Helping Your Child Contend With This Ridiculous Heat
It’s not hard to see just how this heat is becoming more and more difficult for people to contend with. Health warnings have been issued in multiple countries, and as of this week there have been some of the hottest temperatures recorded for the year, and over the span of decades. For this reason, surviving a heatwave is largely the first thing on your mind right now.
However, sometimes thinking of your children can be a different consideration entirely, and in this case it certainly is. Children simply aren’t as well equipped to deal with heat as adults are, and sometimes that can lead to some real health issues. In order to provide your protection and stay the loving and competent parent you are, it might be worth considering a few changes to ensure that your child remains able during this period. After all, heatwaves rarely last longer than a few weeks, so these somewhat temporary solutions could be more than worth it.
Consider the following for some short-term and long-term solutions to help your children stay safe in this insane heat:
Change Activities
It might be that now your child has the summer free from school, their first instinct is to run to your garden each morning and begin playing, jumping on the trampoline or playing football with their Dad. Usually this would be considered a wonderful thing for them to do, but in this intense heat, sometimes finding different activities should be a must.
It might be that you purchase a sand/clay crafting station that uses water, or some other form of crafts to keep them rooted to a stationary spot in the shade, preventing them from working up their body temperature to dangerous levels in the sun. It might be absolutely abhorrent and somewhat surprising to hear, but in the intense peak temperatures of the day, it might actually be worth encouraging your child to come in and play their video games for the whole afternoon, as they are most likely to be covered by AC and flowing breezes through the home.
Consider Their Bedroom
The Earth quite obviously spins, meaning that the location of the direct sunlight will change over the course of the day. It’s likely you knew this. When the sunlight enters a room, it can sometimes heat that room to an uncomfortable degree, and prevent a comfortable atmosphere from being enjoyed there. This could occur in your child’s bedroom, perhaps where your baby is taking a nap. For this reason, it’s important to ventilate the room by using thick window locks to open this ventilation a little while allowing your child to remain safe. However, it could also be very worthwhile to install cheap custom blinds, as these can often reflect and direct sunlight out of a room. Consider installing light colors such as pure white or off cream, as this will absorb much less heat than dark colors would. Thick blinds can also prevent light from entering a room no matter the color, so be sure to make a wise decision here.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
Hydration is absolutely all that matters. Ensure you keep track of how many fluids your child has consumed during the day. Be sure to remember that high sugar drinks will give your children a burst of energy, and that will often translate into frantic physical movement, something you are trying to avoid. Low sugar flavored drinks or limited use of fruit juices is of course fine, but use your best judgement.
Also, try to avoid feeding them very heavy and carb-laden foods, such as massive doughy pizza’s or huge spaghetti dinners. Opt for something light, filled with good protein and health fats. Perhaps an avocado chicken salad with some whole meal wraps could be an excellent choice to feed your children in the summer – supporting them nutritionally while also allowing them easy digestion and less of a lethargic feeling of exhaustion in this heat.
Bond
If you hope for your child to become encouraged by indoor or comfortably relaxing activity, it’s important for you to try and engage with them rather than telling them to do so. Watch movies together. Draw together. Begin a project together. Tackle the homework straight away so they needn’t worry about it all summer. Bonding not only helps you, well, bond, but gives you the tools to encourage your child’s behavior in a certain way, also known as ‘out of this crazy heat at all costs.’
With this guidance, you should hopefully find more utility in helping your child content with this ridiculous heat.
