This Eminem Parody Shows the Real Struggle of Getting Our Kids to Dress for the Cold
I pulled up to school the other day to pick up my 11-year-old son, and quickly realized he had shoved his jacket and pants in his backpack and was currently wearing shorts and a short-sleeve T-shirt in the middle of December.
The temperature at the time? 36 degrees.
I know, I know. Major parenting fail.
But trying to get my kid to dress warmly on cold days has been a constant struggle in our house for the last few years. Though it helps to know we're not alone. Because I've had this discussion countless times with countless other parents, and eventually, they've all copped to grappling with the same annoying issue.
Maybe you've even seen this hilarious infographic that's been making the rounds on social media over the last few days:
#SoRelatable
So what is it, exactly, about rocking long pants and sleeves that kids today seem to find so universally unappealing? We may never know for certain. But the always spot-on Holderness family makes a pretty good attempt at figuring it out anyway, in their brilliant new parody video "Shoes Yourself."
In the clip—set to the tune of the incredible 2002 Eminem hit "Lose Yourself"—Penn and Kim's little guy Penn Charles runs around outside in the snow basically dressed like it's July, as his frustrated parents chase after him in a fruitless attempt to get him to add on layers.
"Explain to me how a pair of shorts and a tee keep him warm when out the door it's only 23," Penn raps. "There's no fat on his bones. And man, isn't he cold? He's wearing socks with a hole. Today it's gonna snow. Your kneecaps cannot show. We put him in a coat, we come back, where did it go?"
Dude, we have so been there!
Eventually, Penn fires up the laptop and Googles "Why don't kids get cold?" only to discover that—pay close attention now—our kids don't actually need coats as much as we think they do.
Say what, now?
Apparently all that hopping and jumping and running around they do keeps them warm. Which I guess makes sense. In any event, it's a free pass to 86 all that mom guilt and kick back and laugh at the rest of the Holderness vid, which features a mashup of clips submitted by parents from places like Princeton and Colorado and Sweden—all of whom are waging a battle with their crazy kids over cold weather gear.
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Better them than us, right?
Hollee Actman Becker is a freelance writer, blogger, and mom of two who writes about parenting and pop culture. Check out her website holleeactmanbecker.com for more, and then follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
