How cold is too cold to take 2yr old for a walk outside? - Page 2

[Dancerchic1981]

I suppose it really depends where you live. In new england, winter temps are usually in the teens not counting wind chill. We just made sure at that age and even know that their feet, hands, ears, heads, and necks are properly covered and insulated.

[livinlovinlaughin]

Originally Posted by mckittre 

A 2 year old is a person just as capable of temperature regulation as an adult.  If you can dress comfortably to go outside, the kid can too.  Dangers of cold are hypothermia and frostbite.  Hypothermia is nearly impossible in a dry person dressed for the weather and being active.  Frostbite is only a danger at temperatures significantly below freezing - keep an eye on the fingers and use mittens/warm boots.  A toddler may not know why they're uncomfortable, but the kid will certainly be fussy and unhappy long before being dangerously cold.  Was he complaining about his feet being cold - or were you just interpreting that by touching them?  Smartwool makes wool socks for toddlers.  Others probably do too.

I live in Alaska.  If we didn't go out in 50 degree weather, we'd be stuck inside all year!  Kids survive in all kinds of environments, including the far north arctic, and do just fine.

I just noticed his feet were cold when we came inside and we were taking our shoes off. Also, I was not thinking about 50 degrees being extreme  We just had a week of over 70 degreee weather then it barely made it to 50 yesterday. Since we could, I just waited for it to warm up out of the 30's. I figured it would be a bit of a surprise for him after that unusually warm weather.

[mamazee]

If it's warm enough to play at the park, it's warm enough to walk to the park.

The schools around here don't send kids out for recess if it's colder than 20 degrees F. 

[butterfly_mommy]

I also think it depends on the person. My DS "runs hot" like his dad,his base temp is on the higher end of normal and he gets sweaty and hot easily and has since he was first born. Poor babe was so hot in the hospital he only wore a diaper the whole time there and the nurses kept trying to bundle him and he would scream  and cry till i unwrapped him :) I on the other hand get colder faster then them and my sister is always cold. 

Anyway at 50 F (10 C) here I can hardly keep a coat on DS and his feet get sweaty in just cotton socks and running shoes :) I tend to go by the recommendations of the Day nurseries act which is 5F (-15C) or wind chill of same temp for any extended time outside. Saying that we often have days colder then that and we do have to go outside and sometimes have to walk places but I wouldn't be hanging out at the park then.  

As for warmer socks there is smart wool and I have seen fleece socks as well that you could put over top of cotton socks.esp if his running shoes have air vents. 

[Lironah]

The only medical advice I've ever heard about cold weather is that a child under about 6 months needs one more layer of clothing than an adult needs to be comfortable at a given temperature.  By 2 years old, most children can say 'I'm cold', so there shouldn't be any need to worry about them unless they're going to be walking a long distance unsupervised.  (Which I wouldn't recommend below the age of 8 - I once had to drag my 7 year old sister the rest of the way home through the snow because she wanted to give up 1/4 mile from anywhere.)

[Nicole730]

I think it depends on where you live and what your definition of cold is. 

I feel comfortable with DS being outside for extended lengths of time as long as it's in the 30s (which feels quite 'warm' during Jan/Feb).  If it's in the 20s, we might go out for a little bit, but not very long - like 15 minutes.  Lower than that, I wouldn't go out to play.  Maybe take a walk around the block if we need to get out and get some fresh air, but at those temps, usually just a quick walk from the house to the garage cures my need for fresh air.

[omamasmama]

Our girl runs warm....even when I think she's cold, she's not. We live in the woods and she is outside all of the time. Cold I feel is easy to bundle up against, where I run into questioning going out or not are with wind and humidity. We live in a humid area that gets cold, but the humidity makes it even colder. So we bundle up and put on as much waterproof clothing as we can and I just keep checking in with her to see if she's too hot in all of those clothes or if it's just too much and we go back in. We have to go out to keep our sanity. We live in a super tiny house and our woods are where we go to shift gears. 

[BunnySlippers]

-20 (celcius).

If it the kind of cold that freezes the lungs we put scarves around our faces to warm the air a bit before inhaling.

We are outdoor people and are/were outside regularily for long periods of time regardless of the weather.

[justKate]

Originally Posted by Daffodil 

If it's not cold enough for you to worry about your face, it's probably not cold enough to be a problem for your DS.  Just getting a cold red nose won't hurt him.  What's too cold depends a lot on how cold it usually gets in your area.  If it usually doesn't get below 40, then a 20 degree day will probably be too cold for him, because he won't be used to it and won't have winter gear designed for those temperatures.  But if 20 degrees is typical for a winter day where you live, he'll probably be fine going to the park for an hour or so all bundled up.  If he's not complaining, it's probably safe to assume he's not getting dangerously cold.  You can always test how he does playing right outside the house at a certain temperature, and if he stays happy for an hour, then another day you can try taking him to the park when it's that temperature.

 Funny, it was like 50*F here the other day and the kids didn't go outside because the teacher thought it was too cold.  Central Texas for you!  I was raised on the northern seaboard, so I figure as long as you're adequately protected, you're good to go.  We stay out of the rain though.

[Alyantavid]

I don't think a 2 year old needs thermal socks at 50 degrees.  50 degrees is t shirt weather here.

Ours go out in any weather.  We've had a major cold snap here recently and we all went out just as normal.  As long as you're dress appropriately (for any weather) a few hours outside won't hurt anybody. 

[goinggreengirl]

Thank you for this. Reading it made me bundle my 8 month old up in the stroller and take a walk. It was lovely to get out and get some exercise. Bonus- little one fell asleep as soon as we got home!

[momtoS]

I live in Northern Canada. I would generally go out  15 to -20C (5 to-4F) We do go out colder, but once it is -35 or -40 I don't like to go out for too long...too chilly