MN are obsessed with puddlesuits

[Pissingdownagain]

It’s torrential rain here, the sort that hurts your face when you’re out in it, icy cold and windy. The streets, parks and ponds are deserted: even the ducks have fucked off.

I have a toddler single handed for four days. I know it’s pointless posting for suggestions because I’d be regaled with advice about just putting on a puddlesuit and jumping in puddles. So what I’m wondering is if it’s just me who gets irritated by this and also when did it start, as I don’t remember it being the go to advice a few years ago? I think it may have been in pandemic times with literally no other options and now it has become the norm and suggesting anything in the warm and dry is positively decadent …

November 2020 and January-March 2021 was neither dry nor roasting hot!

I've never heard of a puddlesuit but puddle hunts and puddle jumping were standard activities for my kids and they are now in their 40's so this is not a recent thing.

Those years are a bit of a traumatic blur. Was that endless boggy winter when they rebranded lockdown as that tier system or did they call it lockdown again?

It’s because they’re so fucking good. When I had three little ones in a two bedroomed flat, those and wellies saved my sanity. Sometimes it was so grim out there. They loved it of course, me? Not so much. But the bath and warm tea was always nice to come home too. When you’re in survival mode it’s the little things.

there does come a point where it’s so bad it’s quite dangerous, with branches falling and cars having reduced visibility.

Well yes, I wouldn't take a toddler out in the woods in extremely high winds or be dragging them across busy roads in the driving rain. But going out for a bit in a safe place in even heavy rain is fine if you're all dressed appropriately!

My youngest is 13, I’ve never heard of a puddle suit but I know what you just mean and this isn’t new advice. I can’t sleep if I stay in all day tho so may have been more prone to drag mine out for my own selfish reasons.

This is the first time I've ever seen puddlesuits mentioned on MN.

But it sounds like a good idea.

I plead my lashing icy rain that hurts your face again.

It must depend on the thread you read, but honestly, I did a fair amount of driving yesterday and today and not a puddle jumping toddler in sight. It could just be my area but I’m not convinced!

Why anyone thinks it's entertaining or in any way positive to go out in the cold rain to get soaked and end up with dripping outerwear to somehow dry is beyond me.

Stay inside. Turn on the TV.

We're outside whatever the weather - DS is an outdoorsy boy. Very little indoors keeps his attention for long but put him in the garden or in the park in the woods and he'll find entertained galore.

I'm not an outdoorsy person - well, not in the rain anyway - but equally I'm not into the crying that DS being indoors brings so this mother sucks it up and heads outdoors. 😂

The opposite to this is being made to feel guilty if you haven't taken full advantage of a hot sunny day by being outside for any or most of it... Even if there are indoors things that need attending to!

Me too.

The park near me is deserted when it rains. Not a puddle suited toddler in sight.

Fuck that. I'd do softplay, trampoline Park, play city, cinema and maybe puddlesuit at the farm if it was drizzly only. Otherwise just walking about in the rain with a kid in a puddlesuit? No.

There was even a set of of ongoing threads about puddlesuits and surviving winter lockdown with toddlers in 20/21 because it was such a cliché.

Mine had puddle suits years ago, but I did quickly discover that it's best not to put a puddle-suited toddler on a wet slide as they whoosh along and bouce 6 feet across the playground howling from the momentum and lack of friction. I made the same mistake with the second toddler too.

There's bad weather, good clothing, and fucking awful weather that no creature with any sense wants to hang around in longer than is absolutely necessary. I say that as a marathon runner and year-round open water swimmer so no stranger to the elements.

I'm another who is questioning it being a pandemic thing.

I use to do it with ds and he's 18 now!!!

Indoor things were outdoors type activities inside. Like indoor picnics, building tents/dens.

Cooking

Indoor trampoline.

Or if we needed to get out we went swimming, indoor parks, shopping centre or supermarket (half hours drive away rather than local) to break it up a bit.

I’ve never heard of a puddle suit but my grandaughter would love this! I’ll get her one. Thanks OP!

I read your post as you still do this with DS and he’s 18 now … the mental imagine was hilarious

Agree fully with you @BogRollBOGOF re There's bad weather, good clothing, and fucking awful weather that no creature with any sense wants to hang around in longer than is absolutely necessary

I’m a childminder and have puddle suits for all the children. When there’s lots of rain the kids are just miserable though bless them. It’s not too bad in light rain and the suits are great when the ground is muddy. I’m not going to troop them all outside to play when it makes them so unhappy though. I may think differently if they enjoyed it but they never do (apart from a quick fart out to jump in puddles 🤪)

I agree OP. I even had this chat today. The rain is pelting down from all different directions. You can hardly close the car door for the wind. No one could enjoy being out in it. I was in a library and I thought the roof was going to blow off.

We are pretty outdoorsy and our children need to get out everyday for fresh air. But the last few days and upcoming days are so grim weather wise. We were at forest school today in a puddle suit and all the families were huddled under the canopy bit. We lasted an hour then came home!

Swimming is our go to activity when it's raining we have an annual pass so we get alot of use out of it.

We also have a cheap plastic greenhouse, I use it for my plants etc but have also dragged toddlers sandpit in there on occasion!

My son is 19 months old and he's one of those toddlers who needs walked like a bloody puppy. He goes spare indoors and unfortunately we don't have a garden. We have a few puddle suits because I'd rather go out and get a bit wet with him than face the torture of him whinging at home.

That being said, yes it is miserable. So if it's crap weather outside we get it over with in the morning.

Here are some ideas I've found work well to pass the afternoon peacefully:

-We bought a pikler triangle with the slide attachment. It folds away when we're not using it.

-We bought a flexible car track from a company called Speed Track (it rolls up when you're not using it) and a bag of diecast cars. Highly recommend.

-Marble runs. Similar level of fascination to the speed track.

-IKEA Flisat table. We go for a walk on the beach in the morning and collect stones and shells to put in the flisat table.

-Kitchen helper stand. Fill the sink up with soapy water and leave him to splash about with cups and wooden spoons. The weather has turned to shit here too. I might make some taste safe dough for him to cut and play with at the kitchen counter.

-Brio train set. A god send. Keeps him occupied for ages. Especially with the battery powered trains.

-I save up cardboard from the recycling and we make ramps for his toy cars.

-Cartoons!!!!