to think it is far too cold to have children going to school with bare legs?

[MollyRoger]

I have noticed 3 or 4 children (boys and girls) at ds's primary school with bare legs this week.
I have been through the stages of children demanding to wear superman outfits at nativity plays and wearing wellies in heatwaves in August, so i know sometimes you have to pick your battles but, FFS!
Last week, it was minus 7 and 8, and these children were wearing tiny pinafore dresses, and bare legs and wellies. The snow was actually deeper than any children's wellies.
2 boys had shorts on. We walk a mile home and my ds was complaining his legs (which had thermals under his trousers) were cold so god knows how these children were feeling.
Just

Yes you would have to be exposed for a longish period of time that is correct.

I was mainly commenting from experience at my school, where children with bare legs have to sit in large drafty victorian buildings which loose loads of heat. I know they are cold because I am sat next to them for most of the day.

It is my business that the school I work at doesn't prompt very young children to put on and zip up their coats and they were shivering and sniffling outside in November. I have already mentioned it to the Teacher I work with. Their parents send them to school with coats so why not pop them on?

There are two little boys in DD's school and they only ever shorts. DD told me yesterday that she had asked one of them why they only wear shorts, even in the snow, and he had said because he was scared of trousers

If your classroom is consistently below 18 degrees then this is a problem BooHoo. Trousers or shorts shouldn't make a difference but if the temperature of a classroom falls below 18 degrees, sickroom below 21 degrees and gym/hall below 15 degrees then your school should be providing accommodation which is heated adequately.

Either way it is actually being cold that is a problem not bare legs/covered legs a there's really no guarantee that bare legs make you cold or that covered legs will keep you warm.

It is definitely not a 'longish' period of time. In order to suppress your immune system it would have to be a prolonged period of cold exposure significant enough to give you hypothermia i.e. lower your internal body temperature.

Cor, our house rarely gets above 15 degrees. Are we harming DS?

No, 15 is not really cold enough to give you hypothermia. Especially if you are active in the home. Those are just the guidelines for minimum standards of heating in schools in the UK.

Well I thought not. You had me worried there for a minute!

I see no one answered my question about running around the games pitch in arctic temperatures. Was I the only one with an evil games mistress?

I sent ds to school in shorts today. He got dressed and put his snow boots on. I looked at him and his bare knees and we got in the car to drive to school. As we neared school I realised what was missing - his tracksuit bottoms that he wears to school when it is cold. We had a row in the car about whose fault it was (I've very grown up me ) and I dropped him at school. I did feel a bit guilty but also told him at the grand age of 5 he was big enough to remember what he had to wear .

It is obvious to me that a child with bare legs will be colder than one with tights/ trousers. I personally feel it is more healthy in this sub zero temperatures for children to be clothes as warmly as possible to prevent them from getting colds.

This subject is of personal interest to me as like I said DD is being tested for her immunity and we are in discussions with her Paed about preventions of virus etc etc.

Well ds has been very healthy since he started school and worn shorts every day. Before that he was permanently on antibiotics (under a paed cons)!

as long as kids have a choice then all is well in my book ... DD1 Hates tights and leggings and her school does not permit long trousers for girls ... so basically it is "bare" legs for her (albeit under long socks) ... she certainly is her fathers daughter as I was the same at her age (and I still resent mum trying to make me wear those tights ).

And in case you cannot guess, I side with the "keep your nose out of other peoples business" posse.

DS wears shorts until he feels like wearing longs ... the fact that he does not often feel like it suits me.