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It might seem bizarre to some mothers and fathers who are constantly stressing over whether their little one is wrapped up enough in these chilly temperatures – but a Scandi-style of parenting that sees babies napping outside is taking hold this winter.
The technique is making waves through TikTok and Instagram as people from around the world embrace the idea of their children getting a better sleep by benefitting from the cold.
In clips shared on the social media platforms, parents showcase their babies tightly tucked into warm prams before being left outside homes, cafes and parks in the winter weather.
Others, meanwhile, revealed how they were keeping their child’s bedroom cooler by either opening windows or turning on the air conditioning.
While the Scandinavian trend has taken hold on social media, it’s not a completely new concept to Britain; families without gardens in the 1940s in cities like London built outdoor wire cages from their windows so that their children could benefit from fresh air.
A Scandi-style of parenting that sees babies napping outside is taking hold this winter (pictured)
Letting babies nap outside in the winter has also long been a common practice in Nordic countries such as Denmark, Finland and Norway.
The move dates back nearly 100 years – after a tuberculosis epidemic that swept through Iceland in the early 20th century was exacerbated by poorly ventilated housing.
In 1926, Icelandic doctor David Thorsteinsson published a pedagogy book that argued parents should let their children sleep outside in their strollers to get fresh air, even in cold weather, to strengthen their immune systems.
The tradition has been passed down from generation to generation, and it is common to see prams with sleeping babies parked outside houses, apartments, and even local businesses in countries such as Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.
Filming her baby’s ‘winter nap’ while in Denmark, one mother, thought to be from the Philippines, showed her little one wrapped up in wool layers, before being placed in a pram that included a thermal base, a sleeping bag and a cover.
She then placed a baby monitor in the pushchair before explaining that it was just five degrees outside but that she had ‘kept the warmth inside’ the pram.
‘Safe and sound. My baby can sleep two to four hours each nap… fresh air is healthy for everybody’, the captions over the footage explained.
Meanwhile, an American mother-of-four living in Denmark explained: ‘The Danish practice of having your baby sleep outside in their stroller, is not only the cultural norm, but it’s even recommended by our midwives and baby nurses.
While the Scandinavian trend has taken hold on social media, it’s not a completely new concept to Britain; families without gardens in the 1940s in cities like London built outdoor wire cages (pictured) from their windows so that their children could benefit from fresh air
An American mother living in Austria (pictured) explained on TikTok how she had adapted the idea so that the windows in her children’s bedrooms remain open only before they get into their warm beds
In clips shared on the social media platforms, parents showcase their babies tightly tucked into warm prams before being left outside homes, cafes and Shape Kapsel parks in the winter weather
The technique is making waves through TikTok and Instagram as people from around the world embrace the idea of their children getting a better sleep by benefitting from the cold
‘Fresh air is said to keep babies healthy and help them sleep better, and napping your baby in their stroller outside is done in all sorts of weather.
‘It’s common to leave your baby napping outside while you go shopping or sit in a café. Parents always keep a close eye or have a baby monitor in the stroller.’
She continued: ‘Babies hear don’t get kidnapped because nobody wants the responsibility of someone else’s kid, especially when our healthcare system does everything they can to help everyone who wants a baby to have their own at little or no cost.
‘Some people ask why I would have my baby sleep in her stroller outside while we’re at home, it’s for her to get the benefits of fresh air.’
Elsewhere, an American mother living in Austria explained on TikTok how she had adapted the idea so that the windows in her children’s bedrooms remain open only before they get into their warm beds.
It’s not just babies that benefit from a cold sleeping space; one social media user who grew up in England explained how she has a hot shower and then a cold bedroom so that her temperature decreases to result in a more restful sleep.
A nanny supervising a baby suspended in a wire cage attached to the outside of a high block window in Chelsea in June 1937
A two-year-old in Hampstead, London, in 1948, is pictured in an outdoor cage, left. Pictured right, a baby getting fresh air by being placed in an outdoor cage
Decades of research has linked cold exposure to a myriad of benefits including boosting the immune system, while a 2008 Finnish study found that children ‘took longer naps outdoors compared with naps taken indoors’.
However, there is a risk of hypothermia in the cold weather, and experts say it’s critical that children are bundled up properly when outside.
‘A baby’s temperature can drop four times faster than adults, and they can become hypothermic,’ Dr. Jennifer Shu, a pediatrician in Atlanta, Georgia, told Insider in 2020.
But temperature aside, there is also a heightened risk of abduction, but there is a different level of trust in many Nordic countries, which are considered some of the safest in the world.
The rate of kidnapping in Norway, for instance, is 0.02 per 1,000 residents during a standard year, according to CrimeGrade.org.
In comparison, a child goes missing or is abducted every 40 seconds in the U.S. Approximately 840,000 American children are reported missing each year.
Parents have long believed time in the outdoors is a must for their children – and in the early 1900s, for instance, some of the only treatments for TB were fresh air and rest.
In the early 1900s, for instance, some of the only treatments for TB were fresh air and rest. In the years leading up to the Second World War, thousands of sickly children were sent to open air schools. Pictured is a rest period at the Elizabeth McCormick Open Air School in Chicago, circa 1910
So much so, thousands of sickly children were sent to open air schools, which were set up across Britain, Europe and America in the years leading up to the Second World War.
The movement was built on the concept that fresh air, good ventilation and exposure to the outside could prevent the spread of tuberculosis and improve the health of ‘sickly’ people across the world.
The movement started in Germany with the creation of ‘Forest school for sickly children’ in Berlin in 1904 – which was designed to tackle tuberculosis.
Other cities adopted them soon after – the first open air school in England was built in Bostall Wood, London in 1907 and New York’s first outdoor school launched in 1908 on an abandoned ferry.
However after the Second World War, opinions towards open-air schools changed dramatically. Standards of living improved and new treatments, including antibiotics had been introduced, leading to a decline in tuberculosis.
How the COLD can be good for you (yes, really!)
ByRebecca Whittaker For MailonlineIt may not sound as pleasant as soaking yourself in a warm bath.
However, experts insist that taking a cold dip — even if it’s brief — will do wonders for your health.
Decades of research has linked cold exposure, whether in the form of a shower, bath or run outdoors during the depths of winter, to a myriad of benefits.
From boosting the immune system, helping you lose weight and cutting down stress levels, MailOnline explores why embracing the cold may be the secret to better health.
Plunging into cold water or taking a brisk walk in the chill air could have a myriad of health benefits from boosting your immune system to improving your fitness
Boosts immune system
Turning on the cold tap when showering, even just for 30 seconds, can bolster the immune system, experts say.
It’s thought the shock of the cold water stimulates leukocytes — white blood cells that fight-off infections.
In fact, those who add a cold blast of water to their showers take fewer sick days, according to a 2016 study in the Netherlands.
Researchers recruited more than 3,000 participants, aged 18 to 65, who didn’t normally take cold showers.
Those who switched to cold showers for 30, 60 or 90 seconds for three months were found to call in sick 29 per cent less than those who kept the water warm.
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