getting your child to wear snow boots

<p>We live in Rochester NY and my kids have not worn boots since 7th grade. They're nuts! But they're adament!</p>

<p>I figure by the time they are in college, one's children can decide for themselves how to dress (and to deal with the consequences).</p>

<p>My son, for instance, is going into his final year at WUSTL and has yet to be willing to shop for a winter coat or jacket. He says he is fine. His father and I think he is foolish, but heck, it's his body ...</p>

<p>Even if you were to take your daughter out to buy snow boots, you can't force her to wear them.</p>

<p>Kids do seem to vary in how they deal with the cold. My daughter was amazed (in college in Rhode Island) at the kids who wore shorts and flip flops outside in March.</p>

<p>Worrying about your college student wearing snow boots is a waste of time. Buying them may be a waste of money because even if she has them, she may not ever USE them. My kid goes to school in Boston. He grew up in CT. There is PLENTY of snow in both places. He doesn't own a pair of boots. When there was a big snow in Boston, he BORROWED DH's hiking boots for the rest of the winter. That was as good as it got (I'm not sure he EVER wore them, but he took them to Boston). The college kids just trudge through the snow in their sneakers. I've seen kids in flip flops, and house slippers. DD was smarter. She is going to college in CA.</p>

<p>We live in New England - kids don't wear winter coats and I have even seen girls walking around in flip-flops on very cold, snowy winter days.</p>

<p>Sorry Jerseydad, but I agree with the crowd. My D will be starting her second year in northern NE, coming from the Deep South. She did buy waterproof hiking boots last year, but I think she wore her tennis shoes as much as the boots. We bought her a ski jacket, but she pronounced it too warm, and only wore it to ski, and only then if the temp was single digit or less.
After last year, though, she did just break down and order some rain boots from LLBean, because 'lots of people have them'.
The first time your D slips on the black ice in her cowboy boots, or can't make it up the small slope from the dorm, she'll find some other shoes.</p>

<p>There are pink heavy boots available, my daughter owns a pair!!</p>

<p>Take a look at North Face for the Bella Alta <a href="http://www.thenorthface.com/opencms/opencms/tnf/gear.jsp?site=NA&model=AYX8%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.thenorthface.com/opencms/opencms/tnf/gear.jsp?site=NA&model=AYX8&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Or these on sale at shoes.com-this is what my daughter has, but the color is last years color which is why they are on sale
<a href="http://www.shoes.com/product.asp?p=5014669%7EWomens%7CBoots%7CCold+Weather&sc=WOMENS&variant_id=63460%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.shoes.com/product.asp?p=5014669%7EWomens%7CBoots%7CCold+Weather&sc=WOMENS&variant_id=63460&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If she doesn't want pink, she will still be able to find a pair she likes if she looks! My daughter loves to shop, so she was happy to buy boots, especially pink ones :-)</p>

<p>Honestly, send her off without the boots and wait until a few days after the first serious snowfall upstate. Then tell her to email a style number from LL Bean and you'll have boots delivered to her. She'll have seen enough smart, older students wearing good coats and boots by that point to realize that she needs those things.</p>

<p>I agree that you have just gotten another gray hair for nothing. One thing about being in places where it snows a lot, is that they are very good about moving the snow especially along the walkways. D took her Ugg boots to school doubt if she wore them much. She goes to school with Cangel's D where the students wear flip-flops until the snow hits the ground.</p>

<p>She'll work it out and she already knows that on-line shopping is a wonderful thing ;)</p>

<p>Are you sure this kid is a girl?</p>

<p>I have never heard of a girl refusing to accept any type of garment her parents would be willing to purchase for her. Boys, yes; girls, no.</p>

<p>But anyway, I don't see any harm in your daughter waiting to buy boots until she's in Syracuse and can see what she needs and what the other kids are wearing. The campus is not in an isolated place. She can go shopping if she wants to.</p>

<p>I'd say if snow boots are your biggest concern you have a lot to feel good about ..what about condoms? STDs? binge drinking? The list goes on and on....jeeze, snow boots??</p>

<p>I admit I did think tht the child in question must be 5</p>

<p>Who will start a thread entitled " How to get my child to zip up her coat?</p>

<p>I live outside of Syracuse (and gladly leaving in two weeks) and I can safely say that no one really wears snow boots even though we probably should. THat being said, anyone who doesn't will be fine without them. However, this style of knee-high boots came in style over the winter so if your daughter really cares about how she looks, she'll probably find them. If not and she gets a cold, she'll get over it. Everyone up here gets atleast three bad colds and we all survive lol.</p>

<p>No...the new thread will be "how to get my child to WEAR a coat". My son didn't have a winter coat in Boston until well into the winter term. He just wore a hoodie and a polar fleece. He did wear gloves and a hat (his choice...I didn't even know he took them with him). In all fairness to the OP...I understand the concern. It gets cold in Syracuse. And snowy. But college students sometimes need to make decisions the "hard knock" way....learning by "experience". "Fashion" in college is a very different thing also. The OP's daughter may find that her cowboy boots might not fit in with the SU college fashions either.</p>

<p>To me, this thread is about a dad who focuses on those things that he deems important.....protecting one's family from weather is on their short list. I completely agree that most girls will take someone up on a shopping jaunt, however, I suspect that the trip will be limited in scope to boots so, the response has been negative. </p>

<p>Another approach, mentioned by Sybbie, I think, is to get her a pair of Uggs.. which are wonderful boots with sheepskin linings...they come in a variety of colors....pink, red, green, black, brown etc....and the best part is one wears them barefoot.....no socks needed....it is a great option... nice and warm and good soles.....they form to your own foot.... and they will probably last her a lifetime.....Merrills are great clogs too, but not high enough for the volume of snow that Syracuse is known for......</p>

<p>Definitely surf the web.....one of my girlfriends got her daughter a red pair for xmas a few years ago on e-bay as normal sources were SOLD OUT... </p>

<p>If she is still resisting, then let it go, and perhaps Thanksgiving break will be timely enough for a winter provisioning shopping trip?</p>

<p>My high schooler in down state New York was determined never to wear a real winter coat last winter. I thought he was nuts, but you know he didn't miss a single day of school. Maybe bundling up is bad for us. :-)</p>

<p>Definitely UGGS. Just waterproofed and ordered new liners for both DDs. If she loves the pink cowboy boots, she may not want to ruin them in the dead of winter and the slush and salt of Syracuse.</p>

<p>I admit I have nver been in a nasty east coast winter-
We do go skiing quite a bit, and if your core is warm, your extremties will be warm. ( If you get cold, put on a hat)</p>

<p>The most problem I have had, was with my now 16 year old, when she was about 2 yrs old and she would not wear a hat- mittens or have me zip her coat and it was 22F. She was really mad I wouldnt let her go outside.( all the kids were running outside barefoot- it was a * macho* thing)</p>

<p>It usually is about 27F, but the past few winters it has been horribly warm- sometimes even 38F * hoping for a nice dry, cold winter this year*</p>

<p>My D got a pair of Uggs ( was it last year they were in style?) but they arent really good in the snow IMO. I don't think they have much of a sole and wouldnt they get soaked fairly fast?</p>

<p>I think there have been various threads on winter apparel though
and LLBean_ REI and Zappos all carry winter stuff and have good selection online</p>

<p>UGGs --
(a) very 2004
(b) not actual snow boots
(c) loved by some, but derided by many: YMMV</p>

<p>She'll ultimately do what she wants, so you really ought to wait until she knows what she wants.</p>

<p>Look for merrill polar mocs. I found they keep my feet warmer than my snow boots. Good in the rain and slush. They even come in pink. I'm sure she can find them in Syracuse or order online.</p>

<p>I am a Syracuse alumnus. Back in my senior year, we had a 115 inches of snow. Here's an important fact about Syracuse to keep in mind: They know how to do snow. Unlike New Jersey, and Metro NY, they get roads, sidewalks and stairs plowed and cleared quickly and efficiently. This also goes for the SU campus. Even in 115 inches of snow, all I really needed <em>most</em> of the time were a pair of waterproof hiking boots and some thick socks. It will not be the end of the world if you can't get your daughter to buy snow boots, and I guarantee you, the first time her feet get wet in the cold, she'll rethink those cowboy boots, or at least layer on the socks.</p>