What is more useful for the child - to be wrapped in several layers of warm clothes at the first small cooling or to wear something warmer only with the onset of cold weather? Which point of view is closest to the truth? Moms share their experiences, and the pediatrician tells where the truth is and where the error is.
You can not wrap a child
Nadezhda, 30 years old, mother of twins (3 years)
My children were born in early summer, and we immediately decided that we would deal with them quenching. They don’t put on their hats until late autumn, and then they began to put a warm blanket in the stroller. In winter, babies wear light overalls without any warming elements. With the onset of spring, I take off excess clothing from children, focusing on the weather. If I feel the hottest in a jacket and hat, then why should my children be comfortable in this form?
Of course, during the walk, everyone considers it his duty to tell me that the children will surely freeze, get cold and get sick. But I learned to respond with humor to similar remarks of others. I believe that I am doing the right thing: the kids have never been ill with something serious.
Victoria, mother of a 5-year-old son and six-month-old daughter
My husband and I are athletes, so we know firsthand how important clothes are, properly selected for weather conditions. Sweating is always much worse than feeling a little cool. We dress children according to these considerations: the daughter is very mobile, loves to run, and while we carry our son in a carriage, covered with an awning from rain, wind and snow.
Your nose and hands should be warm while walking. For me, this is the main criterion. If they are hot, then the child is already hot, you need to remove excess clothing. Over time, you begin to understand how to dress in different weather, but absolutely can not be wrapped. In the apartment, children go barefoot all year round, without socks and slippers.
Toddlers are better dressed warmly
Olga, 42 years old, mother of sons (13 and 7 years) and daughters (10 years and 4 years)
My children always dress warmer than me: even the eldest son does not go out without a hat if the temperature is below +6. In our area, summer is rarely hot, so I think you can’t do without thin knitted hats. Until the age of three, the cap can be removed if the temperature is around +20 and there is no strong wind. But in this case, you need to wear a light panama to protect from the sun (or light beret). I have a positive attitude to flu shots, they are given to my children every year. Therefore, they almost never get sick - and, of course, because I warmly dress them. And the kids still additionally cover with a blanket when they are in a stroller.
Julia, 27 years old, mother of a 5-year-old daughter
My daughter was born with poor health. She still had pneumonia in the maternity hospital, and then she constantly picked up snot and otitis media. For my age, my girl is very small and thin, so I always try to protect her and dress as warm as possible.During frosts we try not to leave the house unnecessarily. The apartment has underfloor heating. I am very afraid of the cold and drafts, so the baby walks in socks, a warm suit and a knitted hat. In the summer in my bag there is always a spare blouse and a hat. What if it gets colder?
Marina, an experienced pediatrician with 20 years of experience: “You need to look at the reaction of the child”
A universal recipe does not exist. In children, heat transfer is not the same as in adults. Babies have more fat than ours (look at newborns, small children are always in folds). The thing is that children have much higher reserves of so-called brown fat - it has a lot of blood vessels and it gives the body energy and heat, but does not consume them. Its activity is activated only at relatively low temperatures.
Better to supercool rather than overheat. A sweating baby risks catching a cold quickly: any strong wind or draft will lead to illness. Each child has an individual temperament: the most active children can be put on easier because they are constantly running. But calm kids who love to sit still, it is better to dress warmer. People generally feel different when temperature changes - and children are no exception to the rule.
The main recommendation for parents of healthy children is this: you need to remember that before the age of two, babies react more sharply to outside temperature than we do. When it gets colder, it is even colder than it is for adults, and in the sun it is even hotter. That is, in the warm season it is worth dressing the children easier than yourself, and in the cold - wrap up warmer. But this advice will work only if the crumbs have the same temperament and body structure as you.
We also read:
From my own experience I know that when you get too dressed, it gets cold even faster. It’ll blow somewhere imperceptibly and when the body is sweating, it will definitely be negatively reflected and will hurt. I always try to dress medium, it is better to take an extra blouse with me, if it is really cool to wear.
I never wrapped my son, dressed for the weather. Not even particularly tempered. He was rarely ill. I would advise modern parents to buy their child clothing only from natural fabrics. Such things are warm, light, breathable.
All are right in their own way. A child in the cold is either standing or moving. From the point of view of heat transfer, these are two different types of life, for which a little different clothes are needed.If the child runs in the clothes in which he is comfortable to stand, he will feel hot, but he will be cold if he stands in the clothes in which he is not hot to run. But he can choose only one type of clothing, hence the debate.
The article correctly says that sweating is much worse than feeling a little cool. The fact is that if the child moved quickly and sweated, and then stopped, then the sweat begins to evaporate and quickly cool the body. This is the so-called thermal effect, which can lead to significant hypothermia.