My mom always told me that if my kids weren’t dressed warm enough they would catch a cold.
We would laugh at her because we know cold weather doesn’t produce a virus. But what does it do? Does it do anything?
We know that cold weather can affect a person with a weak immune system, but the cold in itself doesn’t cause a cold.
When my kids had some sort of lung or throat issues, I would bundle them up and have them go out in the cold and breathe deeply for a couple of minutes to let the cold attack the virus. It worked well. The coldness can kick our immune system up a notch. BUT, be careful they don’t get chilled or stay out long.
There are instances where being out in the dry cold air can open us up to illness if we breathe through our mouth.
Asthmatics can also have a bad reaction to the cold. We had to be careful to cover our asthmatic kids’ mouths when going out in the cold to help avoid the cold hitting their lungs.
Can the Cold Give You a Cold? is an interesting article that explains more. I liked it because it confirmed everything we did as parents – convenient, no?
Please follow these simple rules this winter:
- Dress your kids like you would dress yourself. If you wear a sweater, then put one on your kids. If you wear a coat, put a coat on your kids.
- If you have the kids wear a scarf, please tuck it into the coat. Too many strangle by getting the scarf caught!
- If you use those cool little car seat covers for baby, make sure you don’t leave the top zipped up for long – some babies are having SIDs events.
- If you don’t have a car seat cover, throw a blanket over your baby when going from the house to the car and from the car to the store. Rushes of cold air are upsetting to babies!
- Consider your kids’ comfort. If it’s cold outside, have them wear hats and gloves.
- If you have trouble getting boots over your kids’ shoes (you know, the type that are rubber and covers the shoe?), put a store bag over their foot with shoe on and it will slide right in, easy peasey. It will also help keep their feet dry if the boots leak!
Some moms say their kids object to wearing coats.
They are uncomfortable in the car or too much of a hassle to put on the coat, hat, scarf, gloves, boots, etc. Regardless of their complaints, have them dress appropriately. You can always let them take their coats off in the car, but then you’ll need to insist they put them back on when they get out of the car.
I even followed this with my teens – the boys tended to “forget” their coats. I made them crazy by insisting they go get them before we left. What can I say? I was persistent!
If you are consistent and persistent, eventually it will become habit.
They will know enough to put their stuff on when appropriate. Sometimes it’s work to be a parent, but your kids are worth it. Just do it.
I liked to follow the “better safe than sorry” approach. Go the extra mile. Put their needs ahead of their wants this winter.
Do you have anything to add to my list?
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