Help Me Grow: Baby, It's Cold Outside: Keeping Your Child Warm & Safe During Winter

Brrr…it’s getting cold outside. Although we are only in the middle of November, temperatures have already dropped quite a bit. It’s easy to want to just stay inside curled up next to the fireplace when it is cold outside. This makes it difficult to keep kids active during the winter months, but don’t let the cold deter you.

Kids can still go outside and play and have fun, but there are a few things to keep in mind to keep them warm and safe. As one of my sibling's Physical Education teacher always said, "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!"

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1) Dress in layers. Layers are great because they can be adjusted more easily as needed. There are three types of layers to consider, as offered by Cheryl Butler. They include:

Wicking: thermals, turtlenecks, long underwear
Insulating: sweatshirts, sweaters
Weather protection: shells, snow pants

Don't forget hats, gloves, and boots as these tend to be places children can lose a lot of heat from.

2) Wear sunscreen. Although it's easy to forget during the winter, sunburns can be just as likely during the winter (especially when there's snow, as it reflects the sun).

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3) Drink plenty of liquids. Kids can easily get dehydrated as winter tends to be a lot drier and as they breathe, they lose more water. Keeping them hydrated can also help to prevent those unwanted bloody noses. Give them water, warm drinks, or even soup to do the trick.

4) Set time-limits: Children tend not to realize they are cold when they're out having fun, so it's important for parents to monitor this. Depending on the age, keep children out for short periods of time and then have them come in to warm up and take off wet clothing. After they are warm, you can send them back out for more play time.