Mom’s Perfect Response to Daughter Refusing To Wear Coat: ‘Everyone Knows’

A busy mom whose daughter refused to wear her coat on the way to school, despite the freezing temperatures, came up with an inspired solution.

Mornings represent the most difficult part of the day for millions of parents.

In a poll of 2,000 U.S. parents with school-age kids that was conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Amazon Devices, more than half of respondents (58 percent) said they considered school day mornings to be the most stressful part of their day.

Getting their kids dressed ranked among the biggest daily stresses, with 25 percent of those polled citing it as a major source of issues. In fact, 57 percent of parents polled said they had been late to work because of getting their kids ready in the mornings.

Given that this appears to be a universal issue for parents, it’s hardly surprising that the actions of Sacha Trigg, a mom living in Greater Manchester in the U.K. with her 8-year-old daughter, appear to have resonated with so many.

In a video posted to TikTok under the handle sachalouisetrigg, Trigg shared a brief clip of her walking along, holding her daughter’s coat out in front of her. Snow can be seen on the ground all around them. It’s also worth noting that Trigg’s daughter is wearing only a fleece to protect her from the elements.

“Holding your daughter’s coat out so that everyone knows she does have a coat she just refuses to wear it, but you don’t have time for an argument,” a caption accompanying the video said.

“We were just walking to school in the morning,” Trigg told Newsweek. “She wasn’t wearing her coat because she declared it wasn’t cold. To be honest, I just thought it was a bit of a funny take. I didn’t realize how much the video would blow up.”

At the time of writing, the video has been watched nearly 700,000 times with fellow parents taking to the comments section to share similar tales of woe.

“This is the daily struggle I have,” one said. Another viewer revealed how they took a slightly different approach when their child refuses to wear a coat. “When I walk past someone I say, ‘Can we put your coat on now please? You’ll get cold,'” they said. “I must say it about 50 times some days.”

A third added: “I saw a boy walking down the street to school in shorts and a T-shirt a couple of days ago. I just know his mum was shouting at him before he left to put a coat on.”

A fourth also commented: “My son is the only one in his class without his school uniform jumper! Teacher sent me a picture and there he was out there in his golf tee while everyone else looked warm! Never-ending sniffles.”

Though it started out as a bit of fun, Trigg has taken some heart from the responses. “Judging by the comments it seems to be a fairly common thing,” she said.

She also noted that, while her daughter refused to wear it that day, there have been plenty of other occasions when she has put on a coat for the walk to school.