Cold Weather, Snowflakes & Children! Creative Ways to Beat the Blah Winter Blues!
Author: Stef Daniel
When the trees are bare and every last leaf has been raked into a pile under a tree, it becomes obvious that winter is upon us. When you have young children, this translates into seemingly endless weeks of being stuck indoors with kids who are just dying to get out. The stress of the holidays and the unpredictable and unforgiving weather can make winter feel like the longest season of the year. It doesn't have to be this way. With a little creativity and thought, your children can expel all that extra energy and ensure that you won't end up in one of the worst predicaments: stuck indoors with bored children!
There is an entire generation of people who think that bringing kids outside when it is cold will, in turn, give them a cold. This is not true! The reason that this old wives' tale has come into existence is based on some facts, but not all the facts. Here is the scientific and clinical proof. The most important job of our bodies is to maintain body temperature. When our body temperature begins to change, our immune system will immediately drop all other functions to protect our 98.6 degrees average. What this means is that if you are already fighting a cold, virus, bacterial infection, or flu, your body will temporarily switch gears and you become more susceptible to catching the cold or flu. On the flip side, if you are perfectly healthy, you have nothing to lose. Translation? Dress your kids warmly, cover their ears, necks, kidney areas and feet, dress them in layers, put on a coat, and by all means take them outdoors! If your children aren't feeling well, most parents wouldn't dare bring them out anyway unless absolutely necessary. Chalk up the ancient wisdom of associating cold weather with illness to just not knowing any better. Illness comes from germs, not weather.
In the summertime, you may join a swimming pool to keep the kids occupied. You may even get an inexpensive season pass at a theme park or water park, or even the zoo! Use that same thinking and make some plans for the wintertime. Indoor inflatable gyms have popped up all over the country and most offer weekday daily plans. Roller rinks often open their doors during school hours for young children to bring their riding toys. Movie theatres also offer tons of free toddler appropriate movies during the morning hours! Plan a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese or enroll in the tons of recreational classes offered for babies and toddlers that involve motor skills, exercise, and most importantly an opportunity for physical play! They will socialize with other kids, be stimulated appropriately and will be able to expel all that pent up energy. The best thing is that these facilities are relatively vacant of older, rougher children during school hours and cater to both the budgets of families and the needs of babies and toddlers! You may even engage in some grown-up conversation with other mothers while you are there.
Another idea may be to bring some of your outdoor toys inside. Who needs the couch when you can bring in the Little Tikes slide and toddler sized swing-set right into your living room, playroom, or basement. Transform a basement by purchasing the toddler-friendly trampolines or blow up bounce houses and the kids won't even miss the grass. The smaller bounce houses also become very warm in the summer time and when inflated outside on a winter day can actually be the perfect temperature for your kids to enjoy! Set up a warm water swimming pool using a small baby pool in your kitchen and watch them enjoy splashing around. After all, it's nothing towels can't clean up.
The trick with wintertime and young kids is to offer them plenty of time to use up their energy as well as exercise. When you notice that the kids are getting cranky or seem to be watching too many videos or TV, plan an activity that involves getting out. Choose the warmest part of the day, bundle them up, and take a walk through nature. Research suggests that the air and light of being outside is very important to all humans and cold weather is no excuse to stay cooped up indoors. When snowfall hits, don't be afraid to take them out and experience the wonder through your child's eyes of seeing snow and building a snowman for the first time. Then warm them up with some hot chocolate and a snuggle on the couch!
Wintertime with children has a wonder all its own! Enjoy the season and be prepared to think outside the box! Never fear cold temperatures and make plans to keep your kids busy, and you will never find yourself feeling stranded indoors or stressed by whiney and bored children.
