Hardening children 3 years old. How to properly strengthen a child with weak immunity. Dousing the whole child

Well, we're sick again!

How often do parents have to say this phrase. Runny nose, cough, fever, taking medications.

Maybe it's time to stop this joyless chain? And instead of stuffing your child with yet another “effective” medicine, start strengthening his immunity?

If you are tired of seeing your little one often sick, if you always want to see him healthy, hardy and not afraid of drafts, then this is the place for you!

Today we will look at the issue of hardening a child. Let us pay attention to both the rules of hardening and its methods. Let's look at the features of hardening newborn babies, and also tell you what you shouldn't do if you want your child not to get sick.

What is hardening and why is it needed?

Let’s start, perhaps, with the very definition of the concept of “hardening”. After all, parents often resort to this method only after they begin to understand that hardening is the only way to combat endless childhood colds. Drank cold water - hello sore throat, wet your feet - hello runny nose, was exposed to a draft - and here comes the chill.

The ability to adapt to changing conditions is developed by hardening, which is a set of health measures aimed at increasing the body’s resistance to the effects of adverse environmental factors.

In fact, a child is already born with an extraordinary ability to adapt to the conditions of the world around him. Parents can only develop this ability, and not protect him from various unfavorable factors in the form of an open window or draft.

It has been proven that hardened children are less susceptible to colds; they can easily tolerate cold or heat. And in case of illness, a seasoned baby will recover much faster than a toddler with a weak immune system.

Before moving on to the rules and methods of hardening a child, let us pay attention to one important factor. The best conditioning for any child will be his lifestyle.

The correct daily routine, fresh air, physical activity and healthy nutrition are the main partners of hardening. There is no need to say that the lifestyle of the entire family should be appropriate.

How to properly harden a child: 10 principles of competent hardening

Like any event, hardening must be correct. A one-time walk barefoot in the rain or in the cold without a hat will not lead to anything good. So, let's get down to the principles of competent hardening.

1. The child must be absolutely healthy. If your child is sick, it is better to wait it out for a while.
2. Get your doctor's help. Not all procedures are suitable for a particular child.
3. Start tempering your baby from birth. Small children get used to the cold better.
4. Take into account the individual characteristics of the toddler.
5. Increase the intensity and time of exposure to the hardening factor gradually.
6. It is necessary to harden the child systematically. Consider this important factor!
7. Combine hardening with other health activities. Physical exercise, outdoor games or massage will be excellent helpers.
8. Watch your toddler's reaction. All activities should evoke a positive response from the child.
9. Do not overdo it. Avoid prolonged exposure to high or low temperatures.
10. Your own example is the key to successful hardening!

We start hardening from birth: important techniques

If you are still wondering: at what age can a child be hardened, then we repeat - from birth! At home, it is quite possible to create the necessary atmosphere for hardening an infant. So, let's begin!

1. Maintain the temperature in the room and do not forget to ventilate the room.
2. Try to provide your little one with daily sleep in the fresh air.
3. Dress your baby according to the weather, do not overheat the baby.
4. From the age of one month, start giving your baby a massage and place him on his tummy more often.
5. Give your baby air baths. Leave your baby naked for a few seconds, increasing this time to 30 minutes. The air temperature is gradually raised to 17-18 degrees. But this is already acceptable for a child over 1 year old.
6. Wipe the baby with water, gradually replacing this procedure with dousing. A comfortable water temperature for a child under one year old is considered to be 35-30 degrees.

Hardening methods: health formula “3+1”

How to harden a child in terms of hardening methods? Catch the health formula! Three pillars: air, sun and water, plus a non-standard hardening technique!

Air

This is the softest hardening method, which consists of the following factors:

• air baths: newborns take them naked, older children - in a T-shirt and shorts, in the future you can do without a T-shirt;
• clothing: watch your baby’s clothes - do not allow hypothermia or overheating;
• room temperature: optimal temperature - 22 degrees, frequent ventilation of the room;
• sleeping in the open air: it is useful not only for infants, you can also create conditions for daytime sleep on the street for children 1-3 years old;
• Walking barefoot: It is beneficial to walk barefoot both indoors and outdoors.

Sun

• sunbathing: the child should be tempered by the sun gradually - first we sit in the shade, then we expose our legs and arms, then we expose the whole body to the sun; and don’t forget that the optimal time for sunbathing is before 11 a.m. and after 6 p.m.;
• solar-air baths: complex exposure to air, which provides a light wind, and the sun;
• clothing: before you harden yourself in the sun, don’t forget about your hat;
• additional activities: massage, gymnastics and physical exercise will enhance the effect of sun hardening.

Water

This is one of the most effective hardening methods, which includes many nuances and procedures.

How to temper your baby with water during the day at home? Very simple! Wash your face, hands, neck and chest with cold water every morning, afternoon and evening. Rub with a damp towel. What else?

• washing your feet with cool water before going to bed;
• taking a contrast shower;
• pouring cold water over your feet;
• pouring cold water over the entire body.

Of course, do not forget about the water temperature: reduce it gradually. If for the first time the water should be at least 33 degrees, then later it can be gradually reduced to 20 degrees. This depends on how the child tolerates the hardening.

One of the most effective methods of hardening is swimming in a pool or open water. It is recommended to start swimming in the pool from a very early age, when the baby has not yet forgotten how to swim.

And an open reservoir promotes not only water hardening, but also air-solar hardening. Don't forget to warm up your child with some active play before bathing. Children 4-7 years old can already swim actively, and younger toddlers should move. Monitor your baby's condition and prevent hypothermia. The first session should not exceed five minutes, and the water temperature should not be lower than 23 degrees.

Non-standard hardening methods

Do you want your 8-10 year old toddler to never know what a runny nose and sore throat are? Temper his throat from an early age! So, we treat the throat with cold:

• let the baby suck on a teaspoon of ice cream or a juice cube from the freezer;
• We feed the baby drinks from the refrigerator: of course, no one talks about a cup of cold juice - a couple of sips are enough, which in the future will lead to the fact that the little one can calmly drink a glass of cold milk and not get sick;
• gargling with cold water: try it, and you won’t need to think about gargling if you have a sore throat.

3 things you shouldn't do if your child has a weak immune system

Let's move on to another interesting idea on how to harden a toddler - anti-hardening. Many parents take a number of actions that, in their opinion, will help protect their child from colds. In fact, they only aggravate the situation and do not allow the baby to strengthen the immune system. This is especially true for weakened and sick children. Parents do not understand that by their actions they are leading their child to another cold.

So what not to do when it comes to children?

Dressing wisely

Don’t wrap your baby in “a hundred clothes.” First of all, an actively moving toddler should be comfortable. Sweating causes many more colds than hypothermia. Clothing should not only keep the child warm, but also give him freedom of action.

Watching your diet

Before hardening your baby, think about his nutrition. A toddler who moves little and constantly chews junk food cannot boast of excellent immunity. No amount of hardening will help here! Nutrition should be balanced and healthy. The diet must be dominated by fruits and vegetables. Replace candy with an apple or pear. And under no circumstances overfeed your child!

If the malsi refuses to continue eating, do not force food on him. Your personal prejudices are already at work here, that the baby should eat everything that is given to him. This is the wrong position: the little one should eat exactly as much as he himself needs at the moment.

Don't neglect walks in the fresh air

Some parents punish their child by excluding them from the street or do not consider it necessary to keep their toddler company during walks, citing urgent matters.

Under no circumstances should you take the street away from your children! Only the street, fresh air and physical activity strengthen the children’s immunity, but not sitting at a desk, computer or TV.

Try to arrange joint outings in the fresh air. Moreover, it is desirable that they be associated with physical activity. Bicycle, skis, skates, outdoor games - everything will be used!

Let's sum it up

So, for proper hardening we need sun, air and water, coupled with active physical exercise and a healthy diet. A positive attitude and personal example from parents will also help. And remember that it is necessary to harden your child systematically. Therefore, review your daily routine to devote as much time as possible to this important activity.

Doesn't sleep well

Daytime nap

Hysterics

The best way to protect your child from diseases is to carry out timely and competent prevention. Hardening is rightfully considered one of the best preventive methods. However, there is no need to rush headlong into extreme procedures; parents need to take into account various factors, such as the baby’s health status, the characteristics of his immunity, and his age. The famous children's doctor Evgeniy Komarovsky often tells parents how to properly approach the issues of hardening toddlers, preschool and school-age children.

What it is

Hardening children is a set of measures to influence the children's body from various natural factors, such as sunlight, water, air, and so on. Often it is based on contrast (a decrease and increase in ambient temperature in relation to the child’s body temperature, an increase and increase in atmospheric pressure. The goal is to bring the body into “combat readiness”, adapt it to possible external stress, thereby increasing its ability to withstand negative influence.

Doctors have long proven that systematic hardening improves cell composition, all organs and systems begin to act more harmoniously and better. Sleep and appetite improve, blood circulation is normalized, metabolic processes, adaptation mechanisms are improved faster, the nervous system is strengthened. This method of prevention was known to the healers of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Medicine knows many methods of hardening. The simplest and most accessible at home are wiping and dousing, contrast showers, sunbathing, sports and walks in the fresh air. A relatively long stay in ice water (the so-called winter swimming) is not recommended for children; contrasting alternation of warm and cool water is better for them.

You can harden the child either entirely or practice local procedures- hardening the throat, for example (there is a well-known and tasty way for this - ice cream). It is important that the therapy be constant, because after a long break, the effect of hardening is reduced to a minimum, and then completely lost.

Doctor Komarovsky's opinion

Evgeny Komarovsky, like many of his colleagues, believes that all children are born with great immune capabilities and abilities. And the first years of a new person’s life are connected, alas, with the fact that the people who love them most - parents - do everything possible and impossible to destroy these innate abilities to adapt to the world around them. To do this, they do not do anything supernatural, it is enough to create greenhouse conditions for the baby, dress warmly, monitor the sterility of the food that the baby eats, close the windows and doors tightly, and give the child various medications more often.

And here is the actual episode of Dr. Komarovsky’s program dedicated to children’s hardening.

The result will be a child who will often and severely get sick with all imaginable and inconceivable diseases, the first place among them will definitely be taken by colds and viral infections.

Evgeniy Olegovich is sure that children need to begin to be hardened from birth. The main thing is to do this every day, without missing a single procedure, and to approach hardening for reasons of reason. If mom and dad thought about it and decided that they want to harden their child, they should start by consulting a pediatrician. The specialist will examine the baby,, if necessary, prescribe laboratory tests, and render his verdict on whether this particular child can be hardened, and which of the known methods is better to choose.

When hardening is undesirable

Newborns

For a baby who has just been born, the usual rituals are quite suitable for hardening - morning exercises, changing clothes for a walk, evening swimming. If the pediatrician allows it, you can gradually start pouring cold water over the baby’s feet, first with cool water, and then with cold water. The duration of the procedures should gradually increase. It is not necessary to practice contrast baths, but walks should become a mandatory attribute of every baby’s day; Evgeniy Komarovsky recommends walking with him, regardless of weather conditions and time of year.

Washing is the very first hardening. It is advisable to introduce your baby to water on the first day after discharge from the hospital, the main thing is that the water temperature is not lower than 28 degrees. It can be lowered by 2-3 degrees every three months, not more often.

You can douse a child from birth, observing the temperature regime, which we have already described above. This should be done once a day, after bathing. First, they carefully pour over the heels, then the legs, arms, belly and smoothly move to the back of the baby’s head.

From the age of six months, the baby can be wiped with water using a special flannel mitten. At first, only the arms and legs, then you can wipe the back, and lastly, the chest and tummy.

Sunbathing is very beneficial for babies, because under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, vitamin D is produced, which the body needs to prevent rickets from developing. The main thing is to dose the baby’s exposure to the sun and avoid prolonged exposure to direct rays on the baby’s skin.

Children aged 3 years and older

It's never too late to toughen up, Evgeny Komarovsky is convinced. Therefore, such procedures can be started for a child at any age, if this was not practiced by parents in infancy. The approach is still the same, however, starting from the age of three, you can use a contrast shower, and from the age of 4, the child can be doused with cold water on the street, however, without fanaticism. From the age of three, a child can be allowed to spend quite a long time in the fresh air on a warm day in the summer in just shorts. Regular visits to the pool are useful.

• Changing conditions (water temperature, for example) should be done only gradually. A sharp jump can negatively affect the child’s well-being.
• It is advisable to carry out the procedures in a playful way, so that the baby perceives what is happening as a fun activity and wants to harden himself.
• If the child begins to inadequately perceive the next increase or decrease in the temperature of water and air, he cries and is capricious, the procedure should be stopped and the next day return to the previous temperature level.
• When dousing and wiping, the genitals of boys should be covered to prevent temperature changes in the genital area, as this can subsequently negatively affect reproductive function.
• Under no circumstances should you overfeed your child. He should eat when he wants it, and not when “the time has come,” according to mom and dad. A healthy baby is always a little hungry, moderately thin and very active, says Komarovsky. These three words should become guidelines for caring parents.
• Evgeniy Komarovsky considers one of the most important factors in his hardening system to be the creation of normal conditions in the house where the child lives. Regular ventilation is needed at any time of the year, especially if the baby is sick. The air temperature in the room should not exceed 18-20 degrees, humidity - 40-60%.
• You cannot wrap your child up; he should always be dressed appropriately for the weather. The way you dress yourself. The thermoregulation of a small body can be disrupted by the fact that an overly loving mother or grandmother dressed the little one for a walk in 2-3 blouses and a couple of jackets on top. Sweating is a surefire way to catch a cold.
• Parents should be guided by the child’s reaction to hardening. The temperature of water and air are purely individual factors, for some they will be higher, for others lower, it all depends on how comfortable the baby will feel during the procedures.

Many mothers and fathers, long before the birth of their baby, dream of how they will treat him reverently, run with him in the morning, harden together with the baby, and actively develop physically and mentally. But, unfortunately, statistics show that only a small part of conscientious parents fulfill their plans. Often we feel sorry for waking up a child early in the morning for a run; we are afraid that he will get sick from cold water when poured over him. Paradoxical as it may seem, by such actions we do not protect children’s health, but on the contrary, we make the baby’s body hothouse and vulnerable. Any temperature change or external influence results in a cold, and sometimes more serious diseases.

It is important to understand that young children get sick and this is normal. The child’s body is faced with a huge number of viruses, fungi, bacteria and other infectious agents. This is how a person’s immunity is formed - he learns to resist external factors. Therefore, it is simply impossible to completely exclude diseases (especially ARVI). But how these colds will proceed depends on the parents. Why does one child’s cold inevitably end in bronchitis or sinusitis, while another child ends up with only three days of clear snot? It’s all about two factors – the method of treatment and the state of the child’s immunity. Everyone has long known that there is no need to fight a simple virus; it is enough to provide cool, moist air, give the child plenty of fluids and rinse the nose with salted water. But how to strengthen the body's defenses? An important, and sometimes the main factor in building strong immunity is hardening. Today we’ll talk about ways to properly harden a child.

As the famous motto says: “Sun, air and water are our main friends!” Indeed, hardening is based on three main pillars - solar, air and water baths. But each of the procedures requires special attention and knowledge of many nuances.

Sunbathing

Moderate sun rays are incredibly beneficial for health; it’s not for nothing that babies are recommended to walk in the sun from the first days after birth. With the help of ultraviolet light, vitamin D is synthesized in human skin, which is so necessary for building strong immunity. However, remember that vitamin D is produced only in the first half of the day, until about 10-11 o'clock in the afternoon. Therefore, it is necessary to walk with your child in the morning. It is not at all necessary to expose the baby to direct sunlight, just walking with him on the street is enough, you can even be in the shade. After all, ultraviolet light is refracted many times and will certainly reach your baby’s skin.

Older children also need sunbathing. However, it is very important to maintain a middle ground here, since sunburn is a very unpleasant and dangerous phenomenon. Start solar hardening in the summer, with the arrival of the first warm days. You should not be in the direct rays of the scorching sun; try to sunbathe before 11 a.m. or after 3-4 p.m. This way you can avoid aggressive ultraviolet radiation. Don't forget to wear hats - headscarves, caps and panama hats, which will protect children's heads from sunstroke. If you have just arrived on vacation, do not rush to expose your delicate, unprepared skin to the sun's rays - try to cover your shoulders, back and face for several days. Otherwise, you will be guaranteed a sunburn and a ruined vacation.

If you go to the sea, try to spend more time on the beach - sea air is very beneficial for the health of the respiratory system. When the baby gets used to the sun, you can let him go for a walk in his panties. Encourage your baby to walk barefoot more often, but first make sure that there is no glass or thorns in the area that could injure the delicate skin of children’s feet.

Air baths

This is the simplest, but at the same time the most risky method of hardening. It consists of accustoming the child to low temperatures. You can start this kind of hardening literally from birth. Accustom your baby to stay in a cool room for some time - first 5 seconds, then 10, gradually increasing and increasing this time period. It is best to take air baths before bathing - after bathing, the body is warmed up and exposing it to cold air flows is unwise.

In addition, air baths also mean regular ventilation of the room, especially if the room is hot and stuffy. You need to ventilate the room often, every couple of hours. The temperature in the room should be 18-22 degrees. If the baby is cold, it is better to put clothes on him rather than install a heater. The fact is that radiators dry out the air very much, and the nasal mucosa suffers from this - dry crusts appear in the nasal passages. Dry air causes dust and allergens to rise, causing coughing and other reactions. In winter, when the heating system is working at its best, you must install a humidifier or constantly hang wet clothes on the radiators.

Pay attention to air hardening during walks. This includes wearing a moderate amount of clothing. After all, babies are more sensitive and painful to overheating than to hypothermia. Therefore, there is no need to wrap up the baby. You should adhere to one simple rule - dress infants in one layer more, children over one and a half years old - one layer less than yourself. Small children hardly move, so they should be dressed a little warmer. For example, did you put on a thin T-shirt and a light blouse? And for your baby, add another layer in the form of a fleece onesie. But children over one and a half years old, on the contrary, need to dress lighter, because they are constantly on the move, they are not afraid of freezing, but it costs nothing to sweat.

Water hardening

This is the most extensive and, frankly, the most pleasant type of hardening. It’s rare that a child doesn’t like to swim, splash and splash. Sometimes there are children who do not like water, but in the vast majority of cases this is due to fears. Often parents are to blame for these fears - when they immerse the baby in an uncomfortable water temperature, when they throw the child into the water without support, hoping that he will learn to swim on his own. Remember that you need to get used to water carefully and without violence, then the baby will love swimming for life.

1. Cold water. Hardening in water is a gradual acclimation to lower temperatures. As soon as you bring your newborn baby home, you should bathe him only in warm water. Until the navel falls off, the water should be boiled - sterile clean. When the belly button falls off, you can use warm tap water and slowly accustom the body to various microorganisms, because the baby cannot grow up in a sterile environment. At first, the water temperature should be comfortable - not hot and not cold - about 36-37 degrees, like body temperature. Over time, you can reduce the water gradually by one degree every 3-5 days. But not immediately, but add cold water while taking a bath. That is, today you bathe your baby at 36 degrees, gradually add cold water and reduce the temperature to 35 degrees. After five days, you also start at 36, but already lower the temperature to 34 degrees. So over and over again you can reach 30 degrees; for children older than one year, you can reduce the water temperature to 28-26 degrees. But all processes must be gradual!
2. Bathing. Many mothers feel sorry for their children and believe that they will freeze in such cold water. In fact, a child in cool water simply begins to move more to warm up. Cool baths and nutritious meals are the best ways to ensure your baby gets a good night's sleep. To give your baby the opportunity to move more in the water, put a swimming ring around his neck; some models can be used from as early as a month. Such a pleasant device will significantly improve the bathing process - the baby can swim calmly, easily moving around the entire perimeter of the large bathtub, and the mother does not need to stand with a hook, holding the baby in the water.
3. Rubbing. If you have not hardened your baby since early childhood, and now he is constantly sick, you need to start doing this gradually and very, very carefully. Take a terry mitten or washcloth and rub it on your baby’s legs, arms, back and tummy. After a couple of days of such manipulations, soak a washcloth in warm water and repeat the procedure. Gradually, the water used to wet the washcloth should become colder and colder. After wiping, let a little moisture remain on the skin - the baby dries, hardening works, immunity is formed.
4. Pouring. This method of hardening is not for the weak - it is only suitable for children over two years old. Its essence is that you need to douse yourself with warm water, and then gradually reduce the temperature less and less. Experienced parents harden themselves together with their kids at any time of the year. When pouring, do not touch the head - this is important to know. If the baby is not yet ready to completely bathe himself, you can teach him to wash his feet in warm and then in cold water. After this, thoroughly rub your feet and heels with a terry towel and put your baby to bed.

Kids rarely follow their parents' advice, but almost always follow their example. Therefore, you need to show your child hardening through your own experience. Douse yourself with water and dry yourself with a damp towel - your child will definitely repeat after you.

Cold hardening

Today it is very common to find children who constantly have a sore throat, even from slightly cold food or drink. Unfortunately, this is the result of the hothouse conditions in which their parents forced them. From childhood, you need to teach your child to drink not hot water, but liquid at room temperature. And with age, you need to teach your child to eat fruit from the refrigerator and drink cold water. If you do everything gradually, you won’t be afraid of a sore throat. If you are just starting this difficult path, it is important to take the first steps.

In the summer, start warming up with ice cream. First, give your child melted ice cream, like medicine, 1-2 spoons - he should dissolve and not swallow the mass. Gradually, the amount of ice cream eaten can be increased, then you don’t have to wait for it to completely melt. When your baby gets used to ice cream, you can let him suck on pieces of ice. For taste, you can freeze not just water, but fruit juices into cubes. Give your child small pieces of ice at first, gradually increase the size of the portions and the time they are held in the mouth. You can prepare your throat for the cold simply by gargling. Teach your child to gargle first with warm and then with cold water. With a gradual decrease in temperature, there will be no harm; the mucous membrane of the throat will be able to adapt and harden. All these methods of cold throat hardening are suitable for older children, after three years.

How to start hardening

Many parents complain that they cannot begin the hardening process because the baby is constantly sick. If you have never hardened your child at all and he is quite sick, it is better to start the process in the summer, when the risk of catching a cold is minimal. Be sure to consult a doctor before hardening - he must agree to the procedures. Start hardening with simpler and gentler methods - air and sun baths, gradually introducing more and more new procedures. Make sure your baby is used to this water temperature before you decide to lower it another degree.

Remember that hardening is a regular and ongoing procedure. Only with daily rubdowns and air baths can you strengthen your immune system and achieve good results. All procedures must be voluntary - only with the consent and mood of the baby. Good immunity is not only hardening, but also a varied diet, frequent walks in the fresh air, and a proper sleep and wakefulness routine. Follow simple hygiene rules, and your baby will not be afraid of illnesses!

Video: hardening children

Hardening is a set of measures designed to improve the body's resistance to adverse environmental conditions. The most important advantage of hardening is the reduction in the number of respiratory viral diseases suffered per year, or their complete elimination.

Of course, there is no complete certainty that the child will not get sick at all after hardening, but the illness will pass much easier, and the body will recover faster.

In addition, if you approach the hardening process correctly, children, as a rule, feel more energetic, less tired, develop faster, do not have problems with the skin or digestive system, and also have fewer allergic manifestations.

Rules for hardening in childhood

Typically, the use of hardening procedures is typical for children with weak immunity. But before you start hardening your child, you should understand the basic rules of hardening:

1. The child must be healthy. A sick or not fully recovered baby should not undergo any hardening procedures, since this can only harm the fragile body and lead to complications.
2. You should prepare in advance for the start of hardening: allocate time when the procedures will be carried out, prepare the child for the procedures themselves.
3. You need to come to everything gradually. For example, you should not suddenly start pouring cold water on your baby. At first, when taking an evening bath or shower, the water temperature should be comfortable, then it can be reduced a little bit.
4. All procedures should be carried out sequentially. To begin with, the baby must adapt, for example, to air baths, and only after that you can move on to water hardening.
5. It is necessary to ensure systematic hardening procedures. It is ideal if the activities are held daily and become part of the baby’s daily routine.
6. Optimistic attitude. The child should approach the procedure in a good mood; this largely determines the positive result. This is especially important to take into account when performing the first procedure - if the baby is upset about something, then the procedure should be postponed until the next day.

1. You should not put excessive stress on the body; try to avoid sudden hypothermia or overheating of the child.
2. Before starting hardening procedures, you should consult your pediatrician about the presence of contraindications. For example, if you have chronic kidney or heart diseases, water procedures with a decrease in water temperature are prohibited. If your baby’s health begins to deteriorate sharply during hardening, we recommend that you immediately consult a doctor.
3. Individual approach. All children are different and require their own personal approach to each of them. Perhaps some procedure will not be to your liking, in which case you should not insist. Before you start hardening your child, try all the procedures on yourself.

What types of hardening are there?

All hardening methods can be divided into general and special. General ones include such as a competent daily routine, balanced nutrition and physical education.

The main assistants in special methods of hardening a child are natural sources such as air, water and the sun.

Therefore, special hardening can be divided into three main components: hardening with air, water and sun.

How to harden a baby with air?

This method is the easiest to perform and is suitable for every baby, without exception, even infants.

Air hardening includes:

• staying in the fresh air,
• regular ventilation of the room,
• choosing the right clothes for your baby,
• taking air baths,
• walking barefoot.

Walking in the air

The benefits of walking in the fresh air can hardly be overestimated: they strengthen the immune system, increase the child’s motor activity, and charge him with positivity and good mood.

Children should walk outside in any weather conditions; the duration of the walk, depending on the weather, should be from an hour to six hours a day or more.

It is very beneficial for infants to sleep outside in the open air. Their sleep duration can range from 10-15 minutes in winter to three hours or more in summer. However, do not forget that if the temperature outside is below 15 C°, the walking time should be shortened in order to prevent hypothermia in the child.

Regular ventilation of the apartment

It is necessary to ventilate the room in which the baby lives at least four times a day, and in the summer, when it’s hot, you don’t have to close the windows at all. The temperature in the house should not be less than 18 C°; the optimal temperature is around 22 C°.

Clothes according to temperature

It is very important for parents not to “bundle” their baby from birth to prevent him from overheating or sweating. The baby's clothes should meet the principles: light, comfortable and dry.

It is better to give preference to fabrics made from natural materials that allow air to circulate freely and the skin to “breathe”.

Taking air baths

Air baths are also allowed to be used from birth. So, for example, before going to bed or after waking up your child, let him lie naked for one or two minutes.

With each new procedure, the temperature in the apartment should be lowered gradually (over several months) to 14-16 C°. The duration of this procedure should also be gradually increased to 15-20 minutes.

During physical education or active games, you should leave a minimum amount of clothing on your baby. It is also allowed to arrange contrast air baths by running with the child from a room with cold air to a room with warm air.

Walking barefoot

Walking barefoot is not only a strong immunostimulating procedure, but also an excellent prevention of flat feet. It is better to start walking barefoot first at home, and then include walks outside in the warm season - first on grass and sand, and then on shells, pebbles, and crushed stone.

At the same time, make sure that the baby is not injured by fragments or debris during such walks. It is better if they take place in safe places or in a closed area: in the garden, at the dacha, on the beach.

How to harden a child with water?

Water hardening is one of the most effective means, however, it should be started only after mastering air hardening. The decrease in water temperature should be done gradually, avoiding a sharp drop in degrees to avoid hypothermia of the child.

Water hardening also includes several procedures:

• wiping with a towel soaked in cool water,
• washing with cool or cold water,
• cool and contrast shower,
• dousing with cool or cold water,
• swimming in open waters.

Dry and wet wipes

Rubdowns can be used from two months of age. Dry rubbing should be used as preparatory procedures. They are carried out like this: take a clean terry mitten or towel and use it to rub the baby’s skin until slightly reddened.

Only after the baby has adapted to dry rubbing can you move on to rubbing with a damp towel. During the first procedure, the water temperature should be about 35 C°. Then every 3-4 days you can lower it by about a degree.

The procedure is simple:

1. First, the child’s arms and legs are wiped from the toes up the limbs to the body.
2. Then the chest and back areas, moving from the middle to the sides.
3. Finish the procedure with the abdominal area, wiping it clockwise.

Washing

Washing with cool water should also be introduced gradually. Start washing your child with warm water at 28-29 C° and gradually reduce the water temperature to 20 C°.

After walking, you can also wash your hands with cool water, however, you should first make sure that your baby’s hands are warm.

If a child is cold, do not worsen his condition with cold water. If your baby asks to play with water during the day, don’t forbid him to do so; for example, give him a basin with boats and let him splash around.

Cool and contrast shower

Showering or taking a bath should become a daily evening ritual. At the end of the bath, you can lower the shower temperature a little, but you need to start with a temperature that is comfortable for the baby, lowering it gradually.

Another effective hardening method is taking a contrast shower. The greater the temperature difference, the greater the effect. But, of course, you should start with a small difference. You can also do this procedure together with your baby.

To begin with, you should warm up your child’s feet, palms, and back with warm water, then pour cool streams of water over him, while quickly pouring cold water over his palms, feet, and back and switch back to warm water.

Do this procedure three more times and finish with a cold douse, then wrap the child in a towel.

Pouring cold water

You can also finish your evening bath with a douche. Dousing involves dousing the body with a large amount of water, at least two liters, at once. You should start with 36 C°, gradually lowering the temperature by one or two degrees.

At first, you can replace this procedure with pouring cool water on your feet. Pouring your feet also produces a good immune-stimulating effect.

Swimming in cold water

Swimming in open reservoirs combines the hardening effect of cool water and physical activity. The temperature in the pond or pool for the first procedures should not be lower than 22 C°.

It is also worth regulating the time the child spends in the water - the younger the baby, the less time the bathing procedure should take.

If a child has “goose bumps”, trembling, or blue lips, this means that he has the first signs of hypothermia. You should immediately remove him from the water, wrap him in a towel and give him warm water or tea to drink.

How to harden children with the sun?

Sun hardening means taking sun and light-air baths. You should begin to harden the child in this way, as in previous cases, gradually, after a little preparation and adaptation to new conditions.

Sunbathing

Sunbathing begins with walking or staying on the beach in the shade of trees. In this case, the temperature outside should be in the range from 22 C° to 29 C°, and the child must wear a hat on his head.

After a couple of days, you can expose the child’s arms and legs to take local (partial) sunbathing and take him out into the sun (attention! not in the sun, but from 9 to 11 or from 16 to 18 o’clock), stay there for 5 minutes, and then go back into the shadows.

When your baby gets his first tan, you can strip him down to his panties. Gradually increase the one-time session of exposure to the sun from 5 to 10 minutes. In this case, the total time spent in the sun should not exceed 50 minutes.

During and after sunbathing, it is necessary to offer your baby enough water. And remember that it is better to sunbathe from 9 to 11 am and after 4 pm, when the sun's activity is not so pronounced. After being in the sun, the child can be doused with cool water.

Taking light-air baths

Light-air baths are a complex method that involves sunbathing in the presence of a slight wind. At the same time, the temperature outside should not be below 19 C°. Preparation and carrying out the procedure are similar to the sun hardening method described above.

If your child is sweating a lot and their face is red, this may indicate overheating. It is urgent to take him into the shade, give him something to drink and wash him with cool water.

To achieve the most pronounced effect from hardening, it is very desirable to combine all of the above methods in a complex.

Our expert is a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Hygiene in Training and Education of the Research Institute of Hygiene and Health Protection of Children and Adolescents of the Scientific Center for Children and Adolescents of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Candidate of Medical Sciences Nadezhda Berezina.

From morning to evening

Where to begin? From everyday hardening. This means: the child’s morning should begin with exercise. After it - proper washing. At first, wash your child with warm water, and when he gets used to it, wash it with cold water (room temperature or lower, focus on the child’s reaction). For a child over 3 years old, after a month or a month and a half, extended washing with cool water is recommended: face, arms to elbows, neck, upper chest.

From the age of 3, teach your child to rinse his mouth, and from the age of 4–5 to rinse his throat: you need to start with warm water (not lower than 26 °C), duration – 1 minute; gradually increase the duration of the procedure to 2-3 minutes and reduce the water temperature (to room temperature and below). The same thing is repeated in the evening.

The child should walk as much as possible, while actively moving. And do not forget that hardening should continue during sleep (the temperature in the nursery at night should be 2-3 degrees lower than usual during the day).

Important! An effective way of hardening is contrasting dousing of the feet and legs. The child’s feet are alternately doused with warm and cool water several times in a row. Repeat 3-4 times. If the child does not have chronic diseases, the series of douches ends with cool water. If the baby’s body is weakened, then the procedure should be completed with warm water.

To the country house or to the sea?

The optimal rest option for a frequently ill child is in the middle zone: firstly, there is less contact, and secondly, there is no need for adaptive restructuring, for which the body spends a lot of effort.

The more time the baby spends outside, the better. Children under 3 years old definitely need a playground with a sandbox under an awning.

After three, use active games and walks: in the morning, while it is not hot, you can go with your baby through the surrounding meadows, but after 11 am, forest walks are preferable.

Don’t forget about the right clothes: at an air temperature of 22–24 °C: panties, a cotton T-shirt with short sleeves, shorts, socks, sandals. If the baby is thin and not at all hardened, wear a long-sleeved T-shirt and long cotton trousers. When the air temperature is 25 °C and above, you can limit yourself to only panties and shorts (or a light sundress for girls), without socks.

Light-air baths should be taken only from 9 to 12 noon. You can start swimming when the water temperature is not lower than 24–25 °C, and the air temperature is 24–26 °C.

And another great country procedure is walking barefoot. On the lawn, paths. And the most useful thing is the dew.

Start with 15–30 minutes, gradually increase the duration of the “training”. It is useful to combine barefoot walking with foot baths: if it is hot outside and your feet are warm, use water at room temperature; and after running through the puddles, your legs need to be warmed up and then doused with cool water.

To be continued

But what to do if the child still gets sick? It depends on what. For example, with a mild form of acute respiratory infections, in the absence of fever, you can continue daily water procedures: extended washing, rinsing, washing your feet (leaving the water temperature at the same level). As for special hardening methods (contrast shower, dousing...), whether they can be continued during illness must be decided with the attending physician.

If the child’s fever lasted no more than three days, you can return to hardening after 7–10 days; if longer, 2 weeks after recovery. But after bronchitis or pneumonia (and other serious illnesses), the terms of “return” must be discussed with the pediatrician. If the break in hardening was 10 days or more, you need to start all over again. The water temperature must be reduced again gradually, but faster than the first time - by one to two degrees every day.

If the break in the procedures is less than 5 days, then the hardening scheme continues as if it had not been interrupted. And during a break of 5 to 10 days, the water temperature should be 2–3 °C higher compared to the temperature of the last procedure.

The indoor air conditions should not be changed during illness. Ventilate the nursery more often, just make sure there is no draft.

Important! For chronic kidney and heart diseases, water procedures with a decrease in temperature (foot baths, douses...) are prohibited. It is necessary to select the temperature regime of water procedures for nervous diseases very carefully.

Children with decompensated heart defects and endocrinological diseases are limited in their exposure to the sun. For any chronic disease, specific recommendations for hardening should only be obtained from the attending physician.