Heat wave after heat wave has hit several countries around the world this year, meeting back-to-school season with a bang. Sitting in a packed classroom for more than five hours is especially uncomfortable for our kids when it’s this warm. So, how do we combat the heat?
Staying hydrated is a huge factor in keeping cool, but there are also lots of great gadgets, clothing, and foods that can keep your kid cool all day long. From affordable portable fans, to high-tech cooling lunch boxes, there’s a solution for nearly every sweaty problem.
High-Tech Fabrics
Of course, dressing as light as possible is the basic way to keep cool. Avoiding dark and thick fabrics, and sticking to materials such as cotton and linen are the best choices. That being said, there are now high-tech fabrics that can keep your child cool for longer.
From NASA to sportswear, scientists have used liquid cooling panels and refrigeration units in clothing for quite a while. The two main categories of cooling tech are temperature balance and temperature abatement. You can find this type of technology for kids mostly in activity-based stores, such as horse riding apparel, but most of the outfits would suit any occasion. You can also get cooling vests on Amazon that can lay under a school shirt.
Cooling Gadgets
Portable mini fans are a no-brainer, but there are many different types that’ll suit your kid’s needs. Standard handheld fans are a timeless gadget, but when your child is busy writing or drawing, she's going to need her hands free. This is where portable neck fans come in handy, well, in a manner of speaking. There are also tons of ice-pack type gadgets that you can pop in your freezer overnight. Cooling wrist wraps work similarly to cooling vests, and can stay cold for up to 10 hours. They can re-purposed as ankle wraps, or a cooling pad to soothe a heat triggered headache. Evaporative towels are also a great tool for a post-gym class cool down, and something to wrap around their shoulders on the trip home.
Packing Lunches
We’ve spoken before about how packing the right lunch for your child can do wonders in cooling him down. Foods that are rich in water retention, and can be kept cool with ice packs are perfect for the warmer semesters. How to pack these foods is equally as important, and you can find countless insulated lunch bags and boxes online. Late summer and early autumn is the perfect time to give them healthy and tasty treats such as fruit popsicles, frozen yogurt, and tropical frozen grapes. It’s also a great opportunity to try out new sandwich recipes, smoothies, and juices.
Surprising Warm Drink Hack
This isn’t for everyone, so don’t force it on your child, but sometimes sweating out a warm drink can actually balance out your body temperature. According to a University of Ottawa study, drinking a hot beverage can actually cool you down. The catch is that you need to try this before you've started sweating. It works because it activates your sweat glands without needing to exert energy. It results in a decrease in heat stored in the body, while the sweat can evaporate without extra effort. So, giving your kid a hot chocolate or tea when she wakes up in the morning (a time when it’s usually less hot) with breakfast, then sending her out to school will help activate this hack. It can also help kids drift off to sleep the night before a little more easily.
Give Kids a Hydration Goal
Depending on how old your kids are, they should be drinking around four to eight glasses of water per day. But when it’s extra hot and they’re exerting energy walking to school or gym class, they’ll need to hydrate more. Make them a tally list they can check off each time they finish a water bottle, to refill for later. You can make it together as a fun activity, print one off, or they can download an app that tracks it for them.
If your kids don’t like the taste of water, there are tons of ways they can drink it without hassle. Add some fruit flavoring to their water, or pick up a scent-based water bottle. Brands like Air Up have developed a water pod that when placed in the mouthpiece of a water bottle, can trigger your olfactory scent receptors to "taste" whichever scent of pod you’ve added. It’s sustainable, customizable, tasty, and additive-free.
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