There’s No Such Thing As Bad Weather, Just Poor Clothing!
In a world where nothing seems certain, at least us Londoners can always rely on the good old British weather. Because if there’s one thing you can count on in this life, it’s that the next few months will offer up a miserable mixture of rain, sleet, hail and snow. In fact I’m pretty sure we’ve seen most of them in just the past week already.
And while most of us would prefer to wallow inside in the warm while winter does its thing, when you’re the parent of a toddler you’ve got no chance. The little buggers want to get out and about whatever the weather.
Rainy days are now known as puddle jumping days in our house (Thanks Peppa, you, er, swine) and the odd day that snow graces the ground calls for nothing less than a “SNOWMAN” klaxon at 5.30am from my darling little ones.
So once you’ve resisted the urge to fake your own death and lie motionless under the covers until they move onto some other bright idea (never going to happen) you find yourself reluctantly hunting for vest, socks and woollies to wrap up the little buggers so they don’t lose a finger to frostbite or a toe to trenchfoot.
Us Brits are notorious for discussing the weather – or rather complaining about it – but it seems we’re also notoriously bad at dressing for it. Which is ridiculous really seeing as we should be bloody used to rain and cold by now. The ozone layer isn’t heating us up that quickly!
The ‘more is more’ approach best describes our technique. i.e. Wrap them up in so many clothes they’re more likely to pass out from heat exhaustion than catch a cold. But a four-year-old’s coat won’t be pulled over more than three layers of bulky winter clothing, and that’s a fact. Mine ends up looking more like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters than a human being, and ends up going arse-over-elbow every time there’s a bump in the road because his hat is so far down and scarf so far up he can’t even see where he’s going.
Yes, I’m a terrible mother.
So I decided to investigate other ways to keep the little man, and his equally annoying loveable sister, warm and cosy this winter. A way that won’t lead to hypothermia or dehydration along the way. And I and came across the layering process pioneered by Norwegian designers.
Rather than just throwing on anything, brands like Tiny Trolls of Norway emphasise the need to dress your child for the weather, without having to buy a dozen different outfits. They start off with a snug little microfleece for when it’s just cool outside, chuck over a gorgeously fluffy Teddy Bear onesie when it gets a bit chillier, then add either a raincoat or a protective All Weather Coverall when the elements are against them. This protects your tiny trolls from all actualities associated with playing outside in the wind, rain or snow. The outdoor wear is designed to let the child’s skin breath inside, so you don’t have to worry about them overheating as they run around.
The idea of layering is such a simple one, but one that UK Mums are seemingly not too familiar with. Or at least not doing it in the right way! But with a little help from our Norwegian counterparts maybe we can learn to dress for the weather, not let it dictate to us whether we brave the great outdoors or not.
Damn it, now I’ve got no excuse.
- Belle About Town are excited to have negotiated our readers a whopping 25% off all Tiny Trolls of Norway products bought between now and Christmas. Simply enter the code FestiveFun1 at checkout for your exclusive discount! See www.tinytrollsofnorway.com for the full range.
