Wednesday 7 December 2011

Why don't teenagers wear winter coats?

Arctic blizzards are set to battle the UK this week, the north is blanketed in snow and even here in the soft south there’s a wintery chill in the air.

Bearing all that in mind, it seemed perfectly reasonable to ask my son whether he planned to wear a coat to school this morning.

“No,” he growled, hardly glancing up from his bowlful of Frosties. (At least he eats breakfast – a survey published this week said only one in two of us eat before leaving home in the morning.)

But teenagers’ aversion to coats is a mystery to me. My daughter was exactly the same when she was at school. Even on the coldest, wettest days she’d head for the bus wearing a threadbare jumper and short school skirt and insist she didn’t feel cold at all. “I’m fine,” she’d mutter, “really warm” – oblivious to the fact that her chattering teeth and blue lips gave the game away.

My son can’t protest he hasn’t got a coat either. I’ve spent a fortune on the blooming things. Last year I figured that if I bought him an ultra-chic Superdry one that he really liked, it would do the trick. My plan worked for a few days but then he met up with friends at a pizza place near Magdalen Bridge and carefully hung his coat by the door. When he went to retrieve his coat at the end of the evening it had gone. In its place was a flimsy cotton jacket – obviously left by the person who’d nicked my son’s lovely, warm coat. The following day the temperature dropped to minus degrees so, worried he was going to freeze, I went out and spent my week’s earnings on an identical one. An identical one that he never wears.

I just hope that he’ll eventually follow his big sister’s example and wake up to the wonderfulness of coats. One day my daughter announced out of the blue that she was off to Topshop to buy a winter coat. She came back a few hours later with a stylish navy number that she still loves. Result!

PS. I mentioned last week how I can’t wait to see Steven Spielberg’s War Horse when it opens here in January. But considering I cry at anything (apart from that John Lewis ad), I was worried by the Times reviewer’s verdict on the New York premiere. “If you don’t cry in War Horse, it’s because you have no tear ducts,” he wrote. We have been warned.

10 comments:

  1. My two, 5 and 3 years old, both luckily still put their coats (and jumpers and thermal vests and snowboots and gloves and scarves and hats and earmuffs*) on when I tell them that it's FRREEEEEEZZZZZIINNNGG outside. But I noticed this morning that there were girls working into the infant school in socks and shirts. Bare-legged! How??? Maybe their temperature sensors just haven't started working yet? Or maybe I'm just old?

    *And that was this morning.

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    1. Hi Louise. The children must have been freezing. I'm glad that your two are sensible enough to wear lots of layers.

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  2. I meant 'walking' into school. I doubt much work was done.

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  3. That reassures me as my sixteen year old goes out minus his coat and he calls his thin zip up hoody his coat which drives me crazy! I too considered the super dry coat but I'm glad I didn't bother now!!

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    1. It was probably a wise decision, Nikki. My son's Superdry coat is draped over the bannister expectantly - but hasn't been worn yet this winter!

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  4. It's because he was born in Lancashire!

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  5. I have also spent a foutune on coats for my daughter who is 16.....funny thing is though she seems to change her fashion sense daily ! So of course her coat needs to 'go' with her outfit....and if it doesn't well she won't wear it ! It neither matters if it's freezing, rainy or there's a hurricane blowing, as long as she looks the part then she's happy. I however am not but teens are a force to be reckoned and I pick my battles wisely !

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    1. It's so cheering to hear that I'm not the only parent whose children won't wear coats. I think you're right though, Posh Bird, it's definitely because my son doesn't think his coat looks right with what he's wearing. He also says it's too heavy!

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  6. It is important to wear coats specially during winter. Some of teenagers are don't want to wear this because they have own reason. Maybe they are conscious of wearing this coats.

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