7 ways to keep your kids cool this summer
Ahhh, summer with those lovely long, hot days… but sometimes it can be just too hot. When the temperature starts to climb, so can tempers as overheated kids become overtired kids! But there are some simple ways to keep your house cooler in summer, without sending your power bills skyrocketing. Here’s how to keep your house – and kids – cool – particularly when it comes to nap time.
- Shut it up
While it’s tempting to throw open the curtains or blinds the minute you get out of bed, on a hot summer’s day the best thing you can do is close up the house as much as possible to keep the cold night air in – and stop the hot day time air from entering. Blackout blinds or curtains are not only handy for keeping rooms nice and dark to keep the kids asleep – they’re great for keeping the sun’s rays from warming up the room. On days when the temperature climbs, keep those blinds down!
If you have a house facing the west that gets all the hot afternoon sun, consider installing shutters or awnings to stop the sun hitting the windows and heating the house this way.
As soon as the temperature cools – at dawn or dusk – open up the windows and let that cool breeze in to cool things down. Open windows at both ends of the house because cross-breezes will get the air moving and have that hot air out of the house faster.
- Move it around
A fan is a really great way to break up the warm air, and stop everything from being so stifling. But if all the fan is doing is moving hot air around, it can feel like the fan’s not doing much at all! Here’s a way to get even more relief from a fan, especially at nap time:
- Wet a sheet in cold water and wring it out.
- Place it over a clothes airer or a wooden chair.
- Put a fan directly behind it so it blows through the wet sheet.
This cools the room like the best air-conditioner – and it’s perfect to help the kids nap on still, hot days.
- Strip ’em off
Dress for the weather – in undies or swimmers! Unless you’re expecting guests, the less you can wear the better. Loose-fitting, breathable fabric is also good. Dress for comfort, not style!
Have a range of ‘hot weather’ outfits ready to go for those days when you know the temperature’s going to be climbing. The less you wear, the cooler you’ll feel.
- Wet them down
Get a large, long strip of fabric (muslin is ideal). Wet it, and tie it loosely around your child’s neck. Keep a spray bottle filled with water in the fridge for quick face spritzes. Sponge baths work well – and switch to cool or tepid showers over the usual hot showers.
Go for an early morning or late afternoon swim. Bathing in tepid water can also help bring down your body temperature and make you feel more comfortable too.
Fill the bath with a couple of centimetres of cold water and when it all gets too hot, just sit on the edge with your feet in the water for a few minutes. Cooling your feet lowers the overall temperature of your skin and body. You could even rinse a pair of cotton socks in cold water and wear them for a clever cool trick.
- Cool from the inside out
Keep up the cold water, by offering semi-frozen water bottles regularly. Freeze a mix of water and juice into popsicle molds and let the kids sip on these. When it comes to meals – go for something cool, washed down with an icy cold glass of water. Freeze grapes or chunks of fruit like watermelon, pineapple, mango, banana or strawberries – these are an awesome summer snack no matter what the weather is doing!
- Keep things calm
Hot days are a great time to rest. If you know it’s going to be a scorcher plan ahead. Go to an air-conditioned cinema or play centre during the day. At home plan craft or colouring activities rather than anything that involves running around and getting even hotter!
Or pull down the blinds, make up some frosty drinks, turn on the fans and have a movie day at home. The less your body has to do on a hot day, the better!
- Waterplay to cool things down
Everything’s cooler if you just add water. Here are some fun things to do to cool down in the wettest way:
- have a water fight
- place a sprinkler under the trampoline
- go for a swim
- have a ‘swim’ in a cool bath indoors
- water paint – with just water, paintbrushes and a fence or piece of concrete.
- play ‘under-the-hose’ limbo – use the stream of water as a ‘pole’ and bend back to limbo underneath.