Is May weather causing clothing meltdowns in your house? One day it is warm enough for shorts. Other’s you need polar fleece (well, I do at least). Kids don’t get it and the “…but I wore shorts yesterday…why do I need pants today?!” whine starts. Dressing kids in May can take some creativity.
For younger kids – give them the choice of two outfits. Only two. (Don’t open the conversation to letting them add or subtract things from the two choices – because this just opens the window for debate…in the morning…when you’re trying to get their butts out of the house and out in the world). The choice of two outfits gives them the power of deciding what they want to wear – and you the control over the appropriate dress for the weather.
For older kids – tell them the weather forecast. Or have them turn on the T.V. for a minute and have them tell you the forecast. Let them know; 2 C is cold, 15 C is chilly, 20 C is warm. So if they tell you it’s 7 C this morning – you can say – “that’s jeans, t-shirt, long sleeve + a jacket weather” and let them choose their clothes from there.
Do you have any tips on how to dress kids for the unreliable spring weather? Share with the club in the comment area!
In our house, the TV on a school morning is dangerous, but I do let my kids click on the shortcut link to The Weather Network on the kitchen desk computer. The link takes them directly to the weather for our area and my son in grade one has been able to determine the weather for the day and we easily dicuss what clothes are appropriate for which temperatures. We usually look for the weather the night before and lay out the clothes before bed. Of course, there are sometimes the arguements about vest or sweatshirt for morning recess, but we can usually agree. I have also learned that the cold doesn't bother most kids as much as it bothers adults, so I pick my battles. Our house also has a little gadget from "La Crosse Technology" that somehow transits to a satelite and sends current weather info to a small display unit in our house. There is a little character who's clothes change depending on the weather (shorts/pants/umbrella,sunglasses, etc.). It helps you agree on what to wear out the door right now.