Anonymous wrote:

Canadian native poster here. As I said, I suspect I am coming at this from a different angle than most posters. 3 block walk to metro. Stand at an outdoor platform to wait for the train, then another 4 block walk to school for my kid. I'm not saying bundle your kid up arctic expedition style when the temperature hits 40, but at least have a quality hit and mittens or gloves on hand for when it does get truly cold or those windchills dip into the single digits. This idea that you'd never need hat or gloves the entire winter just blows my mind.

And we're not soft for wear toques, we're smart.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously people. Except for the under 5 kiddos, you shouldn't be wasting energy and disrupting otherwise calm, loving moments fighting with kids over this kind of crap. We don't live in Canada--they aren't going to get frostbite if they don't wear gloves. It's perfectly appropriate to let them figure this crap out themselves. When and if they get cold, TRUST ME, they know how to ask you for what they need. Don't waste the money on it until they ask you to. You're teaching them how to be more responsible with money in general and with the things you buy them, which are important life skills.

I'm from Canada. Yeah, it doesn't get as cold, or last as long, but no way am I letting my kid go without hat and gloves. If it's 10 degrees out, you better be prepared. We walk and take transit a coat hood absolutely does not cut it on the coldest days, so I'm guessing I'm coming at this from a different perspective than most people who have posted.

10 degrees is a whole different ball game. We get that about 1 day per year in DC - and You will get no complaints about wearing mittens from my crew on days like that!

It's that temperature more than one damn day, PP. You obviously have a "fair weather" memory.

NP here. Not really. Dangerous cold is extremely rare in this area.

On those rare occasions, or if kids will be outside for extended periods, then hat/gloves should be on hand and worn for health/safety reasons. Other than that, they'll do just fine without.

FWIW, I grew up in a state adjoining Canada. As a kid, I played football (real, not Canadian) in the snow. In shorts. Always knew that those Canadians were a little soft, with their precious tooks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In our house weather appropriate gear is one of the things not up for discussion. Some schools don't let kids outside for recess without hats and mittens, so you're also deciding that you don't care if your kids get to go outside during the day.

What do you consider "weather-appropriate" gear, though? For example, let's say that it's 40 degrees F and windy, like today. Must hats and mittens be worn? Meanwhile the high school kids are out walking to school in shirtsleeves...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just buy some inexpensive knit stuff from target to have on hand. It will last a couple years if they don't use it much. But there may be a couple of days when they need it so better to plan for it.

I've never really understood this. On the really cold days, the inexpensive knit stuff just doesn't cut it as the wind blows right through and body heat goes out between the knitting. Knit is fine for moderate cold, but many kids don't care about the moderate cold. You want hat and gloves/mittens for when it is dangerously cold, like frostbite type cold. Knit stuff doesn't help that much in those conditions.

OP, I recommend you get winter coats with hoods and the flip over sleeve covers. The sleeve covers are an extra flap of the coat material at the ends of the sleeves and if needed, you can pull your hand into the sleeve and flip the cover over the end of the sleep. It can keep the body heat in when it's really cold. The kids have that for an option like when walking to the bus in a cold wind or when they are sitting or standing outdoors on really cold days. You can't lose a hood or flap when it is attached to your coat. They don't have to use it, but it's there if they need it.

I'm not getting this - don't think I've seen it before. Where do you get these? Link would be appreciated!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously people. Except for the under 5 kiddos, you shouldn't be wasting energy and disrupting otherwise calm, loving moments fighting with kids over this kind of crap. We don't live in Canada--they aren't going to get frostbite if they don't wear gloves. It's perfectly appropriate to let them figure this crap out themselves. When and if they get cold, TRUST ME, they know how to ask you for what they need. Don't waste the money on it until they ask you to. You're teaching them how to be more responsible with money in general and with the things you buy them, which are important life skills.

I'm from Canada. Yeah, it doesn't get as cold, or last as long, but no way am I letting my kid go without hat and gloves. If it's 10 degrees out, you better be prepared. We walk and take transit a coat hood absolutely does not cut it on the coldest days, so I'm guessing I'm coming at this from a different perspective than most people who have posted.

10 degrees is a whole different ball game. We get that about 1 day per year in DC - and You will get no complaints about wearing mittens from my crew on days like that!

It's that temperature more than one damn day, PP. You obviously have a "fair weather" memory.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously people. Except for the under 5 kiddos, you shouldn't be wasting energy and disrupting otherwise calm, loving moments fighting with kids over this kind of crap. We don't live in Canada--they aren't going to get frostbite if they don't wear gloves. It's perfectly appropriate to let them figure this crap out themselves. When and if they get cold, TRUST ME, they know how to ask you for what they need. Don't waste the money on it until they ask you to. You're teaching them how to be more responsible with money in general and with the things you buy them, which are important life skills.

I'm from Canada. Yeah, it doesn't get as cold, or last as long, but no way am I letting my kid go without hat and gloves. If it's 10 degrees out, you better be prepared. We walk and take transit a coat hood absolutely does not cut it on the coldest days, so I'm guessing I'm coming at this from a different perspective than most people who have posted.

10 degrees is a whole different ball game. We get that about 1 day per year in DC - and You will get no complaints about wearing mittens from my crew on days like that!

Anonymous wrote:In our house weather appropriate gear is one of the things not up for discussion. Some schools don't let kids outside for recess without hats and mittens, so you're also deciding that you don't care if your kids get to go outside during the day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously people. Except for the under 5 kiddos, you shouldn't be wasting energy and disrupting otherwise calm, loving moments fighting with kids over this kind of crap. We don't live in Canada--they aren't going to get frostbite if they don't wear gloves. It's perfectly appropriate to let them figure this crap out themselves. When and if they get cold, TRUST ME, they know how to ask you for what they need. Don't waste the money on it until they ask you to. You're teaching them how to be more responsible with money in general and with the things you buy them, which are important life skills.

I'm from Canada. Yeah, it doesn't get as cold, or last as long, but no way am I letting my kid go without hat and gloves. If it's 10 degrees out, you better be prepared. We walk and take transit a coat hood absolutely does not cut it on the coldest days, so I'm guessing I'm coming at this from a different perspective than most people who have posted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In our house weather appropriate gear is one of the things not up for discussion. Some schools don't let kids outside for recess without hats and mittens, so you're also deciding that you don't care if your kids get to go outside during the day.

I'm OP. You must have very compliant children. I can say it's not up for discussion, and I suppose I could ignore my children if they start discussing my forbidden topics anyway, but I can't actually prevent them from saying "But I'm not cold!" when I say to put on your hat! You must be magic. At any rate, they've never complained about the recess thing so I guess it isn't an issue for them (note: we never had both hats and all 4 gloves by February 15 - that's when I gave up last couple of years).

They can say they're not cold all they want, and you can still put hats and mittens on them/in backpacks. My kids are definitely not passive, but they know we always buckle our seatbelt in the car, always brush teeth, and always dress for the weather. That doesn't mean they don't complain about it, but we do those things anyways.