Do you let your kids out in the rain?

[smallfluffy]

So, weird one. We live in a lovely areas and have done so since my DC were born. 2yeqrs ago we had neighbours move in. Pleasant, quiet, not real concerns as such other than the have quirky parenting habits that are polar opposite's to us.

Its raining really heavy here and they are walking about the streets with no coats on? They are 4 and 7

They seem to have sooo much freedom and are allowed to cross main roads unattended and pretty much so as the wish.

Clothes/ uniforms always look unwashed and full of dog hair. And dinner is usually spilt all over them.

They once knocked my door at 10:15pm in the winter to ask if my son could come out to play? This was a school night !

Pyjamas seem to be allowed to
Be worn as daytime clothes at weekends. I dunno why I find this weird and odd but I do.

There's many more examples but I'll
Leave it there. Am I being weird for thinking it's all a little strange ?

Maybe I'm a snob and people like me are sick heads ?

So many typos, I hope you can make them out.

Walking around and crossing roads unattended is very concerning.
Pyjamas and dog hair not. (brushes dog hair off child)

Well I will answer your original question. Yes my children go out in the rain, they dont shrink when they get wet.

@Hellocatshome see I knew it was possible that I was the strange one. Thanks for posting

@Palmfrond dog hair wasn't necessary for me to mention so I'll erase that comment.

The playing in the rain is the least concerning thing and yes my kids play in the rain

My kids also go out in the rain...are generally wearing at least a handful of dog hair and I don't iron because I'm lazy and it's shit. I'd only be concerned about the road and the general freerangeness.

My kids play in the rain ‘appropriately clothed’ which seems to be missing here.
The rest of it, we personally wouldn’t do. PJs on weekends maybe but not to go out in.
Dog hair can’t always be helped.

Yeah mine always played in the rain. They actually loved it. 2 of them were puddle mad.

Coats were a pain in my hole. Still, to this day when they're older teens early 20s they don't wear coats. They all seem allergic to coats.

Food down clothes.... Yep, sure no point cleaning them when they're out running around.

Crossing roads, I wish I never molly coddled mine, ended up afraid to do anything. No harm in being streetwise.

If it’s rainy really heavily, then I would expect them to wear coats.

Yep, luckily my children are not water soluble, so they're allowed out in the rain. And they wear pjs all day on a weekend, because my own favourite thing in the whole world is not having to get dressed 🤷‍♀️

Crossing roads and being generally unsupervised is a completely different thing. I'm all for letting kids have freedom and independence, but that's more 8+, not 4 years old.

I let children play in the rain, in proper waterproofs in the winter and in the summer I would let them play out in t-shirts. Just playing out in the rain on its own isn't a concern, but with what you are describing there seems to be a bigger picture of things to be concerned about.

The only thing concerning at those ages is crossing the road unattended and being out at 10pm knocking on your door.

I don't think the rain is the actual problem here. Being unsupervised is the problem.

And of course mine went out in the rain.

Children in the rain isn't an issue.
Small children being unsupervised, up that late etc is.

You’ve said weird, odd, strange so many times — what’s with that? Just because you disapprove of something doesn’t make it weird, and it doesn’t make you weird either

Anyway. Like you, I would have been very taken aback by a 10.15 pm school-night knock. I also think careless road-crossing is really worrying.

Other things like the pyjamas and so on: meh. If children actually seem dirty to the point of neglect that’s one thing, but I don’t think dog hair or a bit of dinner on a child’s clothing is a massive issue in itself. It’s definitely not uncommon; I see people out and about looking moderately scruffy all the time (also in what I reckon you could call a “lovely” area).

They don’t need coats on in the rain in a warm summers day.
DS always loved dancing around in the rain but we were it all weathers in all seasons walking the dog.

dog hair, dinner on clothes and wearing pj’s no issue.

crossing the road together -do you mean totally out of sight of any adult or might there be a grandparent or parent half way down the street keeping an eye?

being out that late and knocking on your door is a concern.

Mine often play in the rain. I wouldn't let them wonder around unsupervised at their ages.

Playing in the rain is fine, with or without waterproofs. The unsupervised crossing of roads and knocking on the door that late at night is less fine and would cause me concern.

I don't find the rain a problem as surely they won't shrink! But, at those ages, being unsupervised at all times of day and night, in public, is a major red flag.

DS’s school doesn’t allow the kids out at break times if the playground is wet, even if it isn’t raining.
Safety reasons.

Probably because the floors would get wet inside with so many children and become slippery and the children won’t have spare clothes to change into so would be sat in saturated clothes for hours, not really the same as at home though is it? My kids walk to school in the rain 🤷‍♀️

Well it was in that it forms a total picture rather than just bits of a picture.

They sound neglected to me, perhaps not in the most obvious sense but without enough monitoring and supervision for their age.

One of my happiest random childhood memories is of going out in the garden in torrential rain and my mum giving us a bottle of shampoo to wash our hair in the rain.

Playing out in the garden in wellies is completely different to tramping the streets in inappropriate clothing in the rain. It's not puddle jumping in the park with parents it's possible 'piss off til bedtime' territory. You don't know, we don't know.
Dog hair and dinner on clothes constantly is grim. Could indicate neglect.
Crossing roads safely fine, crossing roads and being lucky to not get hit, not fine.
This would raise mild alarm bells for me.