

Bad weather only really matters when you have children

Erm the title of your thread 😂😂😂

DynamoKev · 21/08/2021 23:13

@CaptainThe95thRifles

Ah yes, of course parents are much more affected by the weather than - for example - farmers desperately trying to harvest in this bloody weather Grin

I mean, god knows it's shit if you need to be out in it for any reason, but it's about a thousand times worse if your actual livelihood depends on it.

But it’s not shit being out in a bit of summer rain.
RobinPenguins · 21/08/2021 23:14

We’ve had a long and trying day in the tanking rain in a holiday cottage at the coast with a 3 year old. We did go out to the playground in the morning and later out for tea but there were still a lot of hours to fill. Toddler board games can only be made to last so long. Today it would have been a lot easier to have been at home.

In the old days I’d have loved it. Snuggled up inside listening to the rain on the roof, probably drinking a bottle of red wine between us in the middle of the day and finding some films to watch that we’ve seen a hundred times before.

One thing that’s better now is that anything other than pissing rain is brilliant. I no longer give a shit about drizzle, cloud, wind, snow whatever.

megletthesecond · 21/08/2021 23:15

Gosh yes. Pre-kids I'd have my jacket and umbrella and go.
Even with teens bad weather is a pain, and we're mountain warehouse family.

CaptainThe95thRifles · 21/08/2021 23:21

But it’s not shit being out in a bit of summer rain.

Depends - we've had a fair amount of torrential rain and flash flooding lately. It's indisputably shit - I work outdoors (horses) so I am appropriately attired, but even so, it's grim to be stuck out in it. A bit of rain is fine, endless drizzle is fine, but hammering, flooding downpours are not.

EffYouSeeKaye · 21/08/2021 23:23

[quote TrainspottingWelsh]@EffYouSeeKaye no, parents have had their own life experience, they haven't had everybody else's life experiences. If you struggle with something as a parent when you didn't pre dc, it doesn't automatically mean it is harder for parents in general than someone without dc.
Horses are genuinely harder work in the rain than in dry weather, but I think we'd all agree that anyone stating 'bad weather is harder for horse owners than the unhorsey' would live in an extremely sheltered bubble. We wouldn't defend it by suggesting horse owners have a wider life experience than none horse owners so are entitled to decide everyone else has it easier.[/quote]
@TrainspottingWelsh Confused That’s exactly what I’ve tried to say. Twice. When a parent says their life is harder in some way since they had children, they are likely just making a comment about their own life. Not making generalisations, not commenting on behalf of all parents, just talking about themselves.

It often gets implied (as it has done here tonight) that they are making some competitive sweeping statement that then offends people without children. I just don’t think it’s meant like that and isn’t worth getting cross about, that’s all.

I’ve gone a bit off-topic from the op anyway, don’t want to derail. I was just picking up on a reply from another poster about ‘parents who say their lives are soooo much harder than everyone else’s’ because you hear that a lot, when I don’t think they are doing that at all most of the time. They are just talking about their own life.

m0therofdragons · 21/08/2021 23:25

We just wear rain coats and wellies - we have an active dog so we’re used to it although dd2 isn’t overly keen once she’s out she’s fine and happy splashing around.

Original poster
Welcometotheterrorzone · 21/08/2021 23:27

@EffYouSeeKaye exactly. No parent is saying my life is more difficult than yours because I chose to have children. It's a reflection that some things are easier now and some things are harder. Holidays I would put in the harder column, personally!

OP posts:
FrangipaniBlue · 21/08/2021 23:27

@BuffySummersReportingforSanity

Can't you go to the pub for a meal, the museum for a day or have a movie film day with small children?!

Museum, yes, but as to the others, have you ever actually tried it?!

Small children go feral if not exercised outdoors. No you can't just "stay in and have a movie day". They're screaming and literally ricocheting off the walls.

I must've gotten a broken one then because we did all of this and no, he wasn't ricocheting off the walls.

We also just cracked on and still did outdoor activities in the wet.

Cherrysoup · 21/08/2021 23:27

Or dogs or horses. The rain is a major pita.

Bobmonkfish · 21/08/2021 23:27

There's rain and there's rain. We had week in rural northern France of torrential, and I mean torrential rain once. It was utterly miserable.

Yourstupidityexhaustsme · 21/08/2021 23:31

What are you doing in the sunshine that keeps them occupied for the full day?! Parenting young kids in any weather in monotonous.

As for rain only affecting parents? 🙄 it affects people of all walks of life, not just young children.

Upwherethebirdsfly · 21/08/2021 23:35

Hahaha whoever put ‘you’re only limited by your imagination’ has absolutely not met my 18 month old. My first could be taken anywhere and was a delight. My second is a screaming ball of frustration who can’t be taken anywhere inside and has zero regard for jigsaws, board games - even building stuff only lasts a few mins before he destroys it. I feel you, bad weather and small children are not a good mix at all.