To not buy a second car we can't afford just to do 0.7 mile school run!

[Acunningruse]

Our second car broke during the first lockdown and we haven't replaced it as DH and I now both do 3days wfh/2 days in office. This means that the parent wfh that day walks the children (9 and 5) to school. We live 0.7 mile away from school and to be honest it's been absolutely lovely over the spring and summer months, having time together on a morning and not fighting for a parking space. However...
This morning was absolutely biblical rain, just torrential. I wrapped kids up as best as I could in waterproof coats, wellies and took ab umbrella (utterly useless in wind!) but we still got soaked. Dd (5) thought splashing in puddles was hilarious but DS (9) was increasingly grumpy, muttering about how 'no-one else' walks (this unfortunately is almost true, 99% families drive) abs then got very upset that his trousers were soaked so now of course I feel horrendously guilty. Not to mention all the playground comments this morning of 'oh goodness, you walked in THIS! You must be soaked!' No shit Sherlock but it's a bit of water I'm not sending them down the mine ffs!!!

AIBU- no, buy another car at once, walking every day will be awful in winter
IANBU- no, buy the kids some waterproofs (where to change them though? School not really set up for it as above no-one else walks far) and tell them when I was a girl I walked to school in rain hail or snow, uphill both ways...

@Suitcaseseverywhere

I’m rural (no school that close though!) and I wouldn’t be sure a taxi would turn up either coz they’re booked up on contracts to take kids to school. Plus we don’t have a taxi firm in the village so if one came it would be v expensive.

Using a taxi a few days a year would still be a hell of a lot cheaper than a car

Of course it's OK. How do you think people who don't drive at all manage? Sadly, there are a lot of children who never get the chance to walk anywhere, even when it's not raining. Your children may envy them now, but when they're older and yours have got much better stamina, they'll be glad they walked a lot when they were young.

Tell him he is being an eco warrior or something if that will appeal.

I am impressed.

Spare dry socks and change into shoes on arrival?
Hiking shops do kids waterproof clothing.

Make sure you buy a waterproof bag.

YANBU. Thin waterproof walking trousers: trespass sale, Peter storm, mountain warehouse. Come off in a flash once inside the cloak room and can be stuffed into a bag if the sun comes out.

Walking will keep your children fit, and protect their cardiovascular health as adults. It will give them a shot at movement that they might not otherwise get.

If your kids' school gets into loose parts play or outdoor education, those walking trews will come in very handy.

Keeping the bit of income that would otherwise be sunk into a car means you can do fun things like a holiday trip someday sooner than later. Or a music lesson. Or a sports club. Or a pet.

@Acunningruse

Thank you all, I am very much of the mindset that we are doing the right thing and with recent price rises we could barely afford a second car and I really feel that the benefits of walking every day outweigh the occasional bad weather day- though maybe I will feel differently by November!!

I think mum-guilt just got the better of me this morning.

Any recommendations for waterproofs for a tall 9 year old boy who will a) moan about wearing them b) moan about getting wet if he doesn't wear them...

Just buy a pair of joggers and a waterproof bag.

That way he can bitch and moan and then change out of the wet joggers into his trousers when he gets into school. OK, it means he'll have to leave the house a bit earlier to give him five minutes in the bogs before the bell goes, but if his sartorial tastes don't extend to proper weather appropriate clothing, that's the consequence.

His opinion of what everybody else does isn't really relevant until he's in a position to buy a car himself, really.

For people saying I'm being ridiculous. I honestly don't know anyone whose kids have heavy duty waterproofs. No one at school has more than a coat with hat and gloves added if need be. We'd get short shrift expecting teachers to deal with changes of clothes. And my workplace has no storage at all beyond a very small cloakroom area. Post covid there is literally zero tolerance of personal possessions being left lying around. You can't even leave pens etc while you go for lunch. People would think you were a bit odd turning up in full on outdoor pursuits clothing. Maybe it's area dependent.

Decathlon do a great range of waterproofs and also snow boots that will do both rainy days and the freezing cold ones!

My ds is a swimmer and we leave home at 4.30am! Decathlon has seriously saved me from frequent drenching and hypothermia many a time!

Any chance you live near some good hill or forest walks, @OP ? Wondering if your DS might take more to wearing waterproofs if he got into hiking and saw all the other people (especially the blokes, if he's looking for role models at all) wearing them.

Waterproof clothing saved our mini break in the Scottish Highlands this summer. Teen DSD was a lot more comfortable in her gear once she saw she blended right in.

Get some proper waterproofs, not the ones they sell at the supermarket. Farming over trousers that popper at the ankle will be best, from somewhere like mole valley. They can just take them off and give them to you at the gate. I have some of these for farming and they keep you completely dry. www.kingscountryclothing.co.uk/wisewear-wax-overtrousers.htm