If You Leave Your Baby To Nap Outside In Winter I Won’t Call CPS
There is a fascinating debate happening on the Reddit parenting forum about babies napping outside during winter. This practice is common in Sweden and some other countries, but as many commenters have stated, this sort of thing will get you a visit from child protective services in no time flat in the states. From the thread, which is located here:
The parent is right next to the window where the baby is. I assume she is bundled correctly. And if it is getting a baby to take a nap I see nothing wrong with it. I think the only concern I would have is weird dogs or other large animals coming into the yard area, but if a parent is watching their baby I think they could stop anything scary from happening in time. There is another thread linked in this topic to yet another conversation about babies sleeping outside in winter and someone who practices this posted this:
It’s been quite a few years since my babies were little, but I would always bundle them up and take them for a walk in winter because they would always conk right out. As an adult, my ideal sleeping practice is to have the heat on but the windows open because I love bundling under my blankets yet still being warm from the heat.
I love how children are raised differently all over the world and I think it’s such an interesting discussion to have, how something totally normal would be considered criminal in another country. I can’t imagine someone calling CPS on another parent for something like this, especially if the baby wasn’t crying and was sleeping next to the house. Any parent who has had a baby with colic knows how difficult it can be to get them to fall asleep, and as long as the parent is being safe about it I guess I don’t know what the big deal is. None of these parents are saying they do it in busy cities but in suburban/rural areas where they keep a close eye on them. Or on balconies attached to flats.
An article linked that goes to the BBC states that:
At Forskolan Orren, a pre-school outside Stockholm, all children sleep outside until they reach the age of three.
“When the temperature drops to -15C (5F) we always cover the prams with blankets,” says head teacher Brittmarie Carlzon.
“It’s not only the temperature that matters, it’s also how cold it feels. Some days it can be -15C but it actually feels like -20C (-4F) because of the wind,” she says.
“Last year we had a couple of days with a temperature of -20C. On those days we brought the prams inside some of the time the children were sleeping, but most of their sleep they spent outdoors.”
One group at the pre-school spends all its time outside, from 09:00 to 15:00 every day. Out in the fresh air they do everything children normally do inside, only going inside at mealtimes, or in unusually cold weather.
In my area, they don’t even send the kids outside if it is sort of cold. I think the whole subject is fascinating, especially considering the arguments for and against it. A lot of parents worry about things like frostbite, when the parents who engage in this practice explain how they bundle the babies so this doesn’t happen.
If my babies were still babies, I would do this. It makes sense to me, and I do think that I personally sleep better in cold weather, and it makes sense to me why babies would too. Plus, I just took my trash out and it’s freezing and lightly snowing and boy did it make me feel snoozy. I almost feel like hauling my bed to the yard.
(Image: getty Images)
