The heat or heat statment.

[Heiionwheels]

I am aware that ( totally apart from rising food and petrol costs and other general cost of living costs or any medical or age related need for heat) a few of my more elderly friends are actually agast at all the reactions about the 'need 'to be warm in the house.
They have sèen that younger family members have got used to / seem to feel it the norm/ entitled to being able to walk round indoors in shorts and t shirts.
Wereas when they were younger they only heated one room ,wore jumpers, used hot water bottles as normal life. There wasnt all this talk of hypothermia and i live in a old house.
They seem to think believimg that you need a hot / warm house is actually a quite spoilt entitled stance and refelective of a pampered generation in some ways ,one who cannot cope with putting on an extra jumper, watching the pennies,being frugal .
They think that the tears on tv, the talk of getting ill due to cold reflects todays attitides of unability to get on with things and expectation of what is actually luxery not really such a hardship( apart from above type ofgrounds as outlines) .
Many many people have managed without warm houses and they want to know why this is seen as a right amd essential when really its a modern day thing. Likewise people have lived thro many things and have had to live frugally.we can do it too .
I see their point in some ways.

It shouldn’t really be a race to the bottom though, should it.

I don’t think not wanting to live in a freezing home is a pampered/entitled stance. Yes people used to survive without heating, but a lot of people got sick etc. I don’t understand the stance of ‘well it used to be fine without’ as a generalised stance. We used to shit in buckets and fling it out the windows, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have toilets…

Sorry meant or eat.

My son is naked heat or no heat he has sensory issues and will freeze before putting clothing on

Oh god I wish people would shut up with this shit.

Being cold is horrible. It’s miserable. Just because something was the norm doesn’t mean it’s desirable.

Women died during childbirth frequently
People died from simple infections
It wasn’t illegal to force sex on your wife

THINGS HAVE CHANGED

Dear God.

Many many people have managed without warm houses and they want to know why this is seen as a right amd essential when really its a modern day thing

Words I can use without being deleted fail me, @Heiionwheels

heunamedcat

I did say exept for medical conditions

I agree.

If you like a house at a permanent 20 degrees then that’s fine. You will have to pay for the heating though. Same as if you like drinking your weekly food bills + wine and beer be more expensive than someone who doesn’t drink.

I don’t heat upstairs, i only heat the rooms we’re in, blankets on the sofas for an evening. Thermostat is set to 18. Little things but saves a massive amount of money compared to someone who wants their entire home warm all the time.

If you actually can’t afford any heat because of rising costs that’s not a choice and is a different issue. Nobody should have to choose between basic heat and food.

I grew up in a house with no central heating, coal fire, ice on inside of single panes; I was a ‘chesty’ child. There’s not a lot to recommend it.

Last December after Storm Arwen, much of our area was without power for days on end - 5 in our case I think. It was just miserable - no running hot water, one room heated by a wood burner.

For some people in the next cold winter , that may be the choice they face if they want to eat.

In 2022, in a rich country
.
Doesn’t feel right to me.

We are the 5th richest country in the world. That people should still think it's acceptable for families to be struggling financially, having to make the decision between heating or eating, is shameful.

My dm and dmil both grew up in cold homes with no central heating. They wouldn’t wish that on their worst enemies. Yabvu.

The people who are talking about heating or eating are the ones already wearing five jumpers.

Oh, and welcome to Mumsnet @Heiionwheels

YABU. There are some shit things that belong in the past, freezing cold homes is one of them.

This is just the type of 'In my day' nostalgia that you always here from a certain type of person. They romanticise certain aspects and happily ignore others. I grew up in a cold damp house and it was full of condensation and black mold. I don't wish the same for my own kids, or anyone elses.

Well it's mostly that older generation you are talking about who seem to be affected by this and are (rightly) complaining about it. It's not about entitlement or luxury, it can literally be life or death. Despite the prevalence of reverse snobbery here there's really nothing noble about poverty.

It’s miserable being cold. It can also lead to issues with houses, especially if they are damp. I lived in a freezing cold flat a few years ago and the mould and damp were awful. The heating was crap (tiny storage heaters) and so the place never got warm enough to dry out.

Putting on extra layers doesn’t work; most people (me included) need the ambient temperature to be warm, before they’ll start to warm up. You shouldn’t have to walk round in 6 layers with a hot water bottle to feel comfortable in your own home.

This goady shit has to stop.

Not wanting to be cold in your house is not entitled. That is some "but in my day we..." annoying bollocks.

That said I do have to eat. So my heating isn't on, but it's not a statement.

I think there are a few separate points here:

1. Most people don't need to (and I don't think do) have their houses heated to 20+ degrees

1. Most people do want their house to be heated to maybe 18 when they're using it.

1. We have many fewer diseases, lower child mortality etc in part though not entirely due to most people no longer living in cold, damp homes.

1. Most/certainly a lot of houses no longer have open fires available for heating

Our ds has listened to family members. Instead of fearing being cold amd bills he is trying to think outside the box. He is using solar lights at night , hot water bottles and duvet for tv .
He feels ok . He is warm. He says he feels that tho he would much prefer heat ,it is developing some resorcefulness in him .

@Heiionwheels

heunamedcat

I did say exept for medical conditions

I dont get a different tariff for medical conditions my point is I must pay or he gets sick its an attack on the sick and disabled again because if it was just me I could "cope"

Instead of fearing being cold amd bills he is trying to think outside the box.

Don’t you get that many people in this position have nowhere left to cut from?

grapewines it is not goady , it is a different view.
Or are people not allowed differing perspectives anymore ?

@Heiionwheels

Our ds has listened to family members. Instead of fearing being cold amd bills he is trying to think outside the box. He is using solar lights at night , hot water bottles and duvet for tv . He feels ok . He is warm. He says he feels that tho he would much prefer heat ,it is developing some resorcefulness in him .

You realise that some people can't afford to buy solar lights, boil the kettle and put on the TV?

He already had the solar lights.
No , i admit i didnt kmow that some people cant afford to put the tv on .