Winter is upon us and for caring for the little ones from the chills you don’t need to have loads of frills and fripperies. All you need is the old methods and new scientific ways of keeping kids warm and healthy.

Here are a few ways to keep the kids all fine and dandy!

1. Think warm and not too hot – A lot of times we swaddle newborn babies into too much warm wear. Scientifically, babies are warmer than us. The reason? They are tiny. So blood circulation is more rapid in pace than adults. As our height increases, blood takes longer to circulate around than with babies. So ensure that the baby is able to breathe well and is not too hot.
2. Keep the fun in and the cold out – Don’t hamper kids movements unless it is extremely cold temperature ie. way below the normal cold temperature in your city/town. Let kids play. Play keeps the kids warm and it is actually better than tucking them under blankets at home.
3. Foods have temperature too – Grandmothers were knowledgeable about hot foods and cold foods. They had nothing to do with heating food. It means that some foods are intrinsically heat producing for the body and some foods are cool. Cucumbers and bananas are cool while apples and nuts are warm.
4. Bring out what your granny knitted for you! – The warmest woollens were by our grandmothers. Why? They knew which wool was better than others. If your granny has knitted a sweater for you, chances are that you will feel warmer in it than the synthetic and blended woollens that are a poor choice. Also blended or synthetic may cause skin allergies in babies or young kids (it is known to cause allergy to adults too)
5. Winter foods are the best – Jaggery, sesame, peanuts, other nuts, bajra, sarso ka saag, green leafy vegetables and winter season fruits and vegetables are for a reason. They are ideal for winter, hence consume them!
6. Avoid cold/hot scenarios – Especially at the onset of winters, hot days and cold nights can trigger coughs and colds. Ensure that you drink water, milk and liquids of lukewarm to normal temperature. Too much hot or cold is not good at this stage. Also, don’t forget to drink fluids in winter. Dehydration can happen in winter months too.
7. Stock up – Stock up on warmers, quilts, cough lozenges and cough syrup for kids so that you don’t have to have a coughing night that turns into a sleepless night emergency. 

Follow these 7 steps and you have plenty to not worry about! Let the chill in and be chilled out with these simple ways of enjoying the winter months with your kids and family.