Winters are here! Most of us are worried about winter safety for kids especially the younger ones are less likely to recognize when they are cold and also lose the body heat quickly due to their smaller size. Kids undoubtedly need extra attention to stay warm and healthy during winter.
Winters can bring a whole lot of more fun with a lot of outdoor activities too like sledding, skiing, and ice skating, playing outdoors or hanging around together at home. Here are a few ideas to keep your children safe from cold.
Tips to Keep Kids Safe in Winters:
1. Kid’s Winter Clothes:
Kid’s winter clothing must be in a way such that you are able to add or remove layers as per the weather. The babies also should be dressed in more layers as compared to the adults layering in the same weather.
2. Do not Expose the Kids to Cold:
The babies are used to stay in your tummy in warmth and aren’t used to exposed temperatures. Also, the toddlers and preschoolers do not have the same tolerance to cold as adults do. Thus it is important to limit the children’s time outside in cold.
3. Winter Accessories:
The gloves, boots, mittens, hat, scarf and etc. many other such things are important to keep warm. Hence it makes a huge difference in keeping the kids warm and comfortable.
4. Preventing Cold and Flu with Some Extra Car:
Winter season causing cold and flu is a myth, the only reason is that the viruses are more commonly exposed during this weather. Viruses are easily spread when children are in school or in close contact with one another. Air and via contact, spread the virus.
- Use soap and water to keep clean: wash the hands frequently with soap to keep germs away.
- Cover the mouth: Sneezing and coughing are the main causes for spreading the virus. Keep your mouth closed and the good way to do it by sneezing or coughing into the bend of their elbow to help prevention of germs spread.
- Immunize the kids: The vaccinations are available to immunize the kids from flu etc. The flu shots are available for kids from 6 months and older.
5. Supervise the kids:
The injuries in winter are usually painful. Also playing in snow could be risky. Thus it is important to keep a close watch on kids.
6. Keep Away from Roads:
The kids love sledding from the hills but usually, those hills aren’t far from the highway roads. It is important to keep them safe and maintain a distance from the roads and vehicles.
7. Sled properly:
The kids might just be in a hurry to play and would not care about safety. Sledding could cause serious injuries and must hence sit up and never lie down with head first.
8. Sledding Hill:
The sledding hill has to be at a lesser than 30 degrees slope such that it is not too steep. The hill should end with a flat runoff.
9. Dress in Layers:
When kids play, they feel warm and swear. Hence when you let the kids dress up in layers, it is easy to remove one or two and let them dry to recover. When the kids are sweaty and still wearing wet clothes, it can cause hypothermia or frostbite if not properly taken care of.
10. Wear a Helmet:
Always encourage kids to wear a helmet when they go out to play in the snow to avoid any head injury.
11. Protect the skin:
The kids must wear proper gloves, hands and cover every exposed skin from frostbite. The harsh winters cause a lot of such troubles on the exposed skin.
12. Beware of the Weather Conditions:
When considering moving out of the home, it is the best to know the weather and temperature outside to protect self from frostbites or any snowstorms. Winters are enjoyable only when taken care of properly.
13. Beware of Clothing Hazards:
Do not let the smaller kids wear hood strings or scarves as they can strangulate themselves with them.
14. Check the Body Temperature:
Of course we do not want you to carry a thermometer everywhere, however, the kids get wet if they come home after playing. Keep a watch such that they do not excessively drench themselves and fall sick. Smaller kids should be kept an eye on and always constantly keep touching their hands to know if they are cold. Until the palm is warm, they are pretty comfortable and doing good.
15. Use Sunscreen:
Kids might not bother to apply sunscreen before they go to play thinking there is no sun! But no, the sun can reflect the UV rays from the snow and cause unwanted damage to the skin. Hence irrespective of the sun, the kids must be applied with sunscreen before they move out.
16. Install alarm:
The household fire happens during the winters and to avoid any, keep the alarms in your home. The carbon monoxide alarms and smoke alarms are a must.
17. Provide Proper Equipment to Play:
Be it sledding or ice skating, kid’s equipment must be checked each time before they go outdoors to enjoy the snow.
18. Keep them Hydrated:
The need for water feels less during winters but that ends up causing dehydration instead. Kids must drink enough water and liquid and try to keep hydrated. Soup, tea etc does great in winters.
19. Keep an eye on frostbite:
While kids play, the signs of frostbite are pale/ grey or blistered skin on the fingers and ears or nose and toes. If you have a doubt that your kid has frostbite, soak the affected area into warm water (not hot). Signs of hypothermia are shivering, slurry speech and clumsiness.
20. Look for Danger Signs:
Do not let your kids near the frozen river as it is risky to play on it. Look for danger signs before letting your kids play outdoors.
It is time to master the fun activities in winter but only with all the safety precautions. Prevent nosebleeds. In case the kid has a nose bleed, use a cold air humidifier in the room and use saline nose drops instead of making them look up.
Know How to Cure Blisters Skin:
- Gently re-warm frostbitten areas by soaking the skin in warm water for 15-30 minutes. Do not expose a frostbitten skin with direct heat; it can cause serious burns and further injury.
- Wrap them up completely to avoid re-freezing.
- Do not walk with the frostbitten feet or toes as it causes further damage.
- Consult a doctor for any severe injuries and medical treatments.
