Why does my child struggle to wear warm clothes and blankets in Winter?

Does your child sometimes find it challenging to wear jumpers, long pants or thicker clothes during the colder months? You’re not alone – so many families and kids find it tricky to go through this change in the colder months. This can happen for neurodivergent individuals when they go through changes of season because of their nervous system and interoception.

Interoception is a function of the interoceptive system, which helps inform our brains of our internal body signals. Some of these body signals can be for hunger/thirst, if we need to go to the toilet and the state of our internal body temperature. The interoceptive system can also influence our emotions, mood and the state of our wellbeing.

So how does this relate to cold weather? Well, your child’s internal make up and state, will depend on how they react to changes with weather. If your child’s interoceptive system is over-responsive, this can mean that your child can feel things quickly and intensely. So they may be putting on and taking off a jumper multiple times during the day with slight changes in weather. Whereas a child that has an under-responsive interoceptive system, may not feel changes in temperature (inside and outside of their body) until there is a very intense body feeling. This can look like a child staying in their shorts and shirt until they have goosebumps or their teeth are chattering or sweating and having a red face in a jumper when they are playing at lunch time.

Other reasons a child might prefer to not wear long clothes or use thick blankets in Winter is that they do not like the feeling (tactile and deep pressure input) of the clothes on their body. This sensation can cause them to feel irritated at times because they don’t like having clothes covering their entire body; the clothes may feel different with their fit – be more restrictive or more flowy or be tight around areas that they don’t like (like elastic bands around the bottom of tracksuit pants); or, the clothes and blankets might feel heavy on their bodies.

With all of this in mind, how do we help keep our children warm during the colder months? Here are some general strategies that might help you and your child:

• If possible, having the heater on inside the home at a comfortable, warmer temperature.

• Using a heated blanket or mattress topper to warm your child’s bed before they go to sleep.

• Drawing down your blinds or curtains in the late afternoon (before the sun goes down) – to block cold air from coming through your windows and cooling the room down.

• Clothing with fabric like cotton, fleece or bamboo – are both warm and gentle on the skin, easier to wear than rigid fabrics like denim.

• Wear jumpers that have a zip compared to pull over jumper – easier to take on and off; your child can also regulate their temperature more, by having the jumper zipped up to where they prefer. For example, having it zipped halfway so they are warm, but not overheating.

• Use of compression garments (e.g., compression singlets) under jumpers, to help to maintain body warmth, while providing a deep pressure sensory input.

• Depending on your child’s food preferences – offering warm meals or drinks like soup, hot milk or hot chocolate; this can help your child stay warm from the inside out!

• Using insulated cups and bowls to keep hot meals and drinks warm.

• Single use heat patches that you can place on your child’s skin – can easily be bought from the chemist.

• Pre-warming clothes in the dryer, so it isn’t too cold to get changed into clothes.

Please keep in mind to talk to your OT about strategies and support for your child, that are specific to their needs!

References

Fitzgibbon, C., & O’Sullivan, J. (2018). Sensory modulation: Changing how you feel through using your senses. Resource manual. Sensory Modulation.

Mahler, K. J., & Craig, A. D. (2016). Interoception: the eighth sensory system: practical solutions for improving self-regulation, self-awareness and social understanding of individuals with autism spectrum and related disorders. AAPC Publishing.