Kids & Company Blog

Parenting Hacks: Cold Weather Edition

Cold temperatures, snow and all of the accompanying outerwear can eat precious minutes out of your daily routines and make getting outside feel like a headache.  We’ve asked our savvy Kidco Staff and found some great images from our favourite photo resources (thanks Pinterest!) to come up with the cold weather parenting hacks you need to get through this winter.

ORGANIZE:

1. Put all of those mitts, hats, scarves, etc in a hanging shoe bag inside a closet door.  The hanging pockets are just the right size for little accessories.  Special bonus: buy one with clear pockets, so you can easily see what’s inside each.

WEATHER READY

2. Layer mittens over gloves for extra warmth.  Get waterproof mitts in a size larger than needed, and put a pair of light weight gloves underneath. (The inexpensive stretchy “miracle grow” gloves are perfect for this)  This will keep little hands (yours too, incidentally) warm while playing in the snow or tobogganing.
3. Long Underwear or leggings under snow pants.  Really, this is all your little one needs to keep warm when outside and it allows for maximum movement.  Joe Fresh (in Canada), Land’s End, Walmart, Target (in the US) and ski shops all sell long underwear shirts and pants for reasonable prices.
4. The trick to getting kids to put on their winter coats easily?  Flip it on!  Lay the coat on the floor, inside up, hood pointing towards them.  Kids and put their arms in the coats and flip them over their back.  Fun, easy and very quick!  Check out the 15 second demo here
5. Cut adult socks to make leg and arm warmers for babies and toddlers.  Put a pair on arms to avoid expose wrists in the snow.

 

OUTDOOR FUN

6. Snow art – Pick up a few spray bottles at the dollar store.  Put some water and a few drops of food colouring in each.  Let your children go to town decorating snow banks.  (To protect their mitts from the colour and getting wet, slip a thin plastic bag over their gloved hand first.  The fruit/veggie bags from the grocery store work well).
   
7. Ice on stairs? Try this recipe for keeping sidewalks and stairs from freezing over with ice: Add 1 teaspoon of dish soap and 1 Tablespoon of rubbing alcohol to 1/2 gallon of warm water, then pour the mixture onto walkways you want to keep ice-free

BACK INSIDE

8. Boots wet inside?  Crumple a piece or two of newspaper in there while drying.  It absorbs moisture and boots dry much more quickly.
9. Dry lips, cheeks, skin?  Coconut oil soothes delicate skin without any harsh chemicals or additives.
10. Sore nose from a cold?  Silicone diaper cream soothes the irritated skin and is invisible.

Posted on: Tuesday January 12th, 2016

Posted by: Kids & Company