Letting kids self-regulate clothing (in terms of temperature)

[laohaire]

My DD is 3yo and she prefers to wear less clothing than I would like her to. We have our heat set to 62F and frankly I get chilly without a fair number of layers on. But DD will refuse to wear a sweater, or slippers/shoes over her socks (we have hardwood floors and no rugs downstairs, so the floor is pretty cold).

Mostly I let her decide. Sometimes she DOES want a sweater. Also if we're going outside and she refuses a jacket, I just bring it along and go out the door - and on the steps ask her if she wants the jacket again. Almost always, the answer is suddenly Yes. That works fine.

But when her little hands are cold and she still refuses a sweater, what then? Force the issue or let her self-regulate?

[Breeder]

Making sure my kids are warm enough is a big issue with me. I'd probably say, "It isn't warm enough outside to play without a sweater. If you can't wear your sweater, you can't play outside."

But I'm lucky, DS1 has no problem with wearing weather appropriate clothing.

Subbing to see what others say, just in case DS2 is more particular about what he wears.

[meemee]

i let her self regulate. i check teh back of her neck. if its warm seh is fine.

i watch for the blueness round her lips. her hands and feet get cold and still she doesnt wear anything. she is 6 now. and i just let her be. i have not noticed any problems with it. in fact at times when she has been forced to wear clothes i have found her cheeks have gotten pinker coz of the heat. too hot.

so her self regulation has always been right on track. she deals much better with cold weather than i can. and so our comfort levels are much different.

i also notice she prefers less 'baggage' for ease of movement. she hates layers because it holds her back from playing. she rarely wears jeans coz they impede her climbing.

my dd even at 6 is v. v. physical. so i let her self regulate.

when she does get cold i notice she does ask for more. so no matter where i am i am always prepared.

dd has been self regulating since she was two years old.

[rgjmja]

My daughter loves to wear long pants , long sleeve shirts and jackets when it's 110 degrees outside .. I let her wear the clothes she wants inside but when we go out she has to change into something she picks from the cooler drawer ..

What works for us is we have a cool drawer of clothes and a warm drawer
She always gets pick what she wears but it has to be from the one of the "special drawer

[janasmama]

my dd (4) is still wearing skirts and tank tops...it's 50 something degrees outside. When i was young i could tolerate the cold. I even remember swimming in cool water that adults would never touch.

[dillonandmarasmom]

Both of my kids self-regulate most things. If and when dd dresses on the chilly side, I stash a fleece top in my bag. Typically, she'll be outside for a bit and realize it's chilly. Or, she'll look at what her brother or I am wearing and choose again.
I know it's tough to watch your LO skip out the door in what you deem not weather appropriate. BTDT on a daily basis!

[DizzyMissLizzy]

I say kids aren't going to freeze themselves. I have one hot blooded child and he is ALWAYS in shorts or his underwear running around in the cold.

BUT, I was that way too when I was little. My mom would bundle me up to go play in the snow and as soon as she shut the door....off came almost everything.

[rachelsmama]

dd is warm too, and is miserable if she gets too warm. In winter I always have lots of bits and pieces with me in case she gets cold and I offer frequently. I find small pieces work well, so if her hands get cold from hanling cold things she puts on mitts, if her neck is cold she has a neckwarmer, etc... Sometimes she'll wear a t-shirt with a neckwarmer and mitts and hat because that's what works at the time.

[Marsupialmom]

The only time we "forced" it was when we knew more than the child. Like we are going sledding. Refusal of gloves meant they wouldn't go. We explain why we have the rule first.

No life vest--no go. Again we explaom why we have the rule.

I have cold urticaria. I know when it is to cold for me. I hate when people tell me to dress more or less for XYZ reason. In reality it is very person specific. Living with cold urticaria, I have learn you can over dress yourself and not let your body "climitize" to cooler weather and make it harder to cope with it. I had a harder time controlling it when I let other people's expectations dress me. I also know my medical condition makes me not be the best person to judge coldness for other people. My tolorance levels are medically driven. I have been working out doors and felt fine but still have had hives becasue of the cold urticaria.

I do things like get put up wrong season clothes. We do keep some summer shirts because we teach layers. I would tell them why we have them out. We also teach drinking of water for longer clothes in summer (which can be better because it prevents sun burns).

As much difficulties as I have with cold I cannot stand most sweaters or sweatshirts.....well they have to be several sizes to big. Many of these types of clothing are to close to my neck and I feel like I am choking. I think as a child I had sensory issues because I couldn't stand shoes and many socks. I would look into that with your child.

Remember in your house you are not keeping it so cold that your child will get frostbite. They might be cold but they will essentially go unharmed.

[mammal_mama]

My children self-regulate. My 3yo loves to run around the house in just her diaper. Sometimes she'll dress warmer -- but usually everything soon comes right off.

[Jessy1019]

I let my kids self-regulate.

My mother made a HUGE fuss about my daughter's refusal to wear a jacket -- throwing the adult version of a child's tantrum and making a fool of herself, while also completely reinforcing Rylie's unwillingness to put on a coat. For my mom, it was all about how we looked to other people, if we were all bundled and she was not. SUCH a stupid reason to do anything!!

Anyway, I could probably count on one hand the number of times that child wore a jacket last year, but it was not a battle I wanted to fight. She was five years old -- plenty capable of asking for warmer things if she got cold.

I don't fight with my son about it either, and he's 2.5. He hates being cold and doesn't object to a jacket most times, but if he does, he doesn't have to wear one.

I will never understand parents making such a big deal about stuff like that.

[FondestBianca]

I think kids in general stay warmer than us adults because they move around more and their little hearts pump faster BUT, if it's a big gap between comfort levels I'd say to set some bounderies.

coming from someone who as a kid would swim in the lake until hypothermic, I'd say kids don't really have an accurate scale of what is acceptable for their body to run efficiently. If it's the difference of alight layer, so what... if it's the difference of long sleeve or tank top or the diff of coat vs. no coat I'd say to do the regulation for them.

My 3 y/o dd wil sweat if I put her in the same amount of clothing I wear to stay comfortable so I keep her usually at one less layer than I have. For instance, right now I might feel comfortable wearing a long sleeve shirt or really light sweatshirt in the house but she is fine in long pants and a t-shirt in the house...

[bluey]

I let the two olders self regulate to a point. Where we live, the winter can get really cold, really fast and it's dry dry dry so it doesn't always feel that cold at first. In the house, anything goes - for the oldest shorts all the time I've had the talk with them both about how when the thermometer falls below a certain level, coats need to be on. The thermometer is handily placed outside the kitchen window so they can check it themselves:

They've both tested that out themselves, just to see how cold it really was. They decided to wear jackets without me telling them too. They are 7 & 5 if that helps. The baby wears whatever I put her in

[karemore]

I let my daughter self regulate most of the time.

She can't know the temp outside, so I may insist on a jacket, but indoors if she wants bare feet on a cold floor it's her choice.

[Alyantavid]

I do pretty much let them decide. My oldest however would never wear a coat anywhere ever. So if its cold outside, I do ask him to wear a coat. My 2 year old prefers to be naked all the time and for the most part I do let him. He'll tell me if he's cold or wants a shirt or socks or whatever.

My kids are complete opposites temp wise. One is typically cold and the other is hot so I can't decide for them.

[Teenytoona]

I'd say self-regulate is good. If you're at home, then let the child decide. If you're going to be out and about, just make sure to bring something weather appropriate in case DC gets cold.

We keep our house at 62 and I don't usually want a sweater or anything more than t-shirt and pants when I'm going around the house doing things (laundry/housework, whatnot), so I imagine a playing kid would feel like a sweater is too much.

[spiritmomma]

From reading this thread, it seems like Self-Regulation is the answer. When I read the OP, I thought, "I could have written this!" Our house has hardwoods, no rugs, and our heat is not on yet. It's really chilly! I am currently wearing long underwear (top and bottom) polar fleece pants, a sweater, and two pairs of socks. DD prefers WAY less clothing than that. Her hands and feet are really cold, but her neck is warm, as is her chest and back. She seems comfortable, but I feel like this:: when I look at her!

[LionessMom]

my 4 and 5yo refuse to pick out their own clothes. the 5yo esp. she trows a fit if i ask her to pick something without looking at their weather report first .

however, i limit their choices. their drawer only has seasonal weather appropriate clothes in it. no other drawers with other stuff. they have the socks and undies drawer (i have to take out the short socks and replace with long socks soon) then the shirt drawer (which has only long sleeve shirts and sweater right now, with a couple of short sleeve), then the pant drawer which only has long pants and sweatpants. it helps with my issue and might help with yours. also, some people have shelves where they put whole outfits in each cubby. self reg is great. they really do know what they need. the only thing i really fight with any of the kids with is socks. they all refuse to wear them but i insist. esp when they are sick. jmo

[prothyraia]

Self regulate if it's a comfort issue, intervene if it becomes a safety issue (i.e. hypothermia or heat stroke).

I, for one, could be wearing a tank top at 62 degrees and be pretty comfy. On the other hand, once the temp. hits 80 I'm absolutely miserable all the time.

[PatchChild]

I think a lot depends on your child. I know my DS runs warmer than I do. He's perfectly happy and just right playing with about one less layer than I am. I do try to keep a hat on him these days though, since he's still almost bald. Fortunately, he likes them so hats are the compromise. Most likely he'll hate me for all the hat and no other clothing pictures I have of him.