I don't think the kids are wusses for not wearing coats; that's just, well, not sure what that is. I think the parents are turning their kids into wusses by trying to protect them from everything known to mankind.
I don't know, I never would have thought about not wearing a coat in the freezing winter when I was a kid. It seems like this was non-issue. I was not a particularly acquiescent child, so I wonder what's changed.