Why Chinese parents let baby sweat?
- Thread starter meimeid
- Start date
Today it's 11-15 C. I took my 4-month-old baby out in ONE layer -- a thicker onsie with long sleeves and long legs. I threw on some sock and booties -- and that's it! In my bag, I had an extra blanket and hat just in case.
My baby goes out to the park every day and hasn't had a cold yet (touch wood). If she sneezes or coughs a little bit, we just wipe her nose and ignore it. Of course if (God forbid) she gets really ill, we will take her to the doctor. But normal winter-time sniffles are fine. I hope that she will grow up with the natural ability to adjust to the weather, unlike most Hong Kongers.
I met a mother of another 4-month-old in my building lobby, and her kid looked like she was being dressed for a ski holiday in the Arctic. Poor thing was totally red in the face from overheating.
When my parents first emigrated to Canada in the 1970s, their doctors yelled at them for overdressing us in the winter. They said that it led to sweaty babies -- which, ironically, leads to chills, as well as skin sores. The Canadian doctors also told them that overly tight or stuffy clothing can obstruct circulation. If your child is red and sweaty, this is a sign that circulation is being blocked.
Since then, none of the babies in our family have been overdressed.
Plus, HK is a tropical island. It gets a bit chilly here in winter, but it's not a cold place.
PS. My family are Chinese.
My baby goes out to the park every day and hasn't had a cold yet (touch wood). If she sneezes or coughs a little bit, we just wipe her nose and ignore it. Of course if (God forbid) she gets really ill, we will take her to the doctor. But normal winter-time sniffles are fine. I hope that she will grow up with the natural ability to adjust to the weather, unlike most Hong Kongers.
I met a mother of another 4-month-old in my building lobby, and her kid looked like she was being dressed for a ski holiday in the Arctic. Poor thing was totally red in the face from overheating.
When my parents first emigrated to Canada in the 1970s, their doctors yelled at them for overdressing us in the winter. They said that it led to sweaty babies -- which, ironically, leads to chills, as well as skin sores. The Canadian doctors also told them that overly tight or stuffy clothing can obstruct circulation. If your child is red and sweaty, this is a sign that circulation is being blocked.
Since then, none of the babies in our family have been overdressed.
Plus, HK is a tropical island. It gets a bit chilly here in winter, but it's not a cold place.
PS. My family are Chinese.
i would probably forget the short-sleeves t-shirt and just put on a slightly heavier hoody (which, where i'm from, we call... a BUNNY HUG!)As some people have mentioned layering clothes--I really don't think there's anything wrong with putting layers on if your intention is that some of the layers are going to come off at some time. But, we were at a school picnic last Spring in May and it was a pretty warm and sunny day. In the morning it was cool but when the sun came out it was hot and we were outside all day and there wasn't much shade at all. I had dressed my son in his school sweatsuit in the morning but by afternoon he had a tank top on. His little friend, a little girl was still dressed in the sweatsuit but she had an extra sweater and a t-shirt on underneath it! Her family was there with her but they wouldn't take anything off--she was sweating so much that her hair was soaked and the helper had to keep changing the towel that was stuffed down the back of her shirt because it was getting soaked with sweat. So, layering is great for the many "climate changes" (air con to non-air con to outside etc.) we experience in HK but...sometimes you have to take a few (or many) layers off. 
There are occasions when DH & I are dressed a layer more than our toddler when it gets cold It seems like it gets colder for us easier than for him...
Talk abt the hanky, this hanky-behind-kid's neck thingy here is quite a contradicting practice...The other day I saw 2 kids from a same family at our clubhouse playground dressed in 3 layers or so- top being a thick sweater, both with hankies hung from behind their necks They were apparently the ones sweating non-stop and the hankies were all wet! When we first got here we bought a set of clothes for LO & didn't realize inside the packaging comes with a hanky with some odd cutting It was until the first debut of a hanky hung from the back of the neck of a little plumb boy sweating away I witnessed did I realized what the odd-shaped piece of cloth we have was about So surprised they even offer hankies with a 'convenient' design for such purpose!
Talk abt the hanky, this hanky-behind-kid's neck thingy here is quite a contradicting practice...The other day I saw 2 kids from a same family at our clubhouse playground dressed in 3 layers or so- top being a thick sweater, both with hankies hung from behind their necks They were apparently the ones sweating non-stop and the hankies were all wet! When we first got here we bought a set of clothes for LO & didn't realize inside the packaging comes with a hanky with some odd cutting It was until the first debut of a hanky hung from the back of the neck of a little plumb boy sweating away I witnessed did I realized what the odd-shaped piece of cloth we have was about So surprised they even offer hankies with a 'convenient' design for such purpose!
Are you serious?! That is so funny!
OK, I'll admit that it was chilly last night. Baby went to bed in a long-sleeved onsie, and a thick sleeping bag, and a blanket tucked firmly into the sides of the mattress.
But still -- if your baby is sweating, he/she is too hot and will probably get sick from being wet.
But still -- if your baby is sweating, he/she is too hot and will probably get sick from being wet.
howardcoombs
Registered User
While being cold, hot or wet can be uncomfortable for anyone (especially young ones), I'm not aware of any illnesses that you could pick up from such situations.