It seems like the summer months went by way too fast, and now families are facing the winter months again. Winter is some people’s favorite season because it means skating, skiing and some of the best holidays. However, it can also be a nightmare for a lot of families. Some families feel like they are stuck inside too much during the chilly months, and they feel like they can’t take their children out as much. This means that ‘cabin fever’ can start to set in and this can be hard on anyone’s mental health.
However, there are still a lot of families that will brave the cold weather and get outside to play. They bundle up their children and go out and make snowmen and take a sled ride. This is partly due to a child’s need to be outside, and a mother’s need to get her children outside. However, there is a limit as to how cold is too cold for a small child. It works the same in the summer when there are days that are just too hot to let children go outside.
Why Children Need To Be Outside
It is easy for anyone to say that we should just keep our children inside if we are worried they will be too cold, but that is generally not advised. According to Ontario Parks, there are some important reasons why children need to get outside in the winter months. Just because the weather is child, being outside still offers benefits to health for children and this means that a child’s physical and mental health will improve after being outside. They will also still be getting some of the vitamin D from the sun while they are out playing in the snow.
How Cold Is Too Cold?
As we said, there is a line when it comes to temperature and there can be a point where it is just too cold to go outside. These are the days when mom and dad should stay inside and have a movie day instead. According to Healthy Families, if the temperature is below -25 degrees Celsius (-13F) or if the windchill is -28 degrees Celsius(-18F) children should be kept inside. That is because they are at risk of frostbite and other dangers of cold weather. Winter can be fun, but it can also be dangerous and this is a good guideline to follow to make sure children are safe.
Stay Safe
Since the priority of almost all parents is the health and safety of their child, if they do need to venture out on cold days, they should be taking some precautions to make sure their child is protected. According to Healthy Children, it is important to remember that children are more at risk from the cold than adults and that is because their bodies are smaller and they lose heat a lot more quickly than adults do. It may seem tempting to layer them up in bulky layers to keep warm, but the best thing to do is to have several thin layers on them to help them stay dry and warm. It is also important to take breaks and make sure children have a chance to warm up every 30 minutes.
Sources: Ontario Parks, Healthy Families, Healthy Children