What to do with my kids in this heat?

Question

i have two sons aged 5 and 13 I was wondering what is the safest and best way to dress them in this heat and what activeties can they do? my 5 year old has a padlingpool but my older boy thinks he is to grown up for it. both boys seem to be kicking it back in the house barefoot and complaining its to hot to do anything and that they are bored at the sametime. when its been cooler my oldest goes out and plays football but he keeps taking of his t-shirt which i would like to put suncream on him first but he doesnt think to come back for any. my youngest is finding it very hard. he cant sleep and hes finding it difficult to concentrate on what hes doing. He keeps walking round the house half naked and saying its to hot for tv and too hot to go out. what shall i do with my boys they dont want to do anything but moan that they are bored? i work 9-5 and dont get home till 7.30 because i live so far away from work. i wish i could take them out to a park but by then its getting a bit late.

Answer 1

tops: vests, or t shirts nothing long sleeved

bottoms: three quarter pants/jeans, shorts

avoid clothing that is black/dark coloured

sun cream is good for protection

paddling pool sounds good just putting feet into it to cool down, doesnt sound to grown up.

my suggestion is to get out board games and just play in the house or puzzles or maybe some art stuff for drawing, badminton/tennis, a summer hunt hiding clues in the house for them, water balloon fight.

Answer 2

As far as your oldest and the suncream, I always put it on my kids before they go out anyhow. I dont know if you are aware of this, but t-shirts are only an spf of about 8... compared to the suncream thats a huge difference! So put it on before they go out and it wont be such a big deal when he takes off his shirt.

In the summer, its still light out until 8:30 or 9 so I would take your kids to the park anyhow. Its a little dark out but lots of families bring kids at this time because it is cooler.

A game we play at my house uses the paddling pool but we never go in it. We just fill it with water and take big cups to fill water from the pool in and throw it at eachother. It cools you off and its just as competitive as splashing. You can also try getting some water guns for the kids to use outside, they are always fun.

Answer 3

Buy a bestway fastset pool and put it up in your garden, it brings fun for all ages including yourself, me (13) and my brother (10) go in it to cool down and have fun. Even my mum dad and NAN go in it.

Fun for all the family!

Wear over the top big sized to t-shirts and by a 15 or over sun scream.

Answer 4

get them water guns and let them have water fights in the garden

Answer 5

who takes care of them all day? what are they doing, school? or summer camp? or stuck in someones house. lots of popsicles for sure, and even though their hot make sure they take a shower warm- it will actually cool them down at bed time. and let them sleep in the boxers for bed, and take off the blankets just put the sheets and maybe a light throw at the end of the bed in case they get a chill when it cools down.  they have slip and slides and cool water sprinklers stuff at target thtat are under 20.00 maybe even 10.00 that will be able to make the older one not feel like a baby.

Answer 6

find a relation or friend bung them a fifthy and ask them to take the kids down the beach or something?tell them to stop moaning for a week first though... the thirteen yr old needs a girlfriend to give him a challenge lol the five year old mm mmmmmmmm erm errrmm lol erm buy him a big boy outdoor  toy... my aunty bought me some indian cotton shirts that were like waffle material but they were cool..

Answer 7

in the summer, try to keep them away from junk foods and drinks, that'll make it harder for the body to cool off overall.

also.. if there's a community pool around.. take them to that.  

there are powerful yet affordable fans at CVS or any local retailer you may have that produce steady,  strong and cool air without tearing up your electric bill.   check into those.. they are small,   (about the size of a computer monitor)  i'm not sure if they're tornados or what they are called now..     they really do the trick if you don't have AC..  buy a couple of them when you can..

they'll come in handy for the future also.

also,  make those kids drink water...   no soda..     anything with sugar is going to bring up their body temp.

any activity that involves water is a good thing.

it is hard to keep focused when the temps are in the extreme...  one way or another.

but with some common sense,  innovation and seeking air conditioning when you can as a family (movies,  resturaunt, so on)   can help.

keep the junk food down.. that makes a huge difference.

in the summers i nearly become a vegetarian because it helps a ton!  while i'm just warm everyone else is in dire sufferage with the heat and i try to explain but most won't take the advice.    but right now i'm freezing with minimal AC and it's a heat index outside of 109.

and all i had today was raw broccoli, steamed spinach and a glass of fresh OJ.  

and since i work..    i have the AC.        but i'll soon be riding the METRO  (UGH!)  and walk a mile in this heat and i'll have the water...   and a insulated lunch bag with two ice packs that one can stick into the freezer.. those are wonderful also... get some of those... and get some towels or bandanas.. and wrap the ice packs in that and tie it around your neck loosely.. that'll bring down the temps also inside your suffering body.

think cool..   buy cool and soon you'll feel a few degrees better.

just open your mind to chilly.. and every little thing you do will certain help towards calming tempered souls in this icky sticky hot weather.

those super soakers with ice water in them sure are fun also... and CVS  or walmart.. any of those places have fans (they take batteries)   that you fill with water.. those are a blessing... and the other mini fans that don't take water...

sprinklers are fun...   affordable...  also you can get fans that are called misters...   (i spelled that wrong i'm sure)   they blow air and mist water.    

there are also patio umbrellas that have those fan misters built into them too.

fans, water..    and the ability to keep you wet and cool are the keys and also remember.. i know it's boring but..    a diet is a major role player in the body's ability to keep functioning  in a way to keep you happy and comfortable.

also.. for yourself  keep any alcohol consumption down and sugar down too...

Answer 8

set the paddling pool up, and when you are home during the day, get out there with your 5 yrs old and splash about with him, your 13 yr old will see you are having fun, and want to join in, let him know he can have mates in too, water fights in the garden are always fun, as for what to wear, at home just wearing undies is fine, and going out, slip, slap, slop and let them wear shorts, you can buy that stuff that lasts 6hours now, so need for your 13 yr old to keep coming back, if you have room for it in your garden, get them some paints or something as well, water guns, all sorts you can do, have fun and enjoy

Answer 9

Funny, when I was a kid I was basically thrown out of the house during the summer and allowed to play all day to my heart's content with al the neighbor kids. I'd be out of the house on some exciting adventure by nine or ten and wouldn't be back til just before dinner time. We built treehouses, clubhouses, built forts, played army, played endless softball games, tag, hide n seek, rode bikes, went to the park, sometimes went to the park pool for the day, climbed trees, made mud puddles, walked around in them, lay in hammocks and read books, collected bottles for the deposit money, etc etc etc.

I am not sure that a 5 yr old and a 13 yr old would be compatible in their recreation interests. Is the 13 year old in charge of supervising the younger lad?

I would try to get each of them into some sort of summer day camp program where each could play and interact with kids their own ages. Are there any resident summer camps in your area?

Certainly staying indoors all summer long is not a great option. I'd be bored too.

Answer 10

ok you asked a fair bit so i will try and answer it all. To keep your son from burning put suncream on him before he goes out to play or his mother to do it or whoever is with him? your 5 year old might be frustrated because he cant perhaps go as far so keep him occupied in the paddling pool with water fights or even let him do some painting outdoors. you could invite some of their friends over this weekend and have both your sons have 1 or 2 friends over to sleep. as for what to wear....well in the house my sons aged 6-9 wear just underpants and my 12 year old will wear underpants for bed but in the day in the house will wear just a pair of shorts. if your 5 year old walks around the house half nude thats fine as he is just a toddler still really. when out my younger children wear no socks and sandles and wear shorts and muscletop type of clothes. my oldest wont wear a t-shirt either so alot of suncream for him and he will wear shorts and trainers but rarely any socks (unless he is going over to his friends house) if my oldest is out with me or going to familys homes he will be barefoot and in his sandles then.

so just try and make them wear as less as possible. in weather like this try and find an outdoor swimming pool over the weekend or a weekend at the beach. keep activities outdoors and involve their friends. give them lots of water and suncream