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Hardening of children. How to start hardening a newborn baby: rules and methods of hardening Hardening a child of 1 year of age

With the birth of children, we associate many hopes: we want them to grow up beautiful and smart, and also healthy and strong. And therefore the main task of both parents and doctors is the prevention of possible diseases from the first days of a child's life.

When a child is born, it enters a new environment. Nature endowed the baby with many different adaptive and protective mechanisms so that he could survive and begin to develop in this environment. So, for example, a child has thermoregulation mechanisms that prevent overheating and hypothermia. By wrapping up a child, creating hothouse conditions for him, we "deprive" these mechanisms of work. Having become unnecessary, they can gradually atrophy, and then even a light breeze will pose a threat to the child - a defenseless baby can easily get sick.

The endurance of the body and its resistance to changing environmental conditions increase under the influence of hardening - air, water, scattered sunlight: the child increases to various diseases, the mechanisms of thermoregulation are improved; hardening promotes proper metabolism, has a positive effect on the physical, on the adaptation of his body to new living conditions. Hardening is the leading method of increasing the resistance of the child's body.

However, to obtain a positive effect from hardening, a number of general rules must be observed:

The systematic use of hardening procedures in all seasons without interruption

Breaks in lead to a weakening of the adaptive mechanisms that are formed under the influence of hardening procedures. Even in adults, after 3-4 weeks after the termination of hardening procedures, the developed resistance to cold is sharply weakened. In children in the 1st year of life, the disappearance of the effect of adaptation occurs in an even shorter time - after 5-7 days. As the conditions associated with the seasons change, the procedures must be varied without completely abolishing them. For example, a summer shower in winter can be replaced by dousing your feet.

It is possible to ensure systematic hardening procedures throughout the year only if they are firmly included in the child’s daily routine and are combined with the usual activities held at different times of the day (washing, walking, sleeping, playing, hygienic bath, etc. .).

Gradual increase in the strength of the irritating effect

Hardening is based on the ability of the body to gradually adapt to unusual conditions. Resistance to low temperatures must be brought up consistently, but continuously. The transition from weaker hardening procedures to stronger ones (by lowering the temperature of air, water and increasing the duration of the procedure) must be carried out gradually. This is especially important for young children and debilitated children (premature, suffering from malnutrition, rickets, exudative or other allergic diseases).

Accounting for the age and individual characteristics of the child

With any hardening measures, it is necessary to take into account the age and state of health of the child and the individual characteristics of his body. With age, the load should be gradually increased. The weaker the child, the more carefully one should approach the hardening procedures, but it is necessary to harden it! If the child does get sick, consult a doctor if it is possible to continue at least some procedures with a reduced impact force; if this cannot be done, you will have to start all over again after recovery.

Carrying out hardening procedures against the background of a positive mood of the child

Any hardening event should be carried out after creating a good mood for the child. Crying, the appearance of a feeling of anxiety or fear of hardening procedures should not be allowed. If by the time the procedure is performed, the child is upset with something, crying, it is better to postpone the procedure for another time or completely cancel it: it will no longer be possible to obtain a positive effect from this procedure.

Compliance with the temperature regime of the skin

During hardening, be sure to check the condition of the child's skin: the procedure can be carried out only if his nose and limbs are warm. If the child is chilled and already has vasoconstriction, it will not be possible to develop a positive reaction to hardening, only the opposite effect can be obtained. Overheating is also harmful: it increases the moisture content of the skin, which changes its thermal conductivity, as a result of which even moderate exposure to cool water or air can lead to significant hypothermia of the child's body.

air hardening

I method - airing the room. Air hardening begins with this. The best way to ventilate is through, it can be arranged in the absence of a child. The hardening factor when airing the room is to lower the temperature by 1-2°C. In autumn and winter, it is necessary to ventilate the room 4-5 times a day for 10-15 minutes. In summer, the window should be open, the optimum air temperature in the room where it is located is + 20-22 ° С. Studies have shown that at higher room temperatures, the growth and development of the child is delayed.

Method II - a walk, including sleeping in the air. It is advisable to spend as much time as possible outdoors. In the summer outside the city, it is advisable to take food, sleep, gymnastics, and games into the fresh air. It is useful to walk at any time of the year, just do not forget that you need to dress according to the weather. Don't wrap the baby! Children from 2-3 weeks of age in the cold season at an air temperature not lower than -5 ° C should be taken out into the street. The duration of the first procedure is 10 minutes, in the future, the walking time should be increased to 1.5-2 hours and walking twice a day. In the warm season, walks with a child should be daily, 2-3 times a day, between feedings for 2-2.5 hours.

In the first 1.5 years of a child's life, daytime sleep in the air is recommended. At the same time, fast falling asleep, calm sleep, even breathing, pink complexion, absence of sweat, warm extremities upon awakening indicate that the child is dressed correctly, that is, he is in a state of thermal comfort. When cooling or overheating, the child sleeps restlessly. Blueness of the face, cold nose, cold extremities are indicators of sudden cooling. Sweaty forehead and damp skin indicate that the child is hot.

III method - air baths. Under the influence of air baths, oxygen absorption increases, heat exchange conditions change significantly, the state of the child's nervous system improves - he becomes calmer, eats and sleeps better.

For children of the 1st year of life, air baths begin with. It is useful to leave the child undressed for a while with each swaddling and changing clothes. It is necessary to undress and dress the child slowly. The air temperature during the air bath should gradually decrease to + 18-20°C. The time of air baths should be gradually increased, and from the age of one month, the air bath should be combined with massage and gymnastics.

During the first six months of life, it is recommended to carry out air baths for 10 minutes 2 times a day. You need to start with 3 minutes, adding 1 minute daily. During the second half of the year - 2 times a day for 15 minutes, daily increasing the duration of the bath by 2 minutes.

During and after the air bath, the child should look cheerful, he should be in a good mood. Make sure that the children do not cry at this time and have the opportunity to move. Do not miss the signs of hypothermia: when "goosebumps" appear, you need to dress the child, stop the air bath, and further reduce its duration. It is always necessary to pay attention to the sleep and appetite of the child: their violation may be a sign of the adverse effects of the air bath.

In summer, air baths can be combined with sun baths.

Hardening by sunlight

It must be remembered that the sun's rays are a potent remedy. Young children are not shown to be in direct sunlight, as well as sunbathing. Hardening should begin in diffused sunlight. The child is better off in the so-called "lace shade". First, he should be dressed in a shirt made of light light fabric at an air temperature of + 22-24 ° C. In the middle of wakefulness, the child should be undressed and left naked for several minutes, gradually increasing the hardening time to 10 minutes. On the head of the baby you need to put on a panama. It is useful that at this time he moves freely in the arena, on the playground, playing with toys.

In a good general condition, if the child tolerates well being in the lacy shade of trees, you can also expose him to direct sunlight, first for half a minute, and then gradually increase the time spent in the sun to 5 minutes. It is necessary to perform this procedure in the morning (before 10-11 o'clock) or in the evening (after 17). It is necessary to ensure that the child does not overheat. With reddening of the face, the appearance of irritability, excitability, it is necessary to take him out of the lacy shade of trees or from under the direct rays of the sun into the shade and give him cool boiled water to drink. If a child is weakened by diseases, hardening by sunlight should be carried out very carefully, under the supervision of an adult who is constantly nearby, it is also necessary to periodically consult with the attending physician or exercise therapy physician, who allow and dose the procedure.

Inna Sharkova, pediatric neurologist
Konstantin Rychenko, pediatrician

Hardening of newborns is an effective, most effective, as well as time-tested and many parents method that allows you to strengthen the immune system and improve the health of babies. Babies are very adaptable. Doctors recommend hardening from the first days of life.

Main effects:

muscles, bones develop;
the nervous system is strengthened;
the functioning of internal organs improves;
immunity to the effects of pathogenic factors;
activation of metabolic processes in the body.

It should be noted that all means of hardening are distinguished by their availability and simplicity. It is important to discard some of the standard prejudices of some parents and grandmothers not to wrap up small children, and also not to be afraid of long walks in the fresh air.

Why is it necessary to temper a child from birth?

Hardening a baby is a great idea, since the adaptation mechanisms in such babies are quite developed. In other words, newborns are born hardened. At the same time, the creation of greenhouse conditions (sterile food, ambient temperature stability, lack of air mass movement around the room) negatively affects innate adaptation, since it remains unclaimed. In a month, the baby will catch a cold. To avoid this trouble, it is only necessary to maintain the natural abilities of the newborn while creating an optimal temperature contrast and having exceptionally positive contact with the surrounding reality. You can start hardening immediately. Thus, it is recommended to walk with a baby under 1 year old outside, regardless of weather conditions, and harden from birth. It is better to start walking from a few weeks of a baby's life.

Basics of hardening an infant

Hardening newborns in the shortest possible time will help strengthen their immunity, allow them to painlessly adapt to fluctuations in air temperature and wind exposure, and improve physical and mental development. Hygiene procedures at home are carried out with the help of special gymnastics and massage. They will enable the hardened baby to grow up strong and healthy.

How to harden a baby? The apartment must be equipped with a special corner for the baby. The bed should be in a cozy place where there are no drafts. The room where the baby lives must be aired daily at any time of the year. In summer, leave the window open throughout the day, but at night, be sure to cover the baby with a summer blanket made of baize or wool.

hardening rules

To increase immunity, in order to adapt an infant to environmental conditions, it is necessary to correctly begin to carry out daily water procedures, air and sun baths. After bathing the baby in the bath, pour water over him with a temperature of 1-2 degrees lower. For bathing, the recommended water temperature is 37-36 degrees, for dousing - 35-34 degrees. Gradually, from birth, pour cooler water over the child - one degree lower than the one in which they bathed. Such hardening of infants and other pediatricians.

As for clothes, overalls for newborns and children from two months to 1 year, as well as other things, should be made exclusively from natural materials. Clothing for walks and trips to visit has its own characteristics: preference should be given to products made from high-quality knitwear.

Contraindications for hardening procedures

The hardening of any infant is carried out solely taking into account his age, state of health, individual tolerance of various tempering procedures for the baby. The main contraindications for doctors include:

colds;
hyperthermia;
anemia
acute intestinal disorders;
exhaustion;
sleep disturbances;
nervous excitability;
heart defects (decompensated);
negative attitude towards procedures;
diseases of the endocrine system, in particular thyrotoxicosis, diabetes mellitus;
negative reaction of the baby's body to exposure to cold;
damage to the skin due to burns.

Make a decision regarding hardening only if the baby is in good health. This will help complexes of gymnastics exercises,. The procedures should not be returned until the moment until complete recovery occurs. Preparation for hardening of children, when the duration/influence of exposure to various factors for deliberate cooling of the body is reduced from the standard level for the body, should be repeated.

When hardening children, they adhere to some important principles:

it is important to take into account the mood of the child - if he does not want to splash in cool water, do not force him to do it;
procedures are performed systematically with an increase in the time of exposure to the hardening factor;
hardening is carried out in the form of a game;
if the baby is frozen, procedures are not needed.

If you doubt the child’s health and don’t know if hardening is needed, contact a pediatrician who will examine the baby and get acquainted with the medical history. Only the doctor will tell you whether modern hardening techniques are needed now or is it better to wait with them until the condition of the crumbs returns to normal.

One of the most effective natural means of hardening is water. This is surprising, but washing and showering, which we have been accustomed to since childhood, can serve not only hygienic, but also health-improving purposes.
Hardening procedures are extremely useful for children of the first year of life, but be sure to remember the main rules of hardening.

Hardening according to all the rules:

1. You can not harden a child before he reaches 1 month of age! The organism of the crumbs, which experienced significant stress during the transition from intrauterine existence to life in the outside world, is still adapting to new conditions for it.
2. Before carrying out hardening procedures with your child, be sure to consult a doctor.
3. Temper the child systematically and regularly - at all times of the year without interruption. It is good if hardening procedures are firmly included in the child's daily routine, and will be combined with ordinary daily activities (washing, walking, sleeping, playing, hygienic bath, etc.). The baby will quickly get used to it and will take hardening procedures for granted.

4. Increase the air temperature reduction force sequentially but continuously. As well as the duration of hardening. This is especially important for young children and weakened children.
5. Always consider the age and individual characteristics of the child. The weaker the baby, the more carefully you need to approach the hardening procedures, but it is necessary to harden it! If your child still gets sick, consult a doctor if it is possible to continue at least some procedures with a reduced impact force; if this cannot be done, after recovery, you will have to start all over from the very beginning.
6. Harden only when the baby is in a good mood. Do not allow crying, anxiety or fear of tempering procedures. Otherwise, there will be no positive effect from hardening.
7. Before and during the hardening procedure, make sure that the nose and limbs of the child are warm. If the child has already cooled down, then it will not be possible to develop a positive reaction to hardening, you can only get the opposite effect. In addition, the baby should not be overheated! Cool air can lead to significant hypothermia of the child's body, and we will get the opposite effect from hardening.

Water hardening technique

For children of the first year of life, water hardening procedures can be local (washing, rubbing) and general (hygienic baths, wiping and dousing, and sometimes showering). At the same time, for hardening, you can use both daily hygiene procedures - washing hands before eating, washing feet before going to bed, regular bathing, and various games with water.
The effect of water hardening is based on a gradual decrease in water temperature and an increase in the procedure time.

1 stage of water hardening: washing:

Start hardening with the usual washing of the child. The initial temperature of the water should be close to the temperature of the skin of the exposed parts of the child's body - approximately + 28-26 ° C.

Stage 2 water hardening: rubbing.

Wipe the child like this: with a terry cloth mitten soaked in water or a terry towel folded several times, wipe the child with quick movements: the first week - only the upper half of the body, and after a week - the whole body.
At the same time, wipe the child’s hands in the direction - from the fingers to the shoulders, the chest in a circular motion clockwise, the back - from the middle of the spine to the sides, the legs - from the feet up to the pelvis, the stomach clockwise, the buttocks - without pushing them apart.
Repeat each movement 2-4 times.
You can start with water at a temperature of + 34 ° C and gradually (by 0.5-1 ° per day) reduce the temperature to + 26-23 ° C within 10-15 days.

But new rubdown method proposed by Swedish doctors. It is recommended to carry out from six months.
Moisten a terry towel with “sea water” (1 tablespoon of sea salt per 1 liter of water, water temperature + 22 ° C). As soon as the baby wakes up, holding him by the weight of his armpits, lower him onto a towel. The child will be happy to stomp.
Without wiping their feet, they move on to other elements of the toilet.
After 2 weeks, if the child feels well, you can increase the load: the child's legs are lowered for 2-3 seconds on a damp towel, which is first placed in a plastic bag and placed in the refrigerator.
After a wet wipe, rub the baby's skin to a pink color and dress him.

Attention: those areas of the skin that are subjected to wiping and subsequent rubbing should be absolutely healthy - if the skin has diaper rash, any rashes, etc., this procedure should be postponed.

Stage 3 water hardening: local and general dousing.

This procedure can be started from 9-12 months (and even earlier in more hardened children).
So, after 2-4 weeks of systematic rubdowns, you can proceed to dousing with water (it is better to discuss the temperature regime with your doctor).
Douse in this order: starting with the legs, then the buttocks, then the chest and abdomen, and ending with the douse of the left and right shoulder.

From local douches it is recommended first of all to douse the feet. They have not only local, but also a general effect on the body, because the cooling of the feet is one of the ways to stimulate the activity of the adrenal glands. And those, in turn, play an important role in the functioning of the human immune system.
The hardening effect of this procedure can be due either to a gradual (by 1 ° per day) decrease in temperature, or to the use of contrast douche. In the latter case, the feet are first doused with warm water (+36°C), then cold (+24-20°C), and finally warm again (+36°C). This method will suit you best if your baby is often sick or prone to allergies, since such children have a tendency to spasm of the capillaries.

Very helpful foot baths("trampling" in the water). You can start them from a temperature of + 35 ° C.
Pour water into the tub slightly above ankle level. The child must walk through the water (with or without your help) 5-6 times. Then pour water 2-3°C colder. After the bath, wipe the child's feet and put him to bed (feet can not be wiped).
Attention: as mentioned above, you should not pour cold water on your feet or “trampling” in water if your child has cold feet! The temperature of the skin of the feet should be only a few degrees higher than the temperature of the water.

This option is also possible hardening: general dousing with cool (+ 28-22 ° C) water after a hygienic bath.

Stage 4 water hardening: shower.

A potent means of hardening is a shower.
As a rule, they resort to it when the child is already one and a half years old, however, the exercise therapy doctor may prescribe it earlier for any indication (often a shower is prescribed for lethargic children, especially those with poor appetite).

And in conclusion of the article, we want to remind you that water hardening does not cancel other types of hardening (air, sun) - airing, walking, sleeping in the air, which we talked about in detail.

When a child is born, it enters a new environment. Nature endowed the baby with many different adaptive and protective mechanisms so that he could survive and begin to develop in this environment. So, for example, a child has thermoregulation mechanisms that prevent overheating and hypothermia. By wrapping up a child, creating greenhouse conditions for him, we "deprive" these mechanisms of work. Having become unnecessary, they can gradually atrophy, and then even a light breeze will pose a threat to the child - a defenseless baby can easily get sick.

The body's endurance and its resistance to changing environmental conditions increase under the influence of hardening - with air, water, scattered sunlight: the child's immunity to various diseases increases, the mechanisms of thermoregulation improve; hardening promotes proper metabolism, has a positive effect on the physical development of the child, on the adaptation of his body to new living conditions. Hardening is the leading method of increasing the resistance of the child's body.

However, to obtain a positive effect from hardening, a number of general rules must be observed:

1. The systematic use of hardening procedures in all seasons without interruption.

Breaks in hardening lead to a weakening of the adaptive mechanisms that are formed under the influence of hardening procedures. Even in adults, after 3-4 weeks after the termination of hardening procedures, the developed resistance to cold is sharply weakened. In children in the 1st year of life, the effect of adaptation disappears in an even shorter time - after 5-7 days. As the conditions associated with the seasons change, the procedures must be varied without completely abolishing them. For example, a summer shower in winter can be replaced by dousing your feet.

2. Gradual increase in the strength of the irritating effect

Hardening is based on the ability of the body to gradually adapt to unusual conditions. Resistance to low temperatures must be brought up consistently, but continuously. The transition from weaker hardening procedures to stronger ones (by lowering the temperature of air, water and increasing the duration of the procedure) must be carried out gradually. This is especially important for young children and debilitated children (premature, malnourished, rickets, exudative diathesis or other allergic diseases).

3. Taking into account the age and individual characteristics of the child

4. Carrying out hardening procedures against the background of a positive mood of the child

5. Compliance with the temperature regime of the skin

air hardening

I way- ventilation of the room. Air hardening begins with this. The best way to ventilate is through, it can be arranged in the absence of a child. The tempering factor when airing the room is to lower the temperature by 1-20 C. In autumn and winter, it is necessary to ventilate the room 4-5 times a day for 10-15 minutes. In summer, the window should be open, the optimum air temperature in the room where the baby is located is + 20-22 C. Studies have shown that at a higher temperature in the room, the growth and development of the child is delayed.

II way- a walk, including a dream in the air. It is advisable to spend as much time as possible outdoors. In the summer outside the city, it is advisable to take food, sleep, gymnastics, and games into the fresh air. It is useful to walk at any time of the year, just do not forget that you need to dress according to the weather. Don't wrap the baby! Children from 2-3 weeks of age in the cold season at an air temperature not lower than -5 ° C should be taken out into the street. The duration of the first procedure is 10 minutes, in the future, the walking time should be increased to 1.5-2 hours and walking twice a day. In the warm season, walks with a child should be daily, 2-3 times a day, between feedings for 2-2.5 hours.

III method- air baths. Under the influence of air baths, oxygen absorption increases, heat exchange conditions change significantly, the state of the child's nervous system improves - he becomes calmer, eats and sleeps better.

For children of the 1st year of life, air baths begin with swaddling. It is useful to leave the child undressed for a while with each swaddling and changing clothes. It is necessary to undress and dress the child slowly. The air temperature during the air bath should gradually decrease to + 18-20 ° C. The time of air baths should be gradually increased, and from the age of one month, the air bath should be combined with massage and gymnastics.

During the second half of the year - 2 times a day for 15 minutes, daily increasing the duration of the bath by 2 minutes.

During and after the air bath, the child should look cheerful, he should be in a good mood. Make sure that the children do not cry at this time and have the opportunity to move. Do not miss the signs of hypothermia: when "goosebumps" appear, you need to dress the child, stop holding an air bath, and further reduce its duration. It is always necessary to pay attention to the sleep and appetite of the child: their violation may be a sign of the adverse effects of the air bath.

In summer, air baths can be combined with sun baths.

Hardening by sunlight

It must be remembered that the sun's rays are a potent remedy. Young children are not shown to be in direct sunlight, as well as sunbathing. Hardening should begin in diffused sunlight. The child is better off in the so-called "lace shadow". At first, he should be dressed in a light-colored shirt at an air temperature of + 22-24 ° C. In the middle of wakefulness, the child should be undressed and left naked for several minutes, gradually increasing the hardening time to 10 minutes. On the head of the baby you need to put on a panama. It is useful that at this time he moves freely in the arena, on the playground, playing with toys.

water hardening

One of the most effective natural means of hardening is water. People who are not too familiar with hardening methods are often struck by the fact that washing and showering, which we have been accustomed to since childhood, can serve not only hygienic, but also healing purposes, but this is exactly the case. With the proper organization of water procedures, the right temperature regime, a gradual increase in the time of exposure to cool water, the usual performance of uncomplicated actions of the morning and evening toilet can have an unexpectedly strong healing effect.

Tempering procedures are extremely useful for children of the first year of life, but with two reservations. Firstly, there can be no talk of any hardening until the end of the adaptive postpartum period (i.e. up to 1 month), when the child’s body, which has experienced significant stress during the transition from intrauterine existence to life in the outside world, adapts to new conditions. Secondly, before starting to carry out hardening procedures with your child, you must always consult a doctor.

For children of the first year of life, water hardening procedures can be local (washing, rubbing) and general (hygienic baths, wiping and dousing, and sometimes showering). At the same time, for hardening, you can use both daily hygiene procedures - washing hands before eating, washing feet before going to bed, regular bathing, and various games with water. The effect of water hardening is based on a gradual decrease in water temperature and an increase in the procedure time.

You can start hardening with the usual washing of the child. The initial temperature of the water should be close to the temperature of the skin of the exposed parts of the child's body - approximately + 28-26 ° C.

The next step in hardening with water should be rubbing. You can start with water at a temperature of + 34 ° C and gradually (by 0.5-1 ° per day) reduce the temperature to + 26-23 ° C within 10-15 days.

Wiping is performed as follows: with a terry cloth mitten moistened in water or a terry towel folded several times, the child is wiped with quick movements: the first week - only the upper half of the body, and after a week - the whole body. The directions of movement during wiping should be as follows: the child's hands should be wiped from the fingers to the shoulders, the chest in a circular motion clockwise, the back - from the middle of the spine to the sides, the legs - from the feet up to the pelvis, the stomach clockwise, the buttocks - without moving them. Each movement is repeated 2-4 times.

Along with wiping with plain cool water, wiping with sea salt solution (1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water) is helpful.

The hardening method proposed by Swedish doctors has proven itself well: a terry towel is moistened with “sea water” (1 tablespoon of sea salt per 1 liter of water, water temperature + 22 ° C) and the child (starting from 6 months) is lowered after sleep by 2-3 seconds on a towel; the child "jumps", "dances". Without wiping their feet, they move on to other elements of the toilet. After 2 weeks, if the child feels well, you can increase the load: the child is lowered for 2-3 seconds on a damp towel, which is first placed in a plastic bag and placed in the refrigerator.

After a wet wiping, it is necessary to rub the child's skin until it turns pink and dress him.

Attention: those areas of the skin that are subjected to rubbing and subsequent rubbing must be absolutely healthy - if the skin has diaper rash, any rashes, etc., this procedure should be postponed.

After 2-4 weeks of systematic rubdowns, you can proceed to dousing with water (it is better to discuss the temperature regime with your doctor). It is necessary to start dousing from the legs, then the buttocks are attached to them, then the chest and stomach, and end with dousing the left and right shoulder. This procedure can be started from 9-12 months (and even earlier in more hardened children).

Of the local douches, dousing the legs is recommended first of all. Such procedures have not only local, but also a general effect on the body, and this is due, in particular, to the fact that cooling the feet is one of the possible ways to stimulate the activity of the adrenal glands, which play an important role in the body's adaptation to adverse conditions and in the functioning of the immune system. human systems. The hardening effect of this procedure can be due either to a gradual (by 1 ° per day) decrease in temperature, or to the use of contrast douche. In the latter case, the feet are first doused with warm water (+36°C), then cold (+24-20°C), and finally warm again (+36°C). This method is recommended for children who are often ill or suffering from allergic reactions, since they have a tendency to spasm of capillaries (small vessels).

Foot baths (“trampling” in water) are very useful. You can start them from a temperature of + 35 ° C. This procedure is carried out as follows: water is poured into the bath slightly above the level of the ankles. The child must walk through the water (with or without your help) 5-6 times. Then water is poured 2-3°C colder. After the bath, wipe the child's feet and put him to bed (feet can not be wiped).

Attention: do not pour cold water on the feet or “trampling” in water if the child has cold feet! The temperature of the skin of the feet should be several degrees higher than the temperature of the water.

This hardening option is also possible: general dousing with cool (+ 28-22 ° C) water after a hygienic bath.

A potent hardening agent is a shower, as a rule, they resort to it when the child is already one and a half years old, however, the exercise therapy doctor may prescribe it earlier for any reason (often a shower is prescribed for lethargic children, especially with poor appetite).

And in conclusion - water hardening does not cancel other types of hardening (air, sun) - airing, walking, sleeping in the air should be carried out regardless of water hardening procedures.

From the first seconds of birth, the baby enters a new environment. In order to quickly adapt to new conditions, the baby's body activates all defense mechanisms. It is not necessary to immediately place the child in greenhouse conditions. He must adapt himself to this world. The task of parents is only to help the baby adapt to the external environment. To do this, you need to harden the crumbs from the first days of life.

Why is it necessary to temper a child from birth?

Nature endowed man with thermoregulation - an important property of the human body that allows us to adapt to the world around us. The newborn is able to adapt itself to temperature changes in the environment.

The task of adults is not to interfere with the crumbs, if necessary, to connect all the body's defenses. Parents, on the contrary, should help him. For this, hardening is needed.

If from the first days the baby is raised in greenhouse conditions, then the system of natural thermoregulation will stop working, and the baby will not be able to independently adapt to cold or heat. To prevent this from happening, you need to start hardening procedures as early as possible.

This gives the newborn a number of advantages:

The body activates the processes responsible for thermoregulation.
Increased resistance to adverse factors.
The metabolism is normalized.
Physical and mental development is activated.
The nervous system and the general health of the child are strengthened.

Basics of hardening a newborn baby

You should start hardening the little man only after making sure that he is absolutely healthy.

Watch his behavior, reaction to the environment and mental state. It is allowed to temper a weakened infant with problematic health only with special care.

Hardening of the crumbs should be started gradually, carefully observing how the child's body reacts to this. Monitor your baby's health, appetite and weight. The child's habituation to changes in the temperature environment occurs gradually. A small organism is not able to adapt instantly. You can notice the fruits of hardening only after some time.

Excitable or weak children are hardened carefully . First, you can expose only the arms or legs of the baby, then the chest, tummy or back. When the baby gets stronger, you can proceed to the usual hardening procedures for a healthy baby.

Remember that hardening is carried out regardless of the season and ambient temperature. Only regular procedures will help to achieve the desired result - the timely reaction of blood vessels and the whole body to temperature changes.

You can perform hardening procedures only with good health and the mood of the crumbs. If the baby is naughty or shows anxiety, the lesson should be interrupted. The child should not have a fear of certain procedures.

To ensure that the results achieved do not disappear over time, it is necessary to strengthen the health of the child on an ongoing basis.

Contraindications for hardening procedures

Unfortunately, sometimes you have to interrupt the regular hardening procedures.

Classes may need to be postponed under certain circumstances.

The baby categorically does not like to harden.
The child's nervous excitability increases.
There are other signs of a cold or intestinal disease.
The baby is having trouble sleeping.
The child is losing weight.

In addition, more serious diseases, such as, say, low hemoglobin, exhaustion, or decompensated heart disease, can become the reason for not hardening.

Hardening activities are divided into 3 groups

air procedures.
Hardening with water.
Strengthening health with the use of sunbathing.

air hardening

Air hardening of infants includes a number of procedures

Airing . The comfortable temperature for the baby is 22-23 degrees. Strengthen the health of the crumbs begin with a decrease in temperature in the nursery by 1-2 degrees. In the cold autumn and winter seasons, the room in which the child is located is ventilated at least five times a day. At this time, the baby is transferred to another room. If the batteries heat the air above 25 degrees, then the air humidity decreases. Dryness appears in the nose and upper respiratory tract of the crumbs, which creates discomfort for the child. In summer, you need to keep the windows open, but do not make drafts so that the baby does not get sick.
Walks in the open air . If your baby was born in the cold season, the duration of walks in the first days should not exceed 10-15 minutes. As soon as the baby adapts to the frosty air, you need to bring the duration of one walk to two hours and take the child outside 2 times a day. In summer, he should be outside as long as possible. The best option is to live with the baby in the country, where feeding, dressing and playing is best done in the yard. When this is not possible, then, going for a walk in the city, choose places that are far from highways. It is very useful for the baby to sleep outside during the day.
Hardening with air procedures . Taking air baths has a beneficial effect on the well-being and mood of the little man. He can take procedures when he is being dressed, doing massage or strengthening exercises. The first time the child just needs to be held without clothes for about 3 minutes, gradually adding time, bring it to 10, and after six months - up to a quarter of an hour. At the same time, the air temperature should not cause discomfort in the crumbs due to hypothermia or overheating. It should be reduced gradually during the procedures and only after the baby gets used to the previous thermometer readings.

Water, water, wash my face

Water procedures have a beneficial effect on the baby, and the use of water in hardening activities brings undoubted health benefits. If bathing and washing the crumbs begin from the first day of life, then water can be used as a healing agent only after the end of the postpartum adaptation period (about 1 month).

What applies to water hardening procedures?

Washing exposed parts of the body . Until the baby has reached the age of three months, his face and hands are washed with water at a temperature of 28 degrees, by six months it is reduced to 25, and closer to a year - to twenty. Water is cooled by 1 degree every 3-5 days.
Wiping with a damp towel starts from 3-6 months, depending on the health of the baby. It is better to consult a pediatrician about the readiness of your crumbs for such procedures. First, teach your child to rub with a dry flannel mitt.
The baby is rubbed all over the body until it turns pink . After a week, you can start wet rubdowns. At first, the temperature of a wet flannel mitten or napkin should be 33-34 degrees in summer and 35-36 in winter. The duration of the rubdown is only a few minutes. The baby's hands are wetted from the fingertips to the shoulder, the legs from the very bottom to the hip, and the body from the edge to the center. Every 5 days the water is cooled by 1 degree.
Cool douches . The procedure is carried out after bathing the baby. The water for dousing should be a couple of degrees colder than in the bath. If the child was bathed at a temperature of 37 degrees, then you need to rinse it with water of 35 degrees. Gradually, the water for bathing, and, accordingly, for dousing, is made more and more cool, bringing it to 20 degrees.

Let's chill with the sun

It is necessary to temper the baby with the help of sunlight, being careful, since the skin of the child is very sensitive. Procedures begin after the baby gets used to taking air baths and hardening with water. First, the baby is in the sun in a short-sleeve shirt, a few days later - in a T-shirt, and then just in panties .

It is better to take the baby out into the sun for a walk in the morning, an hour and a half after breakfast. You need to start with a 5-minute stay in the sun, gradually increasing the period of time to half an hour.

In this case, you can not leave the baby in direct sunlight. After the baby has been in the sun, it must be moved to partial shade, where the sun's rays are scattered between the foliage of the trees.

Intensive and contrast hardening

These methods are based on short contact of the child's body with frosty air, cold water or snow. Intensive hardening involves dousing with cold water, wiping with snow or dipping into an ice hole. As a rule, not many parents agree to subject their crumbs to such tests.

Contrast hardening in this regard is a more gentle procedure. These can be foot baths, where the child’s legs are alternately lowered either into cold or warm water, or a contrast shower, when the entire body of the baby undergoes a sharp change in temperature. At first, the difference between warm and cold water should not exceed 4-5 degrees, but gradually this gap is increased by lowering the temperature of cold water..

Many mothers today listen to the opinion of the famous pediatrician, Dr. Komarovsky. Video about hardening methods - Komarovsky.

When starting to harden a little man, the main thing is not to overdo it and not harm your baby.

In order for the baby to grow up strong and healthy, the decrease in temperature during the procedures must be very, very careful. In no case should you allow hypothermia or overheating of the baby.

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