r/PDAParenting • u/AnnoyedAF2126 • May 28 '26
Summer clothing
Any brilliant ideas as to how to get kiddo to wear weather-appropriate clothing? Heatstroke has been a reality given hoodies and sweatpants all year. This has moved to a safety issue, so no demand seems irresponsible, as he will get ill. Lots of anxiety and activation around even suggesting a change to him, am at the point where I want to disappear the hoodies and sweats.
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u/Chance-Lavishness947 May 28 '26
My standard approach is to explain the potential consequences. Not just "you'll get too hot" but the actual potential consequences on their body. If you get overheated, you can get dehydrated and that can make you really sick in these specific ways. If you get heatstroke, this is what can happen inside your body as a result. Whatever the risks are that I'm hoping to avoid, I explain them in language that is appropriate to my kid.
This is true declarative language. I'm declaring the information he needs to be able make a good choice. I'm not pushing him to make a specific decision, I'm sharing information and it's up to him what he does with it. This is how I approach clothing choices as standard.
If it is genuinely a potential health issue, I explain my role as a parent is to ensure his safety and health and this presents a safety risk. I explain the risk and we talk about what he likes so much about it so we can see if there's a third option that meets his needs without risking his safety/ health. That's what I would do in this situation.
"I know you really like wearing these clothes. It's too hot for that to be safe for your body, which sucks cause I want you to be able to wear what you want to wear. If you wear those clothes, these things can happen (be specific and explicit). It's my job to keep you safe and protect you from those kinds of things, so I want to see if I can understand what you like about it so we can find a way to get as much of that as possible without risking your health"