My husband and I have three year old twin girls and I’m currently 6 months pregnant with our third. We got in an argument over letting our daughters play outside.
We got hit hard with the snow but we both had work so we didn’t really have a chance to let the girls play in it. We were both off today so I thought perfect opportunity! This was the first winter they were old enough to care about snow and they were mesmerized by it.
So this morning I told my husband I’m going to take the girls out to play. He said he didn’t want to come because it’s too cold. I said that’s fine, I am taking them. He said he didn’t want any of us outside.
So yeah, that’s where things blew up. I was like “what do you mean you don’t want any of us outside?” and he started going on about how it’s way too cold, the wind chill is brutal, I’m pregnant, I could slip, the girls could get frostbite, blah blah blah. He was acting like I was trying to take them on a hike up a mountain in a blizzard or something.
The girls were already in their snowsuits, standing by the back door with these huge excited eyes, saying “snow! snow!” over and over. It was honestly the cutest thing ever and it was breaking my heart that he was trying to shut it down.
I told him I wasn’t asking him to come if he didn’t want to, but I was taking them out for a bit. He got all serious and said “no, I don’t want any of you going outside today.” Like, full stop. Not even a compromise.
I got pretty annoyed at that point. I’m like “dude, they’ve been staring out the window at the snow for two days straight. This is their first winter where they actually get how fun it is. We’ve both been working nonstop and I finally have a day off. I’m not keeping them locked inside like it’s the apocalypse.”
He kept saying he’s just trying to keep us safe because of the baby and the cold. I get that he worries, especially with me being 6 months pregnant, but come on — it’s our backyard. I wasn’t planning on letting them run around the neighborhood or anything crazy. Just some snow angels and maybe pulling them on the sled for 20-30 minutes.
Things got kinda heated. I told him he was being too overprotective and that if we never let them do anything fun because it’s “too cold” or “too risky,” they’re gonna grow up scared of everything. He said I was being reckless and not thinking about the baby.
In the end I just grabbed the girls’ mittens, told him I was going out anyway, and headed for the door. He ended up coming with us, mostly I think because he didn’t want to let me go alone. He was grumpy the whole time at first, standing there with his arms crossed while the girls went absolutely feral in the snow.
But after like 10 minutes even he started smiling. Lily kept trying to eat the snow and Emma was rolling around making the world’s tiniest, messiest snow angels. We ended up staying out for almost an hour. The girls had the time of their lives and honestly so did I. My husband loosened up and even pulled them around on the sled a few times.
When we finally came back in, everyone was soaked, freezing, and happy. The girls passed out for their naps super fast. Later my husband apologized for being so stubborn about it. He said he knows he overreacted but with the new baby coming he’s just stressed and feels like he has to protect us from everything.
I told him I get the worry, but we can’t bubble wrap the kids (or me) forever. A little snow play isn’t gonna hurt anyone.
