With the winter season approaching, parents need to brace themselves up to take a little bit more care f their baby’s skin. Skincare for babies/kids during the winter season needs to be given a little more attention during the winter season as cold temperature leads to dryness and chapped skin. Coupled with the zeal of protective mothers in winters, the over-clothing of babies many a time leads to sweating and consequent rashes in the skin folds of the baby. Dry air from heaters and air blowers makes it worse for the young ones.
Following steps are highly recommended to be taken for skincare of babies/kids during the winter season
1. Ensure appropriate water intake.
During the change of season dip in temperature leads to kids drinking less water. Excessive sweating due to the increased number of clothing layers also leads to water loss in many kids during playtime. Due to water loss body tends to draw water from the skin of the child in the process making it dry, scaly, red, and swollen. In infants, the number of breastfeeds during the day should be increased to ensure proper hydration. To keep a tab on whether the child is hydrated enough, we need to observe the color of urine. Deep Yellow or Yellow color urine suggests less water in the body.
Suggested water intake for kids by age
The ideal Water intake of a small baby should be about 150ml /kg of body weight. Children between 4 and 8 years old should drink 1.2 litres or 5 cups of water a day. This amount rises to 7–8 cups, by ages 9 to 13 years. For ages 14 to 18, the recommended water intake should be 8–11 cups
2. Bath time precautions
There are two primary precautions to be undertaken during bath. Firstly bath time for kids should be restricted to not more than 5-10 minutes in winter. Secondly, the temperature of bath water should be checked to be around lukewarm. Hot water tends to suck water from the skin. After bath baby skin should be rubbed vigorously as it is much more sensitive than adult skin. It is highly recommended to only PAT DRY.
3. Massage and Moisturizing
It is recommended that parents keep massaging their kids/babies during winter as well. Most parents tend to stop doing so once the temperature dips. Ensuring that room temperature is warm, children should be massaged for not more than 10 minutes with a natural oil like coconut oil, almond oil, or olive oil. This should be followed by bath after15 minutes. After a bath when skin is damp, the skin should be moisturized with a natural oil or moisturizing cream. Moisturizing cream should include natural ingredients like Calendula oil and aloe vera. Both these ingredients have an excellent moisturizing effect along with being anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. Shea butter and glycerine are also great combinations to look for in a moisturizing cream
4. Apply Sunscreen regularly
Come winter and many parents stop applying sunscreen on their kid’s skin. This should be avoided. In winter sun is as harsh as in summers and the UV rays of the sun can damage the skin and lead to skin breakout. Moreover in winter, we tend to take our babies out for a stroll in the pram and kids play in park for more hours during the day. All these conditions warrant the application of sunscreen even in winters.
I am sure the above suggestions would ensure that your child has a comfortable winter free from dry, swollen, red, or chapped skin.
PS: I am not a medical professional, the inputs given above are based on my own personal experience and coupled with research. Parents are requested to check the validity of suggestions for their child as each child differs on account of physiological composition.
