Is it not "cool" for middle school kids to wear winter coats?

[Lisa L from MI]

My dd 11 is in 6th grade....She just left for school and the temp is 34 with a windchill of 26!! She tells me her "hoodie" is just fine!!! I just get so tired of arguing with her....I just said "fine" and out the door she went....I guess it just isn't "cool" to wear a winter jacket nowadays....in January....in Michigan!!!!!!

 

[tar heel]

Not cool here, but we're expecting a high in the 70s today.

 

[wdwmom2]

I get the same thing with my 3 DD's, ages 13, 18, and 20. I figure that if they get cold enough, they will learn their lesson and wear a proper coat. Although when it is REALLY cold they do wear them. I don't argue with them about it. They are only outside long enough to get to the car, and then the car to the school's front doors.

 

[Pam]

Nope - not cool in the slightest! But take heart, when they are in the 10-11th grade, it's suddenly cool to wear a ski jacket.

---- from Pam, who has gone through this phase twice and just got her 10th grader a ski jacket for Christmas.----

 

[always quiet]

I have 2 in middle school...............it can drive you nuts, can't it??!! I finally set down a rule...if the temp is below 32, a coat must be worn! Hoodies just don't cut it lower than that and there is a difference between being 'cool' and 'cold'. One morning, it was brutually cold....wind chill of 0! The kids actually asked me to drive them in instead of taking the bus. As we were heading in, we passed another bus stop around the corner. There was a boy, wearing nothing but a t-shirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was trying to stand there, looking cool, but somehow, the blue lips just didn't cut it. The kids then realized how stupid that really looked.

 

[Kaycee]

We're going through the same thing here with my DS13 who is in 7th grade. It's not that cold here right now, but when it was in the 20's a few weeks ago he still insisted that a hoodie was fine, he didn't need a coat. I was worried until I picked him up from school and saw maybe a dozen kids wearing coats (he goes to a school with over a thousand students) and the rest were in hoodies or sweaters with no coat.

 

[powellrj]

its not cool in Indiana either. When DS came home for winter break, he left 2 winter coats in his locker. "Its ok mom I won't need them. " Yeah, it just got down below 0 for several days with 15 inchs of snow. I did get him to wear a lined windbreaker this am. The other "cool" thing to do is wear shorts. Hello, there is snow on the ground, no you can't wear shorts. He is in the 8th grade.

 

[Karel]

My middle school boys just left in their hoodies. It is the thing to wear these days. My oldest says there's no room in his locker for a coat.

When the weather gets really bad - snowy or icy - I will make them put a coat on but it's been pretty warm around here lately. They are the ones that have to freeze at the bus stop.

 

[wdwmom2]

its not cool in Indiana either. When DS came home for winter break, he left 2 winter coats in his locker. "Its ok mom I won't need them. " Yeah, it just got down below 0 for several days with 15 inchs of snow. I did get him to wear a lined windbreaker this am. The other "cool" thing to do is wear shorts. Hello, there is snow on the ground, no you can't wear shorts. He is in the 8th grade.

Shorts, OMG!!! Now I would definately draw a line there.

 

[chrissyk]

DH and I went out to dinner last week, and on the way out we saw a 'tween wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a miniskirt with no leggings! She was dressed for July, and it's January in New England! Her normally-dressed parents were with her...I couldn't believe that anyone would allow their child to dress like that in such frigid weather!!

 

[Lisa L from MI]

My 3rd grader just left..and put her winter jacket on....no questions asked and even asked for her gloves!!

 

[MELSMICE]

My kids all wear coats, but...........................no boots, hats or gloves - definitely, definitely, not the cool thing to do.

I figure as parents we need to pick our battles. Someday they'll realize how dumb it was to go outside in freezing temps without the "proper gear" Sometimes it's just not worth the argument.

BTW - when my DD's were in 3rd grade they pretty much wore what I told them to also, but now, like I said, some things are just not worth arguing about.

 

[phorsenuf]

Personally I don't care if its "cool" or not. Its winter you wear a coat...plain and simple! Hat and gloves too. My kids don't complain because they know better. I know people say pick you battles, well, this is one I picked long ago and won! LOL

I don't care that people say you can't get sick from the cold but I think it opens you up to catching more. My kids are very rarely sick. I can't even remember the last time they had a cold (and I just got over a bad one). The boy across the street is one of those kids that will stand at the bus stop in a t-shirt and shorts in 20 degree weather (his mother says he "runs" hot). That kid is never dressed for the weather and you know what......he's always sick with a cold or flu or bug or anything else. Even his teachers ask about his coat and about how he's dressed.
So, while they may say you can't get sick from the cold I think it contributes.


ETA: Melsmice - we must have been posting at the same time because you referenced battles too! LOL
Please know I wasn't reffering to you specifically (sp?) when I said what I did about picking battles. LOL

 

[poohandwendy]

Hey, I quit fighting that battle years ago.

Yep, coats are totally lame here too (I guess). My youngest is in MS and she wears layers under her hoodie. (maybe a coat if it is absolutely and dangerously FREEZING out) My son started HS this year and he still doesn't like to wear a coat. My eldest DD (18 this month) will wear her lettermans jacket, but it doesn't seem warm enough IMO.

I thought they would get sick and/or learn their lesson. So much for my brilliance. I officially know nothing....

 

[DCLuvinit]

When I was in school here in FL it used to be un-cool to use an umbrella if it was raining, even pouring.

 

[piratesmate]

The official excuse is that coats don't fit in the lockers. I've seen them & you know what? With the backpack in & half their books, a heavy winter coat won't fit in some of the lockers. (There are 2 types the school has.) I guess the good news is that there's no way to stuff a kid into one.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Ds is in 6th grade and I've not had any problems w/sending him in a winter coat, hat and gloves. We haven't come up against boots yet -- that might be a sticky issue.

I remember when I was in school any coat with a hood was uncool, as were umbrellas and boots.

My big middle school concern was lunch boxes -- ds won't take anything that doesn't have to have a cold pack, so brown bags were out -- but that turned out to be a non-issue. Probably because they all carry those "cool" soft-sided bag-types now.

 

[Mimi Q]

Definitely not cool here either. I've just given up that battle.

 

[MELSMICE]

ETA: Melsmice - we must have been posting at the same time because you referenced battles too! LOL
Please know I wasn't reffering to you specifically (sp?) when I said what I did about picking battles. LOL

No offense taken! I didn't think anything like that while I was reading your post!!!

 

[Barb D]

My oldest says there's no room in his locker for a coat.

This is EXACTLY what my 8th grader told me today. And frankly, he's right. The 8th grade lockers at my kids' school are TINY. Anyway, it's supposed to be in the 50s today. My kids do wear coats if it's 40s or below. 6th grade DD asked to wear shorts today and I let her. I know that my body temp tends to run hot, so I'd be comfortable in shorts today too. Unfortunately, I have to go to work and shorts won't cut it there!