[Yarnia]

I was at my mil sat to drop 2-1/2 yr old dd off for babysitting. We were running late so for the first time I bathed dd there. I towelled her off and redressed her in her street clothes as it was afternoon and I was hoping she'd take a nap.

Well, mil wanted me to blowdry dd hair. I said I never did. I did suggest it once but she freaks at hand dryers and the blow dryer was no exception.

Anyway, I'm cooking dinner tonight and mil calls to check on dd. I say I think she has another cold. MIL says "do you think it might have something to do with letting her have wet hair?" I said NO. This woman claims to be medically "savvy" and is always quoting medical terms and such. oh yeah she told me she tried to wrap her up and hold her to keep her from getting a chill. puleez
Really, I feel like every time I go over there she is just picking my brain collecting stuff to criticize me over. She is always "gentle" about it but it just gets to me.

btw. We are in Georgia. I suppose the temp was 60 at worst.

Oh and when I picked her up she went on and on about how i should wrap her up in a blanket on the way to the car. (20 feet)

so anyway....I'm editing to add sorry I am whining but Should I be drying her hair? She doesn't go to bed with it sopping wet or anything. I never blow dry my hair and I seem to be surviving.
Shoot, I'm old enough to remember when blow dryers were invented. When I was a kid I'd go to bed with wet hair on purpose to keep cool.
oh why can't I just let stuff like this roll off my back???

 

[~Nikki~]

Hmm, I've never thought to blowdry DD's hair, as it's still about as thin as my leg-hair (which is barely visible, btw

). I'd probably burn her head. I dry my own hair, and she's usually in the washroom with me, so I will flash the dryer at her and she gets a kick out of it.

We never had our hair dried when I was young, either. Not until I was a teenager and dried my own hair. Baby hair is so perfect. Why risk ruining it by scorching it with a blowdryer?

 

[ctdoula]

Ummm... I grew up in Vermont (think LONG cold winters) and never blew my hair dry. I used to go out w/wet hair too & have haircicles (GASP) and I'm still alive (GASP). I never dry dd's hair. She even goes to bed with her hair wet/damp if she's taken a bath before bed (double gasp) and she's the healthiest kid i know. Tell your MIL that colds are a VIRUS and have NOTHING to do with TEMPERATURE (major eye roll), ROFL.
Hugs mama!

 

[annethcz]

We're in MN, and I haven't used a blowdryer since I was a teenager. I don't use one on myself (long, thick hair) and I've never used one on any of my kids. I've never seen the need. They're perfectly healthy, despite occasionally going to bed with wet hair on a cold winter night.

 

[TiredX2]

I was reading along, uh huh, uh huh.... and then I came to this:

Quote:

btw. We are in Georgia. I suppose the temp was 60 at worst.

Took DD home from swimming today... lot longer than 20 feet to the car and the temp was probably 40-45 deg AND it was raining with a wet head. She hardly ever gets sick, but I guess I'll be on the lookout now that we've been doing that for the past 10 weeks

 

[Jane]

My father used to blow dry my hair after every bath, probably until I was 8 or 9.
I really liked it because I stayed warm. I still don't like to be cold.

 

[Cutie Patootie]

: I blow dry ds's hair every once in awhile, but only if he takes a late bath and is hopping right in bed. He is only 16 months, but his hair has thick curls and is getting pretty long and already takes forever to dry. He thinks it's funny, but I always feel a tinge of, "I'm ruining his precious hair!". I always went to bed with a wet head and I always hated it. I guess I project that onto him.

 

[weebitty2]

hairciciles! I SO remember those!

and how crispy crusty frozen hair gel would get from walking the mile to high school with wet hair in a Massachusetts winter.

 

[~Nikki~]

Quote:

I used to go out w/wet hair too & have haircicles (GASP) and I'm still alive (GASP).

Haha haircicles. They were so fun. My sisters and I would stand outside waiting for the bus, while our hair froze into these perfect little dreadlocks.

 

[happymamajenni]

We never blowdry dd's hair. She is scared of the blowdrier. My mom was one of those people who told me I'd catch a cold if I went out in the cold with wet hair, no hat or earmuffs. It's just one of those old wives tales. She made me do all the above until I started working and would get up at the last minute in the morning and always leave the house with wet hair. I was like "If you want to go to work for me and get up early just to have extra time to dry your hair, go ahead!" She was always a stay at home mom and hasn't worked since 1978.

 

[philomom]

My kids are older than yours, but I seldom blowdry their hair. Only on the very cold winter night when they have had a bath and I didn't want them to sleep with wet hair. Since I'm in Ga as well, this is usually in January.

 

[Parthenia]

Hats trump blowdrying.

I have waistlength dreads and blow my own hair dry every once in a while in winter, generally if I wash my hair before bed or before going out. I don't dry it completely, and wear a hat outside. I do it because my hair will make my shirt wet, and my hair takes up to 2 days to dry if I let it air dry completely.

As for dd's hair, I blow it dry if she asks (she likes the novelty of it) and we're going out. So this happens maybe once or twice in winter. I have her wear a hat if her hair is wet and we're going out in winter. Sure you can't get a cold going out with wet hair, but most of your body heat escapes through your head on a cold day. I generally insist on a hat more than a heavy coat.

I use a low setting on dd, and like I said, it's more for fun for her. I also put a little olive oil in her hair if I blow it dry. A hat is a better preventative than dry hair.

 

[Breathless Wonder]

I've given this a lot of thought over the years, and this is what I have come up with:
While going out with a wet head in the cold does *not* mean you are going to get sick, I *do* think that negative stress on the body can lead to a lowered immune system, and a greater chance of your body being unable to effectively fight off bacteria or viruses, thus resulting in "sick" symptoms such as a cough or a runny nose, etc.

And, since you lose so much heat through your head, I've come to the conclusion that at least starting out with a hat on on a cold day is a good idea, particularly if we are going to be outside for a long time. It can always be taken off if you feel hot.

So, if I were to take my children out on a cold day with a wet head, I think at least having a hat on would be appropriate. Cold for me being anything being below 50.

And yes, I also walked to school with haircicles.

However, seeing as 60 is shorts weather in some places, and light long sleeve shirt and pants weather in others, I wouldn't worry about it at all in your case! I think wet heads are more problemtic when the exposure is for extended periods- think men in trenches, being lost in the woods or jungle during the rainy season- you get the idea.

 

[Yarnia]

Well glad to hear I'm not abusing her by not drying her hair. Oh and of course last night I offered to dry it and dd thought it was great.

oh and to clear it up - dd was not going out, She was going to crawl up in mima's lap and read a book, probably until she fell asleep.

I can promise you that if I had been the one to suggest blowdrying I would have been peppered with clipped out magazine articles on the hazards (near certain!) of toddler death by electrocution from bathroom appliances....or deafness from high decibel dryers.....hair loss in toddlers from extreme velocity drying......and on and on :LOL

not to mention I would be blowing the curl out of her hair!
you get the idea. She's a little wacko I guess.

I was pretty pissed last night but I'm calmer now and can laugh. A little. I'm feeling a little sensitive since she has done several things like this lately which is a little unusual. Her husband is sick and maybe she is feeling a little spiteful or just tired. Who knows. Heck I just wish my kid would blow her nose. sigh.....

Thanks everyone!

 

[Mummoth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Nikki~ Haha haircicles. They were so fun. My sisters and I would stand outside waiting for the bus, while our hair froze into these perfect little dreadlocks.

My sisters & I used to hold a handful of hair straight up from our heads on the trip to the truck after swimming lessons, so we'd look like we had unicorn horns! It never lasted long enough for our liking....

 

[Yarnia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomebirthHarriett My sisters & I used to hold a handful of hair straight up from our heads on the trip to the truck after swimming lessons, so we'd look like we had unicorn horns! It never lasted long enough for our liking....

omg MIL would DIE. too funny! I want unicorn hair!!!

When it rains hard or god forbid a forecast of AS MUCH AS an inch of snow is in the works I can count on a phone call reminding me to go to the grocery store.
but really, a little snow does shut our town down entirely. It's crazy.
I sure hope it snows a little this year or I'm gonna have to take dd to the mountains looking for it!

 

[GuavaLava]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yarnia Should I be drying her hair?

We never have, and dd has had a full head of hair since birth. She's two and it's nearly to her waist. She would let me blow dry it once, I bet, then the novelty would wear off.
I have trouble with dh's step-mom on the phone. Her long pauses equal judgement in my mind. I do think it's in my mind though...sometimes. :LOL

 

[Electra375]

I have always understood that colds come from viruses and just going out side not completely dressed for the weather was not going to give you a cold, BUT and this is a BIG BUT... I went out in the windy cold mid-nov of this year w/ my ds, I had on a sweater and the wind was whipping through it; I was sick with a cold the next day. He was wearing is Cub Scout Uniform and no jacket, he got sick too. Now, logically I know that the weather did not make me or my ds sick, but I've come to the conclusion that my body probably would have fought off this virus no problem had I not gotten so cold. I think getting cold and chilled weakened my body and the virus latched on full force. Make sense??? or am I just

Anyway, I don't go outside or out to church in the Fall, Winter or Spring with damp hair. I do dry my hair if I'm cold or feel a chill after a hot shower.

I covered my dd's head w/ a hat yesterday after getting out of the bath, she has an ear infection so it is important to keep her on the mend. The PA told me to keep her ears covered if at all possible, warm ears apparently feel better than cold ears with an infections.

And yes, I probably would dry my dd hair with a dryer if it were cold enough for me to do the same. Right now, I can get most of it dry with a towel.

I put hats on all the children when they go out on cool damp days or cold days (50 and damp or anything lower than 40).

And yes, I would cover up my child with something to run to the car if it were 60 and windy or in the 50s and not windy.

I grew up in Latin America where it was warm year round, I hate the cold and cold to me is anything lower than like 80 degrees!!! If it's 78 outside, I'm wearing long pants. I might even be wearing a jacket if it is breezy.

I'm sure your MIL (OP) means well. I have a step FIL that gets on my about my kids not wearing shoes and soxs in the house!!! My kids strip down to t-shirts and underwear or a diaper in our house and he thinks they get sick from their legs and feet getting cold! I think their feet must be cold too, but short of putting shoes on them with double knots the shoes and soxs are not going to stay on. My dd has Soft Star's, but I don't see my older boys wantign to wear them anymore than shoes and soxs. And yes it is hard to just let it roll off my back, I feel I need to be defensive about how I do take good care of my children. (He hasn't had any children or been around any children until mine, so I get super angry about his "advice".)

 

[ShadowMom]

Wet hair does not cause colds.

Here's a link for the MIL :

http://www.mayo.edu/comm/health_info...news_1683.html

 

[hipumpkins]

My sister and I always went out with wet hair. My mom was against the tide saying, "germs make people not sick not the weather"