DS 13 - Is this a battle worth fighting?
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Anonymous
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Holy crap, do you people button their mittens to their coat sleeves too? Your kids must think you are the coolest!
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Anonymous
Same here. We don't have a lot of rules but the ones we do have we enforce strictly mostly related to safety (seat belts, helmets, etc) and morality (no bullying, no shaming, etc.). Now that my kids are older, I let them choose to wear a winter coat or not. They're old enough to make that kind of decision and I have no need for control in that area. Like the PP, I do require them to have a hat/gloves in their backpacks but that's a 'preparedness' issue. Same reason I keep an emergency blanket, flares and jumper cables in the car. My oldest chose not to wear a coat yesterday and had to walk home from school after practice with just a hoodie (and, of course, his hat/gloves from his backpack). He thought he could get a ride but couldn't. I don't know yet if it's changed his mind about the coat. He'll figure it out. |
Anonymous
| My 12 yr old DS just started putting up a fuss about a winter coat. I usually make him wear it since you never know what could happen (no heat in the car, etc). My school didn't have heat in some of the classrooms this week and those kids had to borrow coats from other kids to wear. |
Anonymous
| Make him carrry it, it's up to him whether he wears it or not. |
Anonymous
Ha ha. Mine used to leave the house with his coat and then hide it behind the trash can on the way to the school bus. |
Anonymous
| Sounds more like a power struggle |
Anonymous
The wise leader knows, you don't give a command you have no hope of enforcing. Unless you plan to follow your child around to the bus stop and back, you have no way of knowing if he is wearing his winter gear. |
Anonymous
This. |
Anonymous
BUT you do need to launch your kids. They have to be independent enough to make their own breakfast and dress themselves!! |
Anonymous
This. If the temperatures are above freezing, and they aren't going to be outside for more than the time it takes to get to school or whatever, then they'll just be cold--either it won't bother them, in which case who cares, or it will, and they'll wear a coat next time. If it doesn't bother them, then why would I insist? People feel the temperature differently, and maybe they don't feel as cold as I do. If it's a health or safety issue, though, then I would fight the battle. When there's a wind chill advisory or something, then it's not their choice anymore, and I tell them why--I'm their parent, it's my responsibility to look out for their safety, and I always get to override them if that's at issue. |
Anonymous
Right! Society already has too many independent thinkers that express opinions! Wait, what? |
Anonymous
Do the kids stop to put their coats on during a fire drill? |
Anonymous
| My 15yo niece was wearing a thin short sleeved shirt all week when it was 0 degrees here. And she whined about how Cold she was, but refused to dress more appropriately. It was weird. Her parents said she likes the attention she gets from everyone around her. Oh honey, aren't you freezing? You poor thing, let me get you a blanket. Girl, are you crazy? (Doesn't matter what kind of attention she receives). |
Anonymous
Okay, what’s your son going to do when he gets a job with a dress code? This is great practice for dressing appropriately even when you don’t want to. |
Anonymous
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I don't want my kids to just "obey" either. I want them to think!
I don't think this fight is worth it. I would ignore. If the kid is in actual danger, intervene. Self inflicted discomfort? whatever. Plus, the more attention you pay to it, the more the whole situation sticks and becomes a Thing. Don't make it A Thing. |