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Expert Q&A
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| By Michael F. Wasserman General Pediatrician | ||
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Now that the colder weather is here, I worry about how to dress my son when he wants to play outside. We fight daily about him wanting to wear only a sweatshirt out to play, and lately the temperatures have dipped into the upper 30s. Am I overreacting?
I wouldn't be overly concerned about a "middle age" child (i.e. older than 5 or 6 years) going outside in a fashion that you or I would consider underdressed regarding warmth. Children in this age group, as compared with infants and toddlers, have less "body surface area" for the amount that they weigh. What this means is that they have less skin for the number of pounds that they weigh, and consequently are less likely to lose heat (and become hypothermic) contrasted with an underdressed infant, who has a tremendous amount of skin with which to radiate off heat for the number of pounds that he or she weighs. In summary, if the older child is cold, he or she will tell you!
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