I swear every year at this time I have to fight and struggle to make sure all my kids are wearing their jackets outside.

IMG: amazon.com
What is it with kids not wanting to wear a jacket when it is freezing cold outside? Today for instance, it is suppose to snow this afternoon, my son (he’s 12) goes to pick up his siblings from the bus stop and I quickly look out the window to discover he’s kicking a soccerball around outside with NO JACKET on. Of course this sets me off, does the kid want pneumonia or something? I’ve been sick for 3 weeks, I guarantee he does NOT want this. Yet he doesn’t understand why I get upset.
Please tell me someone else goes through this and it isn’t just me. Do you have a secret remedy? I’m sure even if they have a jacket on once they leave they probably shove it in their backpack once out of sight. Ugh, I give up.

That’s a fight I didn’t fight once they reached about 12. My kids are now adults and they survived. It makes us feel more terrible than they feel – if they’re cold enough, they’ll put on their coats.
He won’t get pneumonia from getting cold. I remember when I was a teen (in the 70s), there were kids like that and there will be kids like that when our kids have kids, I’m sure.