To feel the weather is actually now making me a terrible parent

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Another day pouring with rain and resorting to tv or other long winded draining activities in the house. I’m so fed up. So miserable. It’s May now! I know complaining about it doesn’t make it better but I’ve just had enough. No fresh air again, just like the first 4 months of the year. It’s completely pouring down

I live in the wettest part of the UK, an average of 7 feet of rain per year. None of us take our kids out for 360 days of the year, we just sit inside, noses pressed to the glass for the risk of growing gills or webbed feet.

No one has to stay in in the rain. Its a choice. I didnt say it was fun, but it wouldn't keep me in on a daily basis and questioning if I'm a good parent or not. I'd make choices regardless of the British weather that I'm fully used to by now, otherwise I'd spend my life indoors.

I'm not really bothered if large, multi million pound, retailers were fed up with our presence. All the ones listed are also dog friendly so our, raid averse, dog came too. My DC were always well behaved and we usually bought a small thing we needed anyway (rabbit food, WD40, screws, flannels etc).

You are going to get the "there is no such thing as bad weather with the right clothes" brigade here. No matter how prepared I am clothes wise, i still hate torrential rain and wind and like you, I have no motivation to venture out in conditions like that. My child also hates the wind and rain.

It's crap, although thankfully we've had a spell of a little better weather where I live, but it's back to the torrential rain again today and for the foreseeable!

There is so only so much soft play a mum can take 😅16 months is tough too as they can't really do a great deal at this age. Heading for a woodland area is a good shout as it will provide a little bit of shelter if you desperate to get outside, or a visit to a garden centre to have a mooch around.

Haha, if it was like this every day of the year I probably would get some waterproof trousers, or else look at alternative transport.
It is daft that people are advising that you can still have a day our that's just as good as a day out in fair weather. 1 rainy day out might be fun, but months of it would be intolerable for anyone. It's fine to complain about. You can't have a rainy day out every day of the year, especially when it's apparently almost summer!

Will you and your children melt in the rain? How do you tackle bathtime?

They'd actually make more money overall, even if many are treating it as a free day out, the increased numbers will mean increased sales. People are also likely to spend in bad weather to lift their mood.

@RampantIvy no I'm not being "smug and self righteous" actually. I've always had dogs, the DC (13 months apart so pretty hard going when they were tiny and my DH away a lot) had to come out with me when I walked the dogs, I had no choice. I had one of those see through plastic rain covers for the pram when it was really bad, often actually as live near the sea so frequent howling gales. I had a properly waterproof coat and just get on with it. Now I have horses so still out in it every day sorting them out.
The benefits of getting small DC out in the fresh air every day rather than cooping them up inside cannot be underestimated.

Another bingo
Walking in torrential rain is shit. It just isn't fun no matter what I'm wearing.

I agree with this! Mine is a bit older (almost 2) but delayed walking and it’s really limited what we can do when it’s so rainy. I can’t just put her in wet weather gear and let her to splash in puddles and she always whinges in the stroller if I have to put the rain cover on. On days like this I’m glad she is at nursery most of the day as we would be climbing the walls at home. Attention span is still too short for crafts and play dough etc too

Has anyone said ‘children should learn how to be bored’ yet? Or suggested letting them ‘help’ you with all the housework so it’s a fun activity that will last the whole day?

I reckon I live near the OP as we’ve had very few sunny days this year apart from the last three days! We are now under an amber warning for torrential rain with high winds, danger from flooding, interruptions to travel, damage to property and power cuts! The forecast is for rain every day for the next two weeks!

I no longer have children to entertain but I’m pissed off with the poor weather, I can hear the rain beating on my windows and my back garden is under water again. I’d love to say that at least it feels warm but I’m cold this morning sitting in the house, heating not on so obviously not below 16° when it kicks in but the damp makes it feel colder.

Ah well, it will warm up when I put the tumble dryer on as my wet washing cannot go outside yet again!

Sometimes a good moan is all we can do!

Please don’t bring up your kids in the belief that rain is a bad thing.

Some of my 5 year olds favourite days have been getting out in the rain. We head to toe in waterproofs, go and count the snails, discuss their markings, where they are going etc 🤣. My 3 year old loves to make the biggest splash he can. We then come home get our Pjs on, make biscuits and have them with hot chocolate.

It does feel a bit more relentless this year I'll admit. Unfortunately we had to shield during COVID and rain was the only way I could guarantee we would have the park to ourselves. I just had to get creative on what we could do around it.

I hear you OP. Everything is much easier if the weather is pleasant and it feels like we are overdue for it. I don’t want to go out splashing in puddles everyday with my two children and the older one certainly wouldn’t be up for it either.

I hate the whole ‘no such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothing’ responses.
They are patronising.
Who wants to go out in the pissing rain, not me. It’s miserable and wet and then you have heaps of wet coats and damp shoes to dry.

Rain is fine.

Torrential lashing rain and wind and falling branches, floods and storms maybe is a bit problematic though.

I didn't, but this year the pouring rain has been relentless.

I can't help thinking that those saying just wear waterproofs/your children won't melt in the rain and other inane, unhelpful comments probably haven't had the torrential sideways rain that posters are complaining about here.

Literally no one is doing this 🙄

Then they get to secondary school. There's not much that stops my 15 yo playing football. They have no lockers so the bags go out with them. His school bag smells like dead wet dog.

"It's carnage in the rain, knee slides in the mud, ha ha ha"

I do a lot of sport. I don't mind running in the rain (just the first 5 mins are a bit grim as you get wet, but it's not too cold this time of year). So yesterday, between the two of us, we have 2 sodding pairs of shoes, my rain coat from a lunch time walk wasn't dry by the evening, my shower proof jacket from running club is a bit shit so that'll be damp for a day, all the actual clothes (mostly quick and easy to wash and dry so not a problem but still.....).

It just gets a bit tedious. I don't have much space to hang wet clothes or dry wet shoes.

Oh god, the “no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing” lot are out in force I see. Ignore them OP. I once saw a poster refer to them as “puddlesuit wankers” and I have to agree!

It is shit going out in the pouring rain. And even worse when it’s windy too. If you have a soft play near you then I’d try going to that. Or maybe invite a friend with a similar aged child round for a cup of tea?

Aw, 16 months is so tiny, but at that age as long as you’re interacting with them it won’t kill them to miss out on the outdoors for a few days.

Go out in the rain when it eases off a bit, even if for a short time. Can you visit friends at all for a change of scene? Also soft play during the school day is a good bet - I remember taking my ds when he was at cruising age (so just before age 1 I guess) just so I didn’t have to be right behind him all the time!
Swimming also good.

Make the most of these things this week before it’s half term and it’s heaving!

Im quite glad my DS is at holiday club most of next week now I’ve seen the weather.

I’m sure some will say YABU, but we have had more than our fair share of shit weather now.

It would be nice to go out without raincoats, wellies etc and just enjoy the sunshine.

This made me chuckle!

im very unwell with a toddler and we are lying on the sofa with the tv on because i cant lie in the garden and let him run around in the rain. It’s perfectly acceptable to have a rainy tv day every now and then and these comments are hilarious.

To be fair I always buy a seed ball when I take my kids to see the pets.