DS4 doesn’t want to wear summer clothes. Is is a complete nonissue?

[RainIsCool]

DS4, NT, if it makes any difference refusing to wear any summer clothes - T-shirts, shorts in a heat for a second year in a row. When I changed his pyjama, which is also long sleeved and long legged, refused to put on a T-shirt despite the fact that it’s hot. We have a back door open, we’ve been out, playing with cars, enjoying the sun and he refuses to take of the long sleeved top and sweatpants. Last year I had the same battle. Even in the middle of summer when nights are almost unbearable, he prefers to sleep in a long sleeved pyjama and even socks. I always take them off after he’s asleep.
Only time he would wear t shirt is nursery, he comes into t shirt and hoodie on top and later someone takes it off I guess because 9/10 when times I pick him up he is without it. Or if I somehow put a T-shirt on him, he needs a jacket of some sort on top. And then if we are out and it gets very hot sometimes it’s possible to take the jacket off and leave him with just shirt.
Forget the shorts tho - impossible to put then on. He lives in his sweatpants. He always says his arms and legs are cold which I respect but somehow refuse to believe that he’s cold nonstop in the middle of summer in 30 degrees.
I don’t force him to wear something if he doesn’t like, but at the same time, it’s hot, everyone is in shirts and shorts and he’s the only one fully dressed like it’s freezing.
i also understand that fundamentally it’s not the end of the world if that’s what he prefers but somehow it just drives me crazy!

Actually I recall taking DS to the beach in Devon one year and he wouldn't even take layers off for that - he went in the sea in long joggers and a long sleeve t-shirt!

I work in schools. Kids and their inbuilt thermostats are odd. In winter they play outside in their coats. In summer they won’t take their hoodies off. Leave them to it.

Mine was the opposite, you couldn't get trousers or a coat on him.

I have always been like this. In shorts or short sleeved tops I feel cold. It has to be really baking hot, heatwave temperatures for me to wear a vest or short sleeves and I still wear long skirts, or trousers and sometimes even footless tights under the skirt. The slightest breeze on exposed skin makes me feel cold.
My eldest son is the same, my youngest son will wear shorts but absolutely hates short sleeves on tops.
I do think it’s sensory, even without any neurodiversity. We all respond to temperature differently.

Well, yes, that's why you need layers. I wouldn't go out in shorts in May either. It will get cool by the evening or in the shade/wind.

Dd (3) is fine with shorts/T-shirts and summer dresses in the day but at night insists she needs long trousers and socks. She will happily wear a t-shirt but sobs if I try to put her in shorts or leave the socks off. One day I took the socks off once she was asleep and was woken at 5am by hysterical sobbing because I had taken them off. So now I have decided to just leave them on and assume if she gets hot she will take them off

Arket do a linen blend long sleeve tshirt which is nice and cooling, and pairing that with linen trousers will stop him overheating Linen-Blend Long Sleeve T-Shirt – Dark Blue – ARKET GB

I'm like you, I need 27 degrees to wear something sleeveless and then a breeze on my upper arm will see my putting the cardigan on. It's temperature for me though, not sensory.

I remember a friend wearing a T-shirt in the snow. He said it was because long sleeves bothered his eczema. He did have some autistic traits though.

If it's any consolation, my dad was exactly the same his entire life.

Regardless of the weather conditions, he'd be wearing the same trousers, t-shirt and jumper.

And if he took his jumper off, you KNEW it had to be absolutely bloody roasting outside. It happened maybe 3 times a year.

My DS is exactly like this and always has been and he’s almost 15 now. As long as he’s comfortable I don’t think it’s too much of an issue.

My DS (4) is like this 2nd year running. He has autism though. Zara and HM do great linen trousers and I buy long sleeve t shirts from zara and H&M - i find they're more of the oversize fit which is great, H&M tend to be quite thin too which helps. Arket and Boden have some long sleeve t shirts too.

Please don't worry @RainIsCool my DS, now 10 was similar, only the opposite! He is just a person who runs hot, and still wears less clothes than the rest of us most if the time. However, a lot of it was sensory and the advice I was given at the time was to let him feel the cold then offered him a coat/jumper/gloves etc - this was hard at times as it took him ages to feel it (it felt genuinely cruel) but it worked, he now knows when he will need more layers, but he also knows what is comfortable for him and we go with it - barring letting him wander around naked 😂

My DS is like this to and it started at that age.

looking back now we realise it was his ADHD manifesting.

is his iron and vit B levels OK? I was wearing thermals in summer until they realised my iron and vit B was low.
Is he a veggie by any chance?

Dd1 bought her nephew, my gs, a summer shorts set last year when he was 2. He put them on, looked at his bare knees and said 'rude'! Ds never liked wearing shorts but he's nd or joggers.

I am like this, I just hate summer clothes. I stay in jeans, jumpers and boots all year as long as possible and I almost get anxiety on hot weather days. I will only put on a short sleeved tshirt when it hits about 25c or higher. Shorts it would need to be more like 30c
However my DS is the total opposite and never ever wears a coat or even a jumper, even in the depths of winter it is a huge battle to get him to wear a hoodie or anything other than a tshirt. Hat, scarf and gloves? Literally never. He just doesn’t feel the cold at all

I prefer my kids to wear long sleeves - less sunblock needed. We are pale and burn but sunblock is a battle.

OP everyone is different and that includes how you feel temperature - stop making decisions about how he should feel in different temperatures based on how you feel. If he wants to wear long pyjamas then let him

I'm really not sure why it matters unless he's overheating and getting unwell.

Plus as PP have said, it means less sunscreen!

If he’s cold all the time maybe he’s got an underactive thyroid?

Look into sensory processing disorder. He sounds like my son.

My DS who has autism is like this. He’s 17 and wears hoodies with a top underneath and joggers all the time. It’s a sensory issue. I let him be

My DH was always like this long sleeve shirts and jeans even when the weather was really hot, recently I finally got him to wear short sleeved shirts in the summer (sometimes), shorts never!

My son aged 11 is the same. He's conscious of his slim build which I reassure him of and don't make an issue of as it can make him more upset. I compromise with lighter material joggers and long sleeve t-shirts.

Pick your battles. It's really not so hot that you'd have to worry about him overheating.