Is It Too Cold to Play Outside?
Freezing rain is coming down and my 11 year old daughter had plans to go the High School field for a lacrosse catch. Did I let her go? Hell – yes. I’m trying to raise strong women whose attention to personal comfort is adequate, yet not obsessive. I went to Catholic school and wore a pleated skirt with knee socks every day. I walked to school in rain, sleet and snow — uphill both ways. I didn’t own a long coat, and I can distinctly remember my thighs being mottled and numb by the time I got to my classroom. I know I was cold. I just don’t think I cared. I know my parents didn’t give it much thought. Fast forward 30 years. I don’t consider myself overly concerned with my own comfort, yet, I keep my heat at 72, get goosebumps at even the slightest of chills and own more turtlenecks than Diane Keaton.
Do kids actually feel the cold less, are adults just coddled wimps or is it just me?
What does the science say?
Our perception of temperature is based both on the physical and the psychological. There are certain disease processes which will result in a disturbance of body temperature regulation, e.g. thyroid disease, Raynaud disease, problems with circulation, etc. Other than these, which should be addressed by a physician, we are all slightly different when it comes to our Thermal Comfort, or our choice of the perfect temperature. You are probably familiar with Robert Palmer’s take on this in his scientifically accurate song, “Some Like It Hot.” (My apologies if this melody is now stuck in your head as it is in mine.)
Some bodies, regardless of size and shape, are more efficient at maintaining core body temperature. Some people, for the same reasons they like chocolate or vanilla, actually prefer to be cold or to be hot, having nothing to do with physiological make up and everything to do with preference. Kids are people too. While most sources will tell you kids get cold the same as we do, I don’t believe it. If they were as cold as me, half the boys in the middle school would not be wearing shorts in the snow. I believe they are more efficient at maintaining their core temperature, care less about self-comfort than adults, and simply, give it less thought — in a healthy way.
Let them play outside. However, because they don’t care quite as much about the temperature, doesn’t mean they are less prone to the dangers of hypothermia. In fact, most kids, because of size and body fat, are more prone to heat loss. If it is really cold, make sure they are dressed appropriately. If it is the kind of cold which makes you want to run inside for a hot cup of tea, but makes them want to run outside and take advantage of the daylight, let them go. Like most things when it comes to raising kids, do not assume they feel as you do or how you expect them to. Also, I know you have heard this a bunch of times, you do not get sick from the cold weather. Don’t believe it? Me neither, but this is what the science says – germs cause illness, not temperatures. If you just can’t take the risk, make them wear a hat and then, make them play outside. Raising a child who loves activity and isn’t afraid of a little chill is worth the occasional runny nose.
