Monday, October 18, 2010

The War on Coats

My 9-year-old has announced that coats are his enemy.

He will no longer wear them, he says, because they're not necessary for a kid like him. As an out-of-touch adult, he says, I just wouldn't understand. I also shouldn't pay attention to him when he's shivering and says he's not really cold.

If we lived in a warm climate, that wouldn't be a problem, necessarily.

But we live in New England.

Just this morning, I was getting ready to drop The Youngest Boy off at school when I realized he hadn't brought a coat. (I had to strong-arm him into putting a long-sleeved shirt over his short-sleeve one after breakfast. This was after The Spouse made him put on jeans instead of the shorts he was originally wearing.)

The temperature outside the school was 40 degrees. So I turned around, drove home and insisted that he run into the house to grab a coat. This is a kid who's been dressing in shorts and short-sleeve shirts up until this morning.

And when he was leaving the car, he hand his coat in his hand but informed me he wouldn't be wearing it while he was at school.

How long will this go on, only time will tell. But next time I drive the kid to school, I'm going to make sure his coat's in the car first.

Image credit: Standish web site.

2 comments:

  1. My cousin refused to wear jeans and corduroy until he was into his early teens. He spent most of his fall and winters changing back into shorts after his mom thought he was already dressed for the day.

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  2. My 9-year-old brazenly tells me that he doesn't wear his coat at school, even when I make him take one with him. I guess I'm going to have to be okay with the fact that the only thing I can do is MAKE him bring the coat, knowing that when I'm not around, I can't make him wear it. Hopefully at some point, reason will kick in. . . When will that be?

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