75 and above: shorts and short sleeves
70-75: wildcard
60-70: short sleeves and pants or hoodie and shorts
Below 60: pants, whatever shirt, coat
Below 30: hat and gloves

OP ask your kid. Empower them.

In this transition season, we do a lot of layering. I have girls who are good at stuffing their layers in their backpack though. I hear boys are always losing sweaters/jackets.

Anonymous wrote:Ha! My kid wears short s,eves year round. His school is really hot.

Same here

If it’s above freezing, I don’t get involved.

Below freezing I make them layer so that they have the option of covering up, but most buildings run heat high so a t shirt makes sense most days.

DH wears polos year round and brings a fleece if it’s chilly inside.

I have a kid who refuses to wear long sleeves or pants.

Anonymous wrote:We check what the weather will be at my kids’ recess time (12pm) and go from there. Typically if it’s between 50 or above my son will want to wear a short sleeve shirt w a light jacket on top whereas my daughter will want to wear a long sleeve shirt w a light jacket. Between 30-50 they both wear long sleeves and a warmer jacket. Above 70 and they both just wear short sleeves, no jacket.

Ha, every morning my son asks me what the temperature will be at recess. It's the most important part of the day when it comes to clothing. Not waiting for the bus, not waiting outside in the car rider line, not even playing outside at after care. I love that your family checks the recess temperature too.

My kid's thing is long sleeves and shorts. That is his balance.

Anonymous wrote:My kid chooses his clothes. I assume that if he starts feeling cold in short sleeves, he’ll switch to long sleeves.

+1

Also, were you all raised in tropical areas? Nobody is wearing long sleeves when temp is in the 60s. We're talking fahrenheit, right?

i wouldn't worry much about it. suggest it and move on. if kid refuses long sleeves/pants, kid will suffer and then maybe make a better choice tomorrow.

I stopped buying long sleeves a couple of years ago. The wear short sleeves all year and wear a hoodie over it when they want.

Short sleeves and jacket if 60 or lower. Long sleeves and jacket if 50 or lower.

Pants if it's a high of 65 or lower, shorts if its a high of 65+.

But that's just a estimate, it's not a rule. If it's sunny or rainy or windy that changes things. If my kid just doesn't feel like wearing pants that changes things. His school has a uniform, and pants are required Nov 1 - March 30 (but sleeve length is still optional year round), so it's not a battle I really have to fight.

We check what the weather will be at my kids’ recess time (12pm) and go from there. Typically if it’s between 50 or above my son will want to wear a short sleeve shirt w a light jacket on top whereas my daughter will want to wear a long sleeve shirt w a light jacket. Between 30-50 they both wear long sleeves and a warmer jacket. Above 70 and they both just wear short sleeves, no jacket.

I let my kids pick. If it's short sleeves on a frigid day, I insist they bring a coat in their backpack, but that's about it. This battle isn't one worth fighting, IME.

I appreciate this question, Op. we have the same struggles. We read the temperature with the highs and lows and it’s sometimes a gamble with how to dress properly. of course, we use layers. But, the question that you ask is when do you flip to long sleeves. Well, not all long sleeves are created equal. we have very thin long sleeves like a sweat wicking away material, medium thin like a T-shirt material, and then heavier long sleeves like a sweatshirt material. So, we factor in the highs and lows predicted for the temperature that day, along with our material choice. At least with the thinner materials, the DC can push up the sleeves by the end of the day.

My son like short sleeves all year long but brings sweatshirts for 60s or below. Also maybe for a low 70. He will wear pants on days that are in the 60s unless it’s a PE day.