Children sleeping outdoors in winter: parents' experiences of a culturally bound childcare practice

Isola, Arja; Hassi, Juhani

doi:10.3402/ijch.v67i2-3.18284

Cited by 15 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The sleeping child should be observed frequently, which many parents do (Tourula et al 2008) when the baby is sleeping outdoors. The child should also be taken indoors at the latest when he or she has slept outdoors for 200 min, especially if it is colder than ¡5°C.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was not found to exist among traditional care in Mongolia (Tsogt et al 2006) or in Peru (Tronick et al 1994). However, children sleep longer (Tourula et al 2010) and parents have mainly positive experiences of children sleeping outdoors in Finland (Tourula et al 2008). ScientiWcally based guidelines of children's cold protection and sleeping in diVerent kinds of weather conditions should still be considered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The commonly used clothing ensemble from the Finnish maternity package and pram gives appropriate insulation at ¡5°C; probably due to this it seems that observed and required thermal insulation of clothing was equal at around ¡5°C. Accordingly, also in our questionnaire study (Tourula et al 2008) parents estimated the best temperature for letting the child sleep outdoors to be about ¡6°C. It shows that parents have the ability to make observations about their child's wellbeing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Traditional outdoor infant care practices, for example swaddling and living in traditional tents called "Ger" in the Mongolian winter (Tsogt et al 2006) as well as using the form of dressing called "manta pouch" in Peru (Tronick et al 1994), have been described as protecting the infant from the cold. However, in our previous questionnaire study some parents in Finland estimated that their infants had cold extremities after sleeping outdoors in a pram (Tourula et al 2008), and according to skin temperature measurements a decrease in ambient temperature increased the cooling rate of outdoor sleeping infants despite winter clothing (Tourula et al 2010). Tuohy and Tuohy (1990) suggested that parents may decide on the amount of indoor clothing of the infant based on outdoor temperature, and according to Bacon et al (1991), based on their tradition and expectations rather than immediate conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In Finland children take their daytime naps outdoors during winter from the age of about 2 weeks to 2 years (Tourula et al 2008). The coldest outdoor air temperature in which parents let their child sleep in the daytime varies from ¡15°C to almost ¡30°C in some families (Tourula et al 2008(Tourula et al , 2010, but the best temperature was evaluated to be about ¡6°C (Tourula et al 2008). Infants take longer naps outdoors than indoors, but faster cooling of skin temperature shortens the sleep duration (Tourula et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of the thermal insulation of clothing of infants sleeping outdoors in Northern winter

et al. 2010

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It is a common practice in Northern countries that children aged about 2 weeks to 2 years take their daytime sleep outdoors in prams in winter. The aim was to evaluate the thermal insulation of clothing of infants sleeping outdoors in winter. Clothing data of infants aged 3.5 months was collected, and sleep duration, skin and microclimate temperatures, humidity inside middle wear, air temperature and velocity of the outdoor environment were recorded during sleep taken outdoors (n = 34) and indoors (n = 33) in families' homes. The insulation of clothing ensembles was measured by using a baby-size thermal manikin, and the values were used for defining clothing insulation of the observed infants. Required clothing insulation for each condition was estimated according to ISO 11079. Clothing insulation did not correlate with ambient air temperature. The observed and required insulation of the study group was equal at about -5 °C, but overdressing existed in warmer and deficiency in thermal insulation in colder temperatures (r (s) 0.739, p< 0.001). However, even at -5 °C a slow cooling (ca. 0.012 °C/min) of mean skin temperature (T (sk)) was observed. When the difference between observed and required insulation increased, the cooling rate of T (sk) increased linearly (r (s) 0.605, p < 0.001) and the infants slept for a shorter period (r (s) 0.524, p = 0.001). The results of this study show the difficulty of adjusting systematically the optimal thermal insulation for outdoor sleeping infants during northern winter. Therefore, the necessity for guidelines is obvious. The study provides information for adequate cold protection of infants sleeping in cold conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of the thermal insulation of clothing of infants sleeping outdoors in Northern winter

et al. 2010

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Human cold adaptation: An unfinished agenda v2.0

Ocobock

2023

American J Hum Biol

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BackgroundResearch on human extreme cold climate adaptations has benefitted from a recent resurgence since Ted Steegmann laid out his Human Cold Adaptation Agenda in 2007. Human biologists have drastically expanded our knowledge in this area during the last 15 years, but we still have a great deal more work to do to fulfill the cold climate adaptation agenda.MethodsHere, I follow Steegmann's example by providing a review of cold climate adaptations and setting forth a new, expanded agenda.ResultsI review the foundational work on cold climate adaptations including classic Bergmann, Allen, and Thomson rules as well as early work assessing metabolic differences among Indigenous cold climate populations. From there, I discuss some of the groundbreaking work currently taking place on cold climate adaptations such as brown adipose tissue (a heat generating organ), physical activity levels, metabolic rates, and behavioral/cultural mechanisms. Finally, I present a path forward for future research with a focus on some of the basic extreme cold adaptations as well as how human biologists should approach the effects of climate change on human health and well‐being, particularly within a cold climate context.ConclusionThe Arctic has felt the dramatic effects of climate change sooner and more acutely than other parts of the world, making it an ideal location for studying both cold climate adaptations and climate change resilience. Human biologists have a great deal to contribute to the conversation on not only adaptations to extreme cold, but also the ways in which climate change is being embodied by cold climate populations.

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