How many clothes?

[thanka2]

actually, children who are over-dressed are as likely if not MORE likely to get sick.

and even though i'm originally from canada, i've been here for coming up to half of my life. i actually think that hk is colder in many respects. at least in canada we have insulation and central heating.

Exactly. I never have to wear my winter gear inside my house back in the States even though I'm from the Northwest and it is FREEZING outside there right now. When I go inside I could walk around in a t-shirt and shorts because the homes are properly insulated and the heating systems work.

 

[thanka2]

http://www.babycenter.com/0_top-col...cts-on-keeping-your-child-h_1448773.bc?page=1

"Also you don't catch colds by getting too cold. You catch colds if your immune system isn't great."

Only a cold virus can give you a cold. So being cold, in itself, can't make you sick. But being cold and wet can cause a dormant virus (one that's already in your system) to flare up, triggering symptoms.
In a 2005 study at Cardiff University's Common Cold Center in Wales, 90 volunteers immersed their feet in ice water for 20 minutes. Over the next five days, the chilled group had twice as many colds as a control group of 90 volunteers whose feet had not been not chilled.
The researchers suggest that being chilled causes the blood vessels in the nose to constrict, shutting off the warm blood that supplies infection-fighting white blood cells. Many people are carrying around cold germs, they explain, but getting chilled can make it harder to fight off the effects.

True that getting chilled can make it more likely that you catch a cold. I experienced this last year at the coldest time of the year when on a windy night I didn't dress warmly enough and caught a really bad cold. But it also has something to do with your immune system. If one's immune system is truly in tip-top shape (and mine wasn't) even getting a bit cold is not going to automatically lead to sickness.

There is also a big difference in sticking one's feet in cold water for 20 minutes and not dressing in 10 layers when you go out into the mildly cold Hong Kong outdoors.

Comes down to parents knowing themselves and their own kids. It's just silly, though, that HK people feel that it is necessary to play "warm clothes police" with others' children. My husband is Hong Kong Chinese and he and his family truly believe that if a person sneezes it means that they are cold. But, there are many reasons why people sneeze--for example, inhaling dust or other allergens. It's very interesting that his family members see no other explanation for such phenomenon and they really think that as a foreigner, I must be crazy.

 

[carang]

LOL! i know, my local hubby thinks the same thing about sneezing! too funny!

 

[lesliefu]

yup - a sneeze and you're sick! sounds SO familiar!

 

[Gataloca]

Yes, the sneezing myth. At the hospital the nurses explained us that babies don't have hair inside their nose to filter allergens, therefore they are more prone to sneeze. Same for babies cold feet... They don't walk or move them as much as we do, so it is normal for their feet to be cold. It doesn't mean they are cold.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[1sttimemom]

Oh... yes, the sneezing comment. All too familiar.

I will also agree that locals in general overdress their children. I am living in Beijing now, and all babies here are wrapped up like big fat dumplings. I wouldn't be surprised if their development were affected.... how can they move?! I dress my daughter accordingly for the day's weather, not for the season. I feel that once it's winter, everyone brings out the big coats, mittens, hats and starts layering them on.

Not only do babies have more fat to keep them warm, they also have very speedy metabolism ...

As for the immune system, a strong one helps us fight off the viruses/germs that come our way!