# What is the legal or generally accepted as reasonable standard for providing heat in a child's room? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867 "2014-11-29T02:38:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/21 "2014-11-29T16:00:21Z")
My BMI was under 17 when I was a teenager and I was cold all the time. I remember sitting on a floor leaning against a radiator quite a few times just to keep warm. Now that I’m 20 years older and weight 20 kg more, it’s a whole different story - it feels like my personal comfort zone has moved maybe 6-8 C downwards. I actually wish I had realized it was weight-related back then, somehow I never connected the dots as a kid. I just thought people were a lot tougher about cold than me, not that them being normal- or overweight had anything to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/22 "2014-11-29T17:05:03Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > [This other thing I found](http://www.fastcompany.com/3001316/want-more-productive-workers-adjust-your-thermostat) though illustrates how different Americans tend to be about this: … Well first off of course you are asking him to sleep there, not be a productive worker there. You are not having him manange a call center out of the bedroom I don’t think. Second is to remember that you always have to look at a body of evidence (such as it is) rather than a single study. Go the [Cornell researcher’s site](http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/studentdownloads/DEA3500pdfs/thermperform.pdf) and you can find decent (dare I say, rather cool) summary of research done in the area. Lots of conflicting studies there. Pertinent to your question are studies 9, 10, 13, and 14. > [@](#): > > … Schoolchildren’s performance on reading and comprehension tests varies with air temperature, with an optimum performance around 20°C (68°F) … > > … the performance of two numerical and two language-based tests was significantly improved when the temperature was reduced from 25°C to 20°C (77°F to 68°F). … > > … Accident rates increase 30% at \<12°C (53.6°F) or \>24°C (75.2°F) and are lowest at 20°C (68°F) … > > … Without incentives or knowledge of results more typing work was done at 20°C (68°F) than 22°C (71.6°F) … Please note - some cherry picking done. A few studies in that list found very different results and one suspects that context matters. Are the individuals [acclimated](http://www.uihealthcare.org/2column.aspx?id=237259) to cold temperatures or warm? Live a bit in the cold temperatures and they don’t seem quite as uncomfortable. It is not just psychologial that 55 in Spring seems warm while it seems cold in early Fall; there are real physiologic adaptations as well. _Is_ your son particularly thin or heavy? If recently gaining weight and complaining of the cold lots more than seems typical and especially if he also is tired lots too you may want to have his thyroid levels checked. All that said, energy efficiency is a noble thing but the cost of heating one (presumably well-sealed and insulated) room a few degrees warmer is not going to bust the bank. If you were running an extra 1500 W space heater full blast 8 hours of the day [this site](http://www.mnpower.com/EnergyConservation/PortableElectricSpaceHeaters) says it would run about $26.40 a month. Probably he’s pulling less energy than that but link there and offer him that he pays $25 a month for the extra energy out of allowance or extra tasks around the house. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/23 "2014-11-29T17:17:13Z")
There are some medical conditions which cause people to feel unnecessarily cold, but I don’t know enough about them to speculate. If he sees a doctor regularly (and you should just take him in once/year at least for a general physical), then you could ask your doctor about it. Ignoring a medical condition is about the only place I could see where there might be a legal issue, but from what I can tell, the medical conditions that list this as a symptom also have other obvious symptoms as well. We’ll need a doctor to weigh in here on this, and there’s no need to let a teenager’s imagination run wild with medical speculation. But you could check out on the web for medical conditions that have this as a symptom, think about whether or not your kid has the other symptoms, and take him into a doctor if you feel its warranted. I’d like to stress here, though, that I’m not a doctor, and I don’t really know about these conditions in any detail. Plus, teenagers who are rapidly growing often have all sorts of weird physical stuff going on anyway, so this could all just be normal growing pains. – That said, I think now that you’ve got some cites on what’s considered recommended temperatures, you should shift the burden of proof to him. Make him write a well-cited research paper justifying your obligation to provide a higher temperature. 😛 – And, here’s my own suggestion. I use a sleeping bag when it gets cold. It’s one of those with felt (or something) on the inside and plastic (nylon?) or something on the outside. I just lay it over me like a blanket. It starts trapping my body heat withing a few minutes and is completely toasty. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/24 "2014-11-29T17:23:15Z")
I wouldn’t do any of these things. I’d point out that there is a reason why no one dresses in tshirts in winter. Suggest he look around perhaps. If he’s not going to dress appropriately for the season you feel no need to listen to his demands. Come back in a sweater or fleece, and we’ll talk. Until then, be cold, it’s your choice. I’d also use my phone to snap photos of him outside coat undone, no scarf or mitts etc. Then when he complains show it to him and point out he doesn’t seem to mind the cold all that much, and you’re understandably confused. What will you do if he finds socks uncomfortable? Heat the house so his feet won’t get cold? That’s crazy talk! ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/25 "2014-11-29T17:25:49Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > I pay for the heat, and you can deal with it. When you have your own place you can set the heat to whatever you want. That would be my answer too. Or, if you don’t mind doing the math, have him pay for it out of his allowance. > [@](#): > > And if I had ever gone to my father wearing a t-shirt and complained about being cold, he’d probably have laughed in my face. No kidding! > [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > My BMI was under 17 when I was a teenager and I was cold all the time. Me too, until my late 30’s, though I knew it was weight-related. I remember those hot summer days when everyone would sit on the front porch in as little clothing as decency allowed. As evening came, temps would drop below 80 and I’d head inside, returning in jeans and a cotton long-sleeved shirt, while my friends were still trying to cool off, and they looked at me like I was nuts. A certain amount of understanding is in order. The kid clearly isn’t doing this JUST to rebel, he’s doing it to be comfortable, and it’s a PITA being uncomfortable all the time. But it’s unreasonable to expect to call all the shots with zero compromise! Put on a damn shirt already! Or get a doctor’s appointment to look into circulation issues or whatever else might cause wearing normal clothing uncomfortable. “If normal clothing is uncomfortable, either there’s something wrong with your health, or you’re being recalcitrant. Which is it?” ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/26 "2014-11-29T18:56:04Z")
If we kept the temp at 68 I’d be freezing! So I certainly sympathize with your son. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/27 "2014-11-29T19:03:58Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I have tried to appeal to him to wear a sweater or at least a long sleeved shirt, but he stubbornly insists on wearing t-shirts and says anything else is uncomfortable. (In typical teen fashion, he also resists wearing coats/jackets outside even on freezing cold days.) Bottom line is that he is not really in the mode to be reasoned with, so I would like to end the argument by just showing him that we have no legal/societal responsibility as parents to provide him air heated beyond 70 degrees, and let him stew about it if he feels he must (and he does, LOL). In other words, it’s not a temperature issue at at all, but rather a teenager issue. Take him to a doctor. If the doctor determines there is nothing physically wrong with him, then take him to a psychiatrist. Since wait times can be quite long, pack up and move to another community while he is with the shrink. Problem solved. Or you could simply pull an SDMB on him and demand that he provide a cite proving that the temp is in violation of the law. (To keep one step ahead of him, check out your local municipal code/bylaws for what it requires of landlords – usually there will be specific minimums specified.) ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/28 "2014-11-29T19:19:09Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Legally, most of the laws on minimum heat I recall are about centrally heated apartment buildings and deal with a landlord’s responsibility to paying tenants… but off the top of my head, I think they typically are the bare minimum too, something like 68F at most. Yup, I just looked it up for [Boston](http://www.mass.gov/courts/case-legal-res/law-lib/laws-by-subj/about/heat.html) and the minimum temperature in a landlord-heated apartment is 68° F during the day and 64° F at night. However, perhaps more pertinent to the OP, rental housing regulations also specify that the **maximum temperature is 78° F**. That’s still a lot higher than the 68°-70° that the OP prefers, but at least he can say that **84° is literally “unfit for human habitation”** in Boston (apartments). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/29 "2014-11-29T20:02:36Z")
Oye. Yep, compromise. Your son may be testing the waters to see how far he can push. Perhaps, you are missing some of the control you’ve had in the past. All understandable IMHO. He may be uncomfortable at colder temps for sleeping. But there are PLENTY of remedies for that that have be mentioned. I gotta wonder really how much $ it is to keep one room warmer. Myself, I don’t think this is a hill worth dying on. As long as both sides can compromise a bit. It may be a great lesson for your son. It may cost more in the long run, but get a programmable t-stat for the room. Turn it down to 65 during the day, and up to 80 at night. If he’s a computer nerd, and his computer is in the room, an adjustable desk lamp with a halogen bulb is a GREAT way to keep your hands and desk surface warm when you’re on the box. I do that at work. ---
**Author:** ![Boomer\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f1d935/32.png) [@Boomer\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boomer_1)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/30 "2014-11-29T20:43:27Z")
Is it just his bedroom? If he’s also way colder than everyone else at school, a trip to his doctor’s office might be in order to check for hypothyroidism. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/31 "2014-11-29T21:19:31Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Does he keep his door closed? In lots of houses, that will make a room ice cold. It does in mine, with the forced-air gas heat, air return in every room. > > He needs a heated mattress pad if he’s too cold when he sleeps. And/or a snuggie if he’s playing video games. I can’t imagine anything more emasculating as a man than wearing a snuggie, triply so for a teenager. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/32 "2014-11-29T21:25:21Z")
FWIW I like the British guidelines, I think when I was a kid that was typical house temperature in our house (this was in the 50s/60s.) I think that a few things have happened to change American society since then. Namely, there is an expectation that if you want to, you should be able to wear shorts and a t-shirt inside all year long. Secondly, even people that wear “winter clothes” might take this to mean a pair of jeans and a cotton sweater thrown over a thin cotton t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. That may be fine for moderately cold weather, but we legit _layered_ when it got real, real cold. And we wore those layers inside. We also had more than just sheets and a comforter on our beds. With those changes you can experience (and I have many times) not feeling at all uncomfortably cold inside a home with 60F temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/33 "2014-11-29T21:41:49Z")
Tell him he is entitled to exactly as much heat as he pays for. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/34 "2014-11-29T22:09:17Z")
Just a though: Have you tried getting him a loose cotton sweater or maybe a flannel shirt? Many people (and I am one) find wool and acrylic almost unbearable against the skin. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/35 "2014-11-29T22:35:25Z")
Or you could just surrender by conceding to him that you keep the temperature in the home too cold to meet the law’s requirements, as you are dropping him of at Child Protection Services with a note tied to his buttonhole. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/36 "2014-11-30T02:06:27Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I’d also use my phone to snap photos of him outside coat undone, no scarf or mitts etc. Then when he complains show it to him and point out he doesn’t seem to mind the cold all that much, and you’re understandably confused. I don’t mind the cold when outside (much less so than most people I know, at least), but I’m pretty miserable if it’s not hot inside. I guess it’s psychological, but I frequently have the same persons surprised that I’m not cold with my light clothes outside, and complaining it’s too hot at my place. Not the same thing at all, at least for me. Fresh tempetures outside I find vivifying. Fresh temperatures inside make me miserable. What some people said reminded me of something : as a kid, I was living in a poorly heated house, but when I was a teenager I too was seeking the proximity of heaters during winter, even though the apartment we were living in then was well heated. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/37 "2014-11-30T03:23:33Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I don’t mind the cold when outside (much less so than most people I know, at least), but I’m pretty miserable if it’s not hot inside. I guess it’s psychological, but I frequently have the same persons surprised that I’m not cold with my light clothes outside, and complaining it’s too hot at my place. Not the same thing at all, at least for me. Fresh tempetures outside I find vivifying. Fresh temperatures inside make me miserable I feel similarly, and for me it has something to do with the length of time you’re outside and what you’re doing while you’re out there. Obviously, going out and moving around in the fresh, cold air isn’t anything like spending several hours in a cool room, where you can’t warm up. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/38 "2014-11-30T04:12:09Z")
I have not done it in a long time so I am not the federal standard is still there. But it use to be no AC below 78 degrees and no heating above 68 degrees in office buildings. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/39 "2014-11-30T04:38:12Z")
Interesting, yet some here are saying they would be way too cold in 68. I wonder what restaurants, hotel lobbies etc. typically set their thermostats at in winter? ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867/40 "2014-11-30T06:46:15Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Interesting, yet some here are saying they would be way too cold in 68. > > I wonder what restaurants, hotel lobbies etc. typically set their thermostats at in winter? I had a few tenants that thought 72 was freezing and some that were way too hot at 68 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-or-generally-accepted-as-reasonable-standard-for-providing-heat-in-a-childs-room/705867.md?page=3)