How Babies Best Survive Heat, Sun and Summer

From the cloudless sky the sun sends its hot rays. Crowds of people move outdoors, the beach resembles anthills. On television, people are warned about the danger of forest fires. Summer heat!

Summer and heat for babies

Many mothers – often with the best of intentions – violate a simple principle that applies to babies – even in the first months of life – just as it does to adults. Clothing must be based on the weather, especially the temperature. Summer is the beginning of a time of suffering for many a small child. We only need to look at the street. There walks a young mother, in a thin summer dress, low-cut, on her feet she wears light sandals. She proudly pushes the baby carriage in front of her. The thick cushion is decorated by an equally thick blanket. Deep down in the carriage, we laboriously discover the baby lying there, weary and indifferent. We see another woolen jacket and are only surprised that it doesn’t also have a woolen cap on its head. 25 degrees in the shade… If you think we are exaggerating, you can quickly learn from your own observations. Many mothers – often with the best of intentions – violate a simple principle that applies to babies – even in the first months of life – just as it does to adults. Clothing must be based on the weather, especially the temperature.

The right clothes for babies

Everyone thinks about how to dress appropriately in the morning after listening to the weather report or looking out the window. But with babies, people usually stick to warm clothes for fear of catching a cold. It is true that a small child cools down faster than an adult, because it has a relatively larger body surface and not yet a fully efficient temperature regulation. However, the special type of baby clothing and the protective stroller already take this into account. How would they feel if they had to walk around in the hot midsummer with a thick diaper and rubber inserts, which are still sealed by thick pants. So get rid of the pillows, a pillow is only harmful in the first three quarters of a year anyway. Be careful with the little permeable plastic pants, which in some babies lead to sweating, soreness and then festering skin inflammation on the head, away with the thick wool jacket, woolen things – and if it goes, away with the thick diaper. We’ll see, then the little child will kick cheerfully with his bare legs even in the summer heat and feel comfortable. For very small babies and infants, cotton jackets and short-legged rompers are enough on hot days, and a covered, light blanket can be taken as a cover. Of course, you need to make sure that the child does not get chilly. The feet are the most likely to get cold. We then put socks on the child, and when he gets tired, we put a light blanket over him. The best protection against colds lies in the exercise of temperature regulation of the body, which on warm days is already provided by the wind that blows over the naked parts of the body. It is by no means achieved by isolating the child in a damp warm clothing cover. The skin must be free to breathe, or it must be covered only by light, well air-permeable fabrics.

How long should the baby stay in the sun?

But can the infant be exposed to the sun’s rays indefinitely? The sun – especially its ultraviolet light – makes the body resistant, promotes blood circulation in the skin and releases vitamin D. The sun’s rays are also important for the baby’s health. It is therefore valuable for the healthy development of our children. Admittedly, the head should remain protected and preferably in the shade. Also, the body must be gradually accustomed to air and sun, because initial continuous sunbathing can cause serious damage, even death. We start with air and sun baths of short duration, about one to two minutes, and increase them more and more every day, up to 15 minutes. In no case should the baby “fry” in the sun for several hours in a row, but the sunbath of 15 minutes can be repeated several times a day. At the same time, make sure that the child lies on his stomach once, and on his back another time.

Proper behavior in the event of illness in the summer

The older baby takes the greatest pleasure in splashing in warm water. For this we do not need a bath, a washbowl full of water on the sunlit balcony is enough.For sleep we put the child on the balcony or in the garden, not in the sun, but in the shade, and cover him lightly. And at night we leave the window wide open, because cool air causes deep, even breathing, which calms the child and gives the blood plenty of oxygen. Especially often we sin when a baby suddenly gets a cough or diarrhea with fever in the summer. The heating is turned up, the bed is placed next to it and the window is tightly closed. Then it’s off to the doctor with the thickly wrapped child lying deep in the stroller behind a closed windshield. The poor sick baby can hardly breathe, the fever is driven higher and higher, and sometimes any help then comes too late. Here, too, the first priority is to apply the healing effect of fresh air and to take into account that cool room temperature and the incoming air make breathing easy. The windshield of the stroller also has almost only disadvantages. It keeps the infant shut off from the fresh air, so he has to breathe in his own exhalations. In general, we use it only for a ride in the rain and storm.

Bacteria and germs in summer

The sun – especially its ultraviolet light – makes the body resistant, promotes blood circulation in the skin and releases the vitamin D. So it is valuable for the healthy development of our children. Just as the grain grows and ripens in the fields in summer, just as the flowers and grasses are in full bloom, summer heat and humidity is also the great time for the little creatures, the bacteria. Therefore, in the summer time, especially the greatest care and cleanliness is required, otherwise diarrheal diseases are especially threatened by coli bacteria. Especially for the summer months we advise to breastfeed the baby at least until the age of 4 months, because there is hardly any possibility of contamination and at the same time the breast milk contains many defense substances for the young organism. Breastfeeding without breast milk during the hot season can be fatal for the baby. If the baby is already artificially fed, we recommend using the germ-free dry milk.

Properly store and boil milk for breastfeeding.

For them, as well as for cow’s milk, the following rules apply:

  • The milk must be stored as cool as possible (but do not freeze). The bottle should always be prepared just before the meal.
  • In no case should the baby be given uncooked, sour or bad milk.
  • Also, always closely inspect the pots and milk bottles. Any small food residue is already poison for the child after half a day.
  • The bottle and teat must therefore be cleaned and boiled before each meal.

Finally, a word of advice:

In summer, children sweat a lot. For the metabolism is not needed so much calories that the child can not meet its fluid needs from the milk and porridge alone. As a result, even satiated, the baby continues to cry. A bottle of fennel tea is quickly prepared and cooled down again. A laughing face shows that the mother has understood her child correctly.