One of the biggest challenges to any parent’s patience in
snowy climates is helping your children get dressed – and undressed – for
outdoor activity. It’s a whole adventure
in itself to get all the zippers, snaps, ties, and Velcros fastened.
And if you’ve got two or more kids, you end up racing to get
all the warm winter clothes on quickly enough so no one passes out from heat
stroke before you get out the door! Or dissolves into a temper tantrum
meltdown!
But even beyond the mechanics is the problem of figuring out
what you should look for in dressing your kids (and yourself) to get the most
out of winter.
For nothing rankled me even more with my kids than going
through all of this only to have to reverse within minutes because, "Mommy
I’m cold!"
Some of these bits of advice you won’t see in many places
but are developed through lots of trial and error and have served us well.
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If there is anything that I want you to be horribly afraid
of during the winter – it’s cotton.
Cotton is a favorite cloth for warm weather places because it does such
a good job keeping you cool.
When it comes to winter, its effectiveness in moving heat
away from your body, especially if it gets a little wet with sweat, can be
deadly. So if there is any one thing you do to keep warm in the winter – do not
dress your children or yourself in cotton.
Save it for summer!
The dreadful image of damp cotton brings me to the next
topic. Wear layers of materials that
move moisture away from your body. When
you move around a lot – even in frigid temperatures – you’re likely to sweat.
Moisture is the harbinger of frosty discomfort in the winter. Like water with electricity, moisture moves
energy quickly away from your body, depleting you of warmth even more quickly.
So look for materials that move moisture away –
polypropylene long underwear are one of our favorite underlayers.
We have been through all kinds of different technical
materials for outdoor adventures Nothing works as well as wool. Nature’s labs
(sheep) have come up with the finest technical developments in outdoor
materials. It helps move moisture away from your body. But incredibly, it even keeps you warm when
it gets damp or even wet. (not as well, but it still does a good job).
And if you have images of itchy
sweaters that shrink in the laundry, take notes! Merino wool does not cause the same allergic
reaction as regular wool and it even resists shrinking. You can even wear it
comfortably right against your skin.
Wool can keep you snuggled in comfort. But it doesn’t do much good if the wind is
coursing through it and blowing the warmth away. For this reason, you always need to wear a
good wind-blocking outer layer. In addition to insulation you need something
that stops wind so that your insulating layer can do its job.
Which brings us to the next topic – ventilation. This may sound like a contradiction to the
last point, but one of the biggest problems in winter outdoor wear is getting
too hot. Because with too much heat
comes sweating which then just makes you cold again. Wear layers with lots of
zippers and buttons so you can ventilate easily.
On the other hand, be warned. When you start to feel hot, don’t start to
shed layers like it’s June. Take baby
steps. Unzip a little but keep in most
of the warmth. Once you remove your
layers you’ll be surprised how quickly you lose the heat and then how difficult
it is to recover it, even when you zip back up.
So when it comes to warm winter
clothes, these tips will prove to be invaluable. They are not just theory but
tried and true. While I can’t help you
zip up everything and fasten the last buttons on the way out, I can guarantee
that once you get everyone out the door, you’ll be able to stay out longer and
enjoy it even more.
Got any suggestions to add? Please put them in the comments
below!
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