🏳️🌈🖖🏽Parents: true?
@georgetakei
TRUE
Had this conversation TODAY with a teenager.
@georgetakei Yes. Also true for some cold climate dog owners.
@georgetakei
You know what's better than the joy of raising children?
The blissful sound of silence from not having any fucking kids. 🙂
@georgetakei Never had it with my daughter but my nephews will really really try to go out in the freezing cold in a T-shirt and claim they know better than me ..... I can see how it gets frustrating.
@georgetakei Fortunately not true. It's not cold enough to freeze where I live.
But yeah my son definitely is still wearing shorts to school while the temperature is in the 40s.
@georgetakei mostly true... Some days I don't have the energy to try.
@georgetakei@universeodon.com100% accurate. Also followed by the inevitable “I’m cold!” And the “What did you think was going to happen?”
@georgetakei Yes, this doesn't require yelling, threats or punishment for correction, being cold its its own consequence and lesson ;-) Making sure they have a way to get warm (sneak a sweater in their backpack) is the responsible parent thing to do.
@georgetakei I work in a public highschool in South Dakota and there are kids who show up in January in basketball shorts. Between the time that they wake up and the time they arrive at school there is apparently no one capable of stopping that from happening.
@georgetakei I have gotten my Eldest to agree to take sweat pants in their bag. They walk out of the house in gym shorts and a t-shirt, but my usual response is "It won't kill you, but I can't stop you from doing something dumb."
20 years ago I yelled, "Get back in here and put on a hat and gloves!"
A little later, after my daughter had arrived at high school, my new-mother neighbor came over to lecture me about expressing anger.
10+ years later when that same (former) neighbor had tween-age kids, she shared with a mutual friend that she had been way too judgmental at that time.
But…
Now my daughter is 35 and has 2 babies:
She has a gazillion times better parenting skills than I ever had with her or her older sisters.
She will NOT be yelling at them to put on their hats and gloves, or, if she does, she will later talk calmly to them about how she had failed to model good communication skills.
So: There is hope for the future?
Edited 1y ago
Seems true. I remember one winter my mother decided the best way to punish me was to take my bedsheets away and turn the heating off in my room.
@georgetakei Yup. I had this conversation with my Mum, and subsequently had it with my son. Though neither actually ended with shouting, the same dynamic was definitely there.
I suspect that children simply have a higher metabolic rate than their parents, so parents routinely overestimate the insulation needed.
@georgetakei Pretty much. But I was never one to force my kids to wear more temperature appropriate clothing. They can determine their own temperature. If they’re uncomfortable, they’ll learn and they’ll be fine. Of course, with temperatures like today’s, I may have a different response.
@georgetakei mittens are only desirable once the fingers start turning to ice...
@georgetakei Nope. I remind them to wear a jacket, but have never felt the need to yell at them for choosing not to.
@georgetakei My tween thinks his "Viking" blood makes him immune to the cold. He did our local Polar Bear Plunge last year and this--36F outside! He hangs around the house in only his underpants and won't wear anything warmer than a hoodie no matter how cold it is outside.
We have to frequently remind him that hypothermia can happen even if you're not consciously aware of the cold.
@georgetakei and fighting against wool socks in the summer «because they are comfortable»
@georgetakei depending on their age, but from certain age in my book they chose what they wear and how much cold they will endure, I just gave one warning on the cold it is outside and they decided one way or the other. But living in Portugal and in Lisbon the worst I'm talking is about 39.5 F
@georgetakei My siblings and I grew up in far northern states, near the Canadian border. Parents had no problem getting us to dress for the cold. I now live much farther south (and the world has warmed a lot) and still own mukluks and a winter parka (and the scarves my wife knitted me). Even teen respond to 60mph breezes at -20F!
@georgetakei - My mom used to over bundle me for cold weather. I hated it, because I was way hotter than I was comfortable with.
Turns out, I run hot. I just walked outside in 18F weather inknee-length shorts and a t-shirt to check on a few things and was fine.
When it's windy, THAT'S when I feel cold, and a simple down jacket will take care of that.
@georgetakei no, I make her put the extra layer in her backpack. And if she then leaves things at school, such as her boots that are there now, and later needs them, then that's on her.
@georgetakei today the 5-year-old took off her sweatshirt any time we entered a store and resisted putting it back on until we were outside in the cold. In her defense, several intentions to go outside aborted before we did. Most of those were trying to get her to put on the sweatshirt.
@georgetakei Mine is, "Just take it. You don't have to wear it." And sure enough when they come home, they are wearing it.
@georgetakei I know where that comes from, but honestly, kids can judge whether they're cold! forcing them to bundle is... pointless? (after age 3 or whatever)
