BabyWhispererForums.com
ACTIVITY => Activity Time & Toddler Activity => Topic started by: creations on October 04, 2012, 17:56:37 pm
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It's so cold, the rain never seems to stop and it's only autumn. The weather is just going to get worse, so, what do you do about outside play in bad weather?
I don't really like going out in the wind and rain but somehow I think I'm going to have to get used to it as we can't stay in doors for months on end. We go to toddler groups, indoor play, but it's not the same as climbing, running and sliding.
Do you still take your toddler to the play park to go on the swings and slides? What do you dress them in?
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Yes ,we are out every day, and when DS was young it was the same! In rainy cold autumn weather he had a rain suit and rain boots. Dressed him appropriately underneath so on a warm rainy day it might have been a long sleeved to and the rain pants only (overalls) or a t-shirt inside the jacket, but on cold days it was warm sweaters and track pants underneath. I despise the cold and rain and found the only way to deal with it was to have my own rain suit as well, warm hat, rain boots and get on with it....it made it much more bearable when I had my own rain gear!
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i hate eeky weather but am gearing up for it because DS2 is an outdoorsy kind a guy, DS1 is more indoorsy....good gear is key!
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we go out whatever although I must admit I find it harder now I have M too as she is not too steady on her feet! I just bought H overalls so he wears them. I am a big advocate of fresh air whatever the weather and H is SUCH an outdoor boy.
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creations,how do you post a link to a site?my sister got an all in one waterproof jumpsuit that her LO loves!he can go out in any weather!he loves it!i was just looking at one online here,deciding which size to get!coincidence!xxx
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All in one waterproof and wellies and off to the park we go - for the sake of everyone's sanity!!
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http://sunshinebabyhampers.ie/Clothing/Waterproofs
did that work?!
oh yay!!!!i think it did!xxx
this is the one she got-she's v pleased with it.her LO is 19mo now & quite happy in it!if only they did adult sizes!x
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Thanks ladies, and thanks for the link Happy :)
This might sound a bit strange but I've just never done it before. For playing on equipment like slides and climbing frames, do you still let them do it when it's wet, is it safe? I mean ok obviously it's more slippery but if they are ok on it when it's dry can they handle it when wet?
And what about hands, do you leave them bare so they can grip well or put gloves on??
I sound so dim but I suppose it's just one of those things I've never been in this situation before.
I think I might need to get a rain suit for myself. I've got a ski suit I wonder if that would be ok to save on ££s
Brrr...I really don't look forward to this. I need to change my mind set about it because I want to enjoy playing with DS out in the wind/cold/rain, I just hate bad weather! (although I'm the first out there if it snows, huge snow men lined the length of the town a couple of years back when DP and I got the snow bug)
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I see how slippery it is on the day - generally they are fine and just need reminding to take it slowly since its slippery. We don't bother with gloves unless its snowing since neither of mine are keen!
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We are just working on this really - my 2 tend towards being 'fair weather' kids - but now the energy levels are rising we have to get better at it all.
We have tried sending them out to play with umbrellas to get them used to it a bit! Just for fun - not rain protection :P.
Last year I got them both ski suits, and they used the coats all the time. REALLY helped the cold days - having a proper coat on you aren't even cold - before I assumed I ought to buy a coat from a clothes shop when really it should be technical outdoor wear.
We have winter snow boots as well as wellies. I get stuff from a discount outdoor warehouse.
Oh, and thermals underneath instead of clothes. SO much warmer and so much easier to run and play!
Think ski layers - you wouldn't stick jeans under ski pants iyswim?
M&S do great thermal sets. They are also a fab solution to what to wear to bed on cold winter nights ;).
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I take a window squeegee and a little handtowel to the playground, quick squeegee off of a slide or swing seat and we're golden. I take gloves off if requested, but try and remember to have an extra/dry pair in my bag for on the way home.
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as an aside I am beginning to rethink my desire to live in the UK......
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yah, it does rain. But we are so charming!! ;)
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Thanks Liz. That's really helpful about the clothes.
I just got him some snow boots last week. They look really snug and he was happy running around the shop in them but when the assistant suggested we should get wellies instead we tried to put some on him and he cried, he really wasn’t having it and made his feelings very clear. So we have good boots although he can't wade in them (which tbh I don't think he will be doing anyway) and we've sprayed them with extra water proofing spray. He proved yesterday that he can climb the slide ladder wearing them so I think we got a winner there.
I saw an all in one ski suit when we were getting him a new coat last week too. I was in two minds about buying it but I think I'll go get it. The coat I already bought will still be needed for short walks to the car, shopping, toddler group etc and the ski suit can be used for bad weather play park trips.
I think I'll be getting my ski suit out too - hope it still fits!
Like the squeegee idea for the slide anna. Over summer I had a small towel in the car for drying off slides after the rain but we basically didn't go to the park unless it was a dry day (and too few of those!)
Living in the UK is fine - but COLD! I have never re-acclimatised since moving back. Where I live people go out in t-shirts all summer regardless that it is blowing a GALE and freezing cold.
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yah, it does rain. But we are so charming!!
that I totally agree, if only wishes would come true, i so love London..........and my UK life...
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Mukta - so it Chicago weather better than London weather - I thought it got a lot colder and snowier than London.
come to London - I want to get to know each other more!!
alex
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But we are so charming!!
LOL!!
Is this where i tell you that my mum prefers hamish not to play in her loungeroom in the winter as it's not heated? the concept of playing in all in ones and wellies is insanity!! :P
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Creations, I have an outdoor kid too and TBH unless it is windy, AND cold or windy AND very wet he wants to be out at least 30mins a day ;)
We too tend to throw on gumboots and waterproof overalls and then he just wears warm tops/jacket etc.
My lovely child will NOT wear hats much ATM or gloves but I do my best and try to keep the outing short or if its really cold and I know his hands will freeze we play in the garage opened up onto the yard where it is sheltered.
Zs fav things to do at the park in the wet is jump/walk or pock sticks in the puddles anyway, the slide doesnt get a look in ::) That said I always have a towel or cloth to wipe swings/slides down with incase.
and.....if your pathetic like me go get a hot cuppa on the way to warm your insides when your out there....the empty cup usually ends up doubling as a 'bucket' for Z to put bark etc into :P
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Well, I've ordered an all in one ski suit for him. with p&p it only came to £20 a total bargain, it was massively reduced clearance.
We attempted a trip to the park this morning. He was dressed warmly enough for today (it's only october!) and I dried off the slide with a towel BUT after one slide and one climb he sat on a section of the climbing frame that had a big puddle I hadn't noticed and his trousers were soaked through. He just isn't old/developed enough to understand not to sit in puddles (it wasn't an on-purpose-for-the-fun-of-it thing). So without the waterproof clothing our trip was over. soaked jeans and straight back in the car to get home before he froze to death.
Sara, we don't have a garden for outdoor play, just a roof terrace :(
I'd love to have a garden for a slide and climbing frame for him but it's hard to get somewhere like that in our town.
We live on the coast and it is so windy even in when the sun is out. The last couple of summers the terrace was lovely in the sun but this summer has just been a wash out and it's so high up it's doubly windy, plus it really isn't a fun place to play like a garden would be. That's why we have to go to the play park which is a drive away. If we were at home outdoors it would be so much easier to not worry so much about cold and wet (for all of us) but as it is I have to make sure we are all going to be ok for the full trip.
I've tried on my ski suit (from about 10 years back!) and it fits so I'm sorted.
DP is looking at clearance mens ski suits so that he can be snuggly too and I've instructed him to go buy a squeegee in town to reduce the puddle size on the slides.
Today was so disappointing, but I'm looking froward to us all being kitted out and able to play in the cold. DS's winter hat from last year still fits (size 6-12 months!) and it's so snuggly and cute with ear covers and a velcro under chin fastening so it allows lots of movement (hoods don't always do they) and luckily I've had him in a hat last winter and a cap all summer so he is used to wearing one and not grumbling.
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the 3 of ye are gonna look so cute in yer all-in-ones!!!!xxx
sorry today didn't turn out so well....dontcha just hate the rain!
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Disaster :(
DS and I tromped out to the park this morning in our ski gear and within 5 mins of being there he was soaked to the skin :(
It was dry and even sunny today (but cold and very windy here) but has been raining in previous days and at the top of the slide he sat down in preparation to slide down, there was a puddle there on the climbing frame/slide area and the wet went straight through his ski suit and leggings. Poor boy. He needed to get straight home to get dry and warm but of course didn't want to stop playing straight away.
I've just sent a complaint to the store as his suit was listed as waterproof >:(
Now I don't trust anything described as waterproof on the listing.
I think those thin puddle suits are waterproof though, but not warm. I think here, where it's so cold and windy the ski suit would be a better option but I'm lost now to find one that is a 'proper' ski suit.
On a slightly happier note I was very snug in my (very waterproof) ski suit although I felt like a prat wearing ski gear when the sun was out ::)
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The puddle suits are thin but you can put on loads of clothes underneath...
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LOL in the ski gear!!
Can you try.... (i really shouldn't be posting at all- like I have a clue..) but i was thinking trying something waterproof UNDER the ski suit? so if it gets wet he isn't wet to the bone? (i don't know what though.. i have in my head some sort of rubber cat suit style thing ::) )
I have been telling many people about how intrepid you brits are- they have looks of SHOCK on their faces when i talk about the squeegee thing to get the water off the slide! It's a great idea though..
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I think you guys are amazing. We hardly venture out the door in winter. Parks? Are you mad?!!!
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We hardly venture out the door in winter. Parks? Are you mad?!!!
This is us! ;D
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what a funny thread!
We have the puddle suits and ski suits - but probably like Chicago (have heard from many Poles here and there) we get very little in the way of UK/Irish weather....lots of snow, yes, rain yes but it comes and goes away as fast as it comes but then plenty of sunshine. I am soooo looking forward to the snow. Crazy for an Irish girl (as the whole country shuts down there once they get 2cm - eh, Happy?) but true!
As for what to wear in Ireland - even when we go back in the winter we don't get that much use of the snowsuits generally. Though two winters ago the snow was "so bad" there (made my PL husband laugh but anyhooo) that people didn't leave their houses at all! My kids were in their element then though as it was +2 (so much nicer than -20 here) and the snow was at a lovely consistency for building snowmen. They'd go out for hours and all my mammy's neighbours staring from their windows at them (Emma not even 2 yrs old) sitting in the snow with Bob the Builder toys!!
Right now here in Warszawa, its a typical Autumn day - 10 degrees, not much wind, full sunshine. I could count on 2 hands the amount of grey and dreary totally clouded over/rainy days in Spring/Autumn.....and as for summer, won't make you guys too jealous, will I?
I would say the puddle suits are the way to go in UK. They are rubber so totally waterproof and you could put lined trousers underneath. They also act like a windbreaker....A bit too warm for snowsuits I would think.
S x
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its a typical Autumn day - 10 degrees,
This made me freak out a little!
In our defence though- i had a polish friend at high school, and we sat in the classrooms FREEZING one winter day and i suggested that she might be thinking i was a wimp as she could pour a bucket of water on the ground and 10 minutes later have an ice skate- BUT she pointed out that she would NEVER EVER have been as cold as we were n our classroom in poland as the whole place is centrally heated.
Doesn't have much to do with the park though... It was a crazy unseasonably +10 degrees today (it's usually much warmer than that) and i thought it was the end of the world!
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i'm chuckling away to myself here!!!! ;D ;D ;D
creations, how annoying that it isn't waterproof....can you get your money back?or some sort of compensation/swap?
i have in my head some sort of rubber cat suit style thing ::) )
omg...you should be in retail!!! :-* classic!
the whole country shuts down there once they get 2cm - eh, Happy?)
i can vouch for that.we got stranded in school the year before last...literally couldn't get the cars out of the carpark....we had to wait 5 hours for the local council to come & grit the road (&by grit, i mean 4 aul lads throwing fistfuls out of the back of a van!!!!)....we are ahead of the tiems here in ireland!!! ::) ::) ::) ::)
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BUT she pointed out that she would NEVER EVER have been as cold as we were n our classroom in poland as the whole place is centrally heated.
far too warm if you ask me! Poles like their indoor temps to be in the 20s (like my MIL loves 25-26) whereas I am used to 17-18 probably and a lot cooler at nights in winter (indoors at my family home I mean). My DH has been known to wear a hat to bed in my mam's house when we go there for Christmas (he's baldy) LOL!
Part of the reason why I signed myself out of hosp after having Emma at 48hrs rather than waiting till morning (it was Sunday 6pm when she was 48hrs, here you have to wait for that magic figure) was the heat. It was around -15 outside and felt like +30 inside - madness. I was sweating anyway, hormonally, after birth...but couldn't breathe with the stifling heat....and the windows were all barred up, couldn't even open them (not that you'd want to, with a windchill of -20 or below outdoors).
anyway - as for the snowsuit - I know my kids ones probably wouldn't stay dry if you sat them in a puddle?!? Maybe "waterproof" means more like dry snowproof for these types? Puddlesuits stay completely dry, for sure, have them tried and tested with two spirited monkeys.
S x
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omg...you should be in retail!!! classic!
I know right!
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Creations, try those really cheap magic gloves that fit any size, and waterproof dungarees for DS, you'll be sorted!
We did get passed on an old coat last year and he wore that instead of a waterproof jacket. Ever the glamorous look, but kept him warm. And snow boots are a firm hit here!
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i have in my head some sort of rubber cat suit
lol Love the idea - but perhaps not at the park - and not for DS :)
creations, how annoying that it isn't waterproof....can you get your money back?or some sort of compensation/swap?
I've emailed them saying I want a refund based on the fact it was listed as waterproof so will wait and see if I get it. Meanwhile have bought one from another shop where we saw some that really do look waterproof. It isn't quite as nice looking and was more expensive but hopefully we are back on track with our park trips now.
I did consider the puddle suit type option, but it is FREEZING here, I don't think I'd be able to layer DS up enough to keep him warm and still mobile. In my ski suit I was warm enough and the only time I felt too warm (like get this suit off me warm) was after we walked through the front door back home.
anyway - as for the snowsuit - I know my kids ones probably wouldn't stay dry if you sat them in a puddle?!? Maybe "waterproof" means more like dry snowproof for these types?
I think really the suit was mis-sold. I'd say a 'snow suit' is warm but not necessarily waterproof but a 'ski suit' I would say is waterproof (and wind protection), plus it was listed as waterproof. I doubt it would even be dry snow proof, even where he got a few light splashes on his arms I saw the water soak right in. If it was out in falling snow the flakes would melt on it and soak in iyswim.
We have some relatives in Scotland that sent a very very warm snow suit when DS was born, size 6-9 months so they were aiming the sizing just in time for our summer haha! (we didn't use it!)