Trying to parent through a very hot day is hard, especially if your home becomes too warm and uncomfortable. You need to manage the everyday routine tasks of napping, eating and staying busy while also dealing with the heat for yourself and your child.
Parenting is a big mental load at the best of times, and research shows us that hot weather (and especially heatwaves) can make complex thinking harder than usual.
That brain fuzz you feel as the temperature rises has been noted and studied by scientists who found that ‘heat stress’ caused by an increase in temperature affects areas of the brain that handle complex tasks.[1] So, don’t beat yourself up if things feel a bit more difficult over the next few days.
Here at My First Five Years, we have been sharing lots of ideas for keeping cool, no matter your plans, in our app. One of the things we know is that routines are important for some children, but they can be so hard to keep to on days that feel different to normal.
It’s easy to feel stressed or worried when your child’s routine goes out the window, but don’t let this make you feel like you have failed in any way. It’s only temporary, and we all need to make adjustments for the heat.
If you’re feeling like you need to mix it up a bit to get through the day, do it! Sometimes it is actually easier to keep parts of your usual routine in the mix, but you can tailor it to the circumstances.
Some simple ways to change it up that might help you all keep your cool in the heat include: