Do kids really need a thick winter coat for school?

[Floie92]

Every year I've bought my kids a decent thick winter coat for school and they've ended up hardly wearing them and then outgrow them! We live 1 minute walk away from the school so no long walks to school. Half the time they don't even wear them at school even in the winter, if it's raining they stay indoors, if it's dry they just tend to go out in the school fleeces over their jumper/cardigan. Ds hates coats in general.

They much prefer their thinner coats - not the paper thin macs you can get - I mean rain coats you get with a decent thick material but not fleeced lined inside or anything but they are rain and wind proof. I spent quite a bit on a decent rain coat for Dd back in the summer. It's not thick, padded or fleece lined bug very waterproof and a good material. Is that enough??

When it's dry in the winter and we go out about on the weekends they tend to wear thick fleece jumpers. Rain coat if rainy.

Will I be judged at school for sending my kids into school without a thick coat??

I only buy them for school and they barely get worn!!

I bought a thick hoodie for my teen. Seemed a best option he is most likely to wear

A decent fleece with a raincoat can be pretty warm. It is what I wear myself and I think it is warmer than a thick coat.

I usually get a decent waterproof with a thermal layer for winter- e.g. from go outdoors.
She is out a lot but also feels cold easily. But also has a younger sister. So once she outgrows it we just use it for her younger sister.
So I buy a good quality one so it will last for her sister too.

Depends where you live surely? In Se London suburbia no we don't need them much. Mine have parka type coats, and I only be one for school and home now, not one for both. The limited time we need proper warm weather gear they layer up. If we lived in the Outer Hebrides I'm sure they'd need much warmer.

They do have proper waterproof coats if needed.

School is freezing apparently, but they're not allowed to wear the coats inside.

Not wearing a coat is some kind of teenage passage.

I have bought DD a "winter" coat because money isn't tight and I've got 2 years plus out of the previous hand me down from her cousin and money isn't that tight. Also we're in Scotland and really cold but not wet was a thing last year. She also has a ski jacket but I prefer to have 2 coats that will do per season to allow for washing or drying out after getting properly soaked.

DD has very lightweight mac (Lidl), heavier waterproof with good hydrostatic head (Decathlon) which we got for summer hill walks, ski jacket (Aldi several years ago) and "smart" heavy winter coat (Asda).

If she grew faster I'd leave the winter coat and just layer extras under the proper waterproof as back up for the ski jacket.

If they have a fleece to keep warm and a raincoat to keep dry then I think it's fine. My two have a 20 minute walk to and from school and we walk a lot generally so they really do need one.

@randomsabreuse I used to live in Scotland. You do need a warm coat there. Where I am never gets as cold.

That's fine OP. I used to work outdoors in Scotland all day in a national park, all through the winters, and the jumper/fleece/waterproof raincoat combination was our standard uniform

Mine get a lot of wear out of theirs but I've always been a fan of letting children choose their own number of layers. Obviously I wouldn't send them to school soaked, but otherwise they can choose if they need a coat and which one.

I don’t like thick coats, and presumably live in a much colder area than you. As I drive most places, I generally keep one in the car in my winter emergency kit, but am otherwise fine with wool layers on to run about in.

I vote ask, your kids, no sense in buying things they won’t wear when you could spend the money on what they will wear (or save the money altogether) Maybe buy one big coat a couple of sizes bigger than them every couple of years as a backup vs one every year.

I have family in the HIghlands of Scotland and they were telling me about how none of the local school kids wear seem to wear coats. 🥶

I actually also never wear a coat much in winter either. I don't like wearing a coat when I'm driving and it's never worth putting on a coat to walk from the car park into work. When I go for a walk, a coat always seems too hot.

Just buy a thin coat.
I buy two as we spend a lot of time outdoors throughout the winter usually a thin rain one and a proper winter coat.
DD can get 2 years out of hers.

YABU for caring what anyone else thinks about what clothes your kids are wearing. If they don't want to wear thick coats, then what's the point wasting your money buying them?

My DS loves thick warm coats and wears them even in summer when the other boys are in polo tops. He loves his Russian style fur hat too and wears it most days. I think he likes to appear to be a bit eccentric and I encourage him to feel confident to be his own person and not conform, if he doesn't want to.

I think a lot of peoples anxieties stem from worrying about what other people think of them and if you can learn to give zero fucks, you will be much happier.

www.johnlewis.com/childrens-3-in-1-school-jacket-navy/p25274?sku=230558538&size=7-yrs&s_ppc=2dx92700055434208196&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gbraid=0AAAAAD2el1yK83zocBCQ5fvLVhKXl1hj3&gbraid=0AAAAAD2el1yK83zocBCQ5fvLVhKXl1hj3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwNWKBhDAARIsAJ8Hkhch_6d71gRpN1VI4wmLugEQbg6na9dZOCJBrebLoiB7yiFs2FZxsrcaAnxLEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

DD’s primary had a uniform coat s bit like this one.

My 10 year old hates coats, always has . Ive given up this year and bought him a thin rain coat. He always wears a hoodie, even at school as they have year 6 leaving hoodies and doesn't seem to feel the cold. We walk everywhere as I don't drive.

My 8 year old still has a thick coat , although he isn't wearing it yet. He does complain if it's cold

My son definitely needs a warm coat for getting to primary school and at play time

My daughter is at secondary and has that teenage reluctance to wear a coat, but she’s got a lightish weight “puffa” style coat (but thinner) which is rainproof and she seems ok with that.

I tend to layer my 2 up with hoodies and then a waterproof (unless it's absolutely baltic and then it's a thick coat)

A thin-ish waterproof dries quicker than a thick coat and actually ends up keeping them warmer that putting on a damp coat.

@Taiyo I don’t wear a coat in the car either - I find it really uncomfortable to drive in one. I need one for outdoors though!

Rule in our house: if there is ice on the ground, you need to take a coat with you. He also has a sacrificial jumper that lives screwed up in the bottom of his bag, never to be worn, and washed occasionally.
DS has actually got a rain coat with a micro fleece lining. I'm tempted to use that all through the winter. Pointless making him carry a larger coat about for him not to wear it.

One of mine LOVES a nice warm coat..last winter for school he wore full thick thermal set under school uniform, then fleece over the top. Then thick coat over that. At home he is mostly naked even when freezing ! He has ASD with sensory issues and I have given up working it out...

My kids may if absolutely at near frost bite conditions put on a ski jacket but they've never worn coats, except when my (at 15) found a pea coat in a second hand shop. Looked very stylish.

I think thick coats depend on where you live.

It was a wind chill factor of -13 near me last winter.

Southern areas probably don’t need thick coats like Scotland does.

My dc use their coats, but it gets snowy here and they are outdoors a lot.

Ebay is a good option for second hand coats that are more affordable.

Depends. I think in primary you'd be judged for your child not having a winter coat, especially in the younger years. It's a safeguarding issue. In secondary, not so much. Teenagers can make their own minds up. Mine have never worn coats over their blazers even when it's freezing, because they have nowhere to put them in school. My autistic daughter used to go in a short sleeved shirt, and no jumper, when it was thick with snow.

I was looking at getting my 11 and 13 year old a good quality lined waterproof jacket for winter. I think they'd prefer those to thick coats.