Here’s why Autumn is terrible for parents…

Forget all your romantic notions about autumn, it’s actually TERRIBLE for parents. Here are ten reasons why:

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness…and the constant argument about wearing a coat, socks, winter shoes, and so on. On repeat. Until spring. (Why is it that the colder it gets, the more they want to wear the summer dresses they refused to wear all summer? Is it just my children?)

Forget being a parent, your job is now officially a coat holder. And yes, the colder it gets, the less they want to wear it.

Which means you’re also constantly on alert for any disapproving looks and tuts from people who think you’re a terrible parent for letting them walk around in short sleeves when there’s frost on the floor. Remember to follow this plan!

Fireworks, so pretty! Apart from when someone’s letting them off outside your window, five minutes after your child has gone to sleep. Three weeks after Bonfire Night.

Leaves, so pretty! Apart from when you have to push a pram uphill through them.

Your pockets are now full of conkers…

…And the tissues you only remember after they go through the wash.

The constant freezing morning / scorching afternoon combo sets you off into a tailspin about the right type of clothes to wear to the park. One wrong move and you’re stuck there, pushing the swing into eternity, while the cold mist seeps into your bare-sleeved bones because it looked sunny when you left the house.

There’s the eternal dilemma about how to dry all the washing.

The dreaded CLOCK CHANGE. I will say no more.

Our new coats were sent to us by Muddy Puddles and are the Ecosplash design, which means they are made of recycled plastic bottles – how brilliant is that? Hopefully it will mean more wearing and less carrying. Fingers crossed.

You can also read a Q&A with me over on the Muddy Puddles blog, about how I get my children outside in cold weather, why we went to the shop so many times when they were little, and the best places to go somewhere green in London.

(Here’s an outtake from our photoshoot, with added feet and blankets)

More posts…boring things I love now I’m a parent and brilliant things about being out of the baby days and make sure you follow me on Pinterest