Warmth and the young child.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 7:59PM Today I just wanted to talk a little bit more about warmth. Everything about the Waldorf experience for children under seven is about protecting the senses, and protecting their bodily warmth is a large part of that.
Disclaimer: My children are all under five, and that's where my professional (meaning, pre-children) experience lies as well-- if you have children older than this, this information may not apply!
Here is a little more background from the Thomas Poplawski book I spoke of yesterday, Completing the Circle (by the way, I recommend this book so highly! It is truly a small gem that I have gone back to over and over). Thomas Poplawski has written for Renewal: A Journal for Waldorf Education for over 15 years, and is a trained eurythmist and psychotherapist:
"As the child matures [past infancy], the body has a finite amount of energy to use for growth, both for the growth of the body as a whole and for the development of the brain and inner organs. Keeping the body warm allows the greatest amount of these energies to be devoted to this task. When the child is not sufficiently warm, these other areas can be shortchanged because the growth forces are used up just in trying to keep warm....
Some pediatricians advise that you should have your child dress with as many layers as you yourself need. The problem with this is that adults have much greater control of body temperature and often a greater store of bodily fat. A child tends to be more like an elderly person, who is in "second childhood" and who does not retain body heat. The difference, though, is that a child can be turning blue with the cold and have chattering teeth and not even realize that he or she is cold."
In the book Beyond the Rainbow Bridge (another highly recommended Waldorf early childhood resource), Barbara Patterson speaks of almond and calendula oils as supporting warmth, and also talks about teas and warming spices as being comforting for the young child. Here is just a bit more from that book:
"Preschool children do not seem to know if they are feeling cold. If you ask them, they will usually say they are not cold, even though they may feel cold to the touch. They have not yet completely developed this inner sense...the child who has to expend her own energy to keep warm has fewer forces for growing a healthy body."
I've excerpted primarily information about preschool-aged children here, but this protection of the sense of warmth is perhaps doubly important for babies and toddlers, who have so recently left the enveloping warmth of the womb. Another excellent resource that speaks to the experience of the very young is the book The Incarnating Child by Joan Salter. The information she imparts about warmth specifically is very similar to what I've outlined here, but she also speaks to much more than that.
My general rule of thumb (inside and out!) is to hold my child's hands in my own. If they feel warm and dry (not clammy) then generally speaking, I feel they are attired properly. This often means putting on layers and slippers even inside our home, especially in these chilly mornings.
However, this does not always hold true- Birdie often "runs hot" but in fact seems to me to need the extra protection that warm layers provide. I guess what I'm trying to say here is rely on your good mama sense! There are lots of tipoffs to me that they may not be warm enough, and they are very similar to the tipoffs that I have that their rhythm is not strong enough, or that their other senses need better protecting (like the meltdowns that can happen after a rare visit to a large chain store). Warmth is a huge, huge part of creating an atmosphere of safety and protection for a young child, both spiritually and physically.
Layers are really the best way to achieve warmth for anyone of any age! Ruskovilla, who makes the woolens that I linked to yesterday, is a Finnish company- they really know how to keep people warm! Their catalogs have lots of wonderful information about layering, the benefits of natural fibers, and even cloth diapering. Here is a little bit from their catalog (which you can see in full on their site as well):
"Layered clothing is the basis of good outdoor dressing! In layered clothing every clothing layer has its task. Warmth is generated by the insulating layers of air between the layers; therefore several thin layers of clothes warm better than one thick layer. It is important to choose and combine the right type of clothing especially during the cold and moist seasons."
Just one more thing: a timely article for this time of year about the anthroposophical view of fever warmth and illness.
(And for those of you here in the States, Happy Thanksgiving! May your homes be full of feasting and your hearts be full of joy. xo)
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Reader Comments (13)
So well said, Kyrie. This information used to be common sense, common knowledge, and it seems that we have let that slip a bit in our fast, rushed, cold world.
And happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
PS: I had totally forgotten I'd read this book! I borrowed it from someone quite a long time ago and didn't recognize the author's name yesterday. Now that I see the title and the cover, I realize I've read it. It is such a good, good book! (And sometimes I have all this knowledge socked away in my memory and don't know where I got it in the first place...)
I have not read Completing the Cycle, definitely will be checking that one out. And Grace is right, this used to be such common knowledge (it's even in Dr. Spock's babycare book) but now seems strange to most people.
Enjoy your holiday!
Happy Thanksgiving to you. I have read all but Completeing the Circle, so I'll have to look out for that one, as I loved the others.
Thanks for the link to the article. My middle child tends to get fevers that run scarily high. We've done the sock thing successfully, but not with the lemon. I wonder what the lemon does that the water and layers don't. Interesting!
hi Kyrie, thanks for writing this blog :) if I can add a small suggestion to the topic: what I usually do when we get outside with my three years old is to cream her face with balsam which contains almond oil. it's against wind and "bad" weather. I use Weleda balsam for this, but I'm not sure you have it in the U.S. happy thanksgiving!
thanks for another great post and a lot more to think about.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you so much for all this information! I live in Butte, MT and it gets painfully cold during the winter. I'm wondering about the wind factor. It is SO windy here and in the winter it seems worse. I can keep the kids' bodies warm but what about that cold air whipping on their faces and being breathed in? I have a 7 week old baby and I just don't feel good about taking him outside in the wind either. What are your thoughts?
Yes, I have always thought warmth, both physically and emotionally, is one of the most important things we mamas provide to our little (and not-so-little) ones. It is very hard for me to see my now teenage girls go out without enough layers and I am always taken aback as a teacher at how few young children wear enough layers, like vests (undershirts).
I am very interested in the Thomas Poplawski book, I have not come across it before, but I can't find a copy here ( England) either on Amazon or through the Steiner shops I know of. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
thank you for the book recommendation, I will surely peak at it, and thanks for this post, some more food for thoughts.
I agree wth the cream suggestion that was given earlier. It really help against the freeze bites, and the really dry skin that might come from after a really cold day spent outside.
Happy Thanks giving day to all our southern neighbourgs!
i have been out of town and out of computer. now back and truly enjoying catching up here with your blog. it is so beautiful and reassuring - your pictures, your words. thank you for your realistic rhythm series! and the warmth issue is a timely one here with snow and below freezing temps - off to check out the books you've mentioned. happy thanksgiving :)
we LOVE ruskovilla!
this was very helpful (as all the recent posts have been)!! i have children under 7, but i also have two above 7, so for a long time i have been wondering about the waldorf philosophy and the older child. can you answer any questions about older children? or can you suggest some resources that could offer some help? thanks!
This is so interesting nad I never really considered this kind of information! After reading your post, I began to think about the fact that my 2.5 year old does not like to have her legs covered. It's normally not a big deal, as we live in the South. Yet, these past few Winter months have been pretty cold, especially for where we live. Most days I can dress her in pants, or leggings in the morning, but by afternoon, she has usually removed them as well as her socks, and refuses to put them, or another pair back on! I have made many attempts to insist that she wear something to keep her legs and feet warm, including putting them back on her while she screams and cries. It is such a struggle and I can't quite figure out why she hates it so much...I don't buy pants or leggings that are too tight and I usually give her options too. I am at a loss for any new ideas as to how I can get her to keep her pants on! Any suggestions from you or other readers are greatly appreciated! Thanks for all of the honest and inspirational posts!
Kate