Nordic napping

[suedehead]

So, I spotted this one this morning:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21537988

Whilst at first you may think 'blimey', I can actually see the logic! Anyone tried this? Do you reckon it leads to healthier children?

Are we all just paranoid about someone nicking our babies...!?

[EldonAve]

Mine would be wrapped up for outside naps at my parents. Wouldn't do it in London though

[LindaMcCartneySausage]

Very common in Scotland too. I napped through freezing temperatures outside. We were all shoved to the bottom of the garden in our prams for naps come rain or shine. I would have done it with DS if we'd had a garden, but we're in central London now with a yard and a massive fox problem, so I am less keen.

[mrsshackleton]

My worry would be cats and foxes.

[girliefriend]

My friends sil is from Norway and we were all a little bit as she always left her ds and dd out the front of her house in the pram for naps.

You couldn't eaisly see the pram from the house and she always had the front door shut. Obv the babies were fine but don't think I would have felt comfortable doing this.

Can however see the benefits of sleeping outside if you are confident the baby is warm and safe.

[PolkadotCircus]

Yes in the old days you had bigger,higher up prams with pram nets,not sure re some of today's flimsy buggies re foxes,cats or wind.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

I used to be left in the pram down the bottom of the garden in the 60's by DM.

I'm a bit about whether I was always sleeping contentedly though !

But perhaps it did me some good after all ?

[TheThickPlottens]

I couldn't bring myself to do it with the dcs. It's the norm where I am but as I'm a blow in, it was a bit too different for me. The temperatures were below freezing when they were little so I took the easier option of plonking myself on the couch and letting them sleep in my arms.

Once I saw on the local tv that it was the swaddling feeling that gave them a good nap and not the air. They are really bundled up.

And last year a baby was stolen from outside the house. It was found hours later, alive and fine. A child had taken the baby and put it in a snow pile and left it there. So location and being able to see the baby is important. A baby monitor in the pram would be a good idea though.

[CaurnieBred]

Did this with DD but our garden is enclosed and if it was really closed then she would be in the garage with the door to the back garden open. She was put outside in her pram wherever we were - friends, holiday. She did this until she was around 2 years old. She only slept indoor for naps when she was at daycare.

If it was very cold/wet then the cover would be over the buggy, otherwise the shadeababe would be over it.

She was well wrapped up - snowsuit, hat, woollen blanket, etc when the weather demanded it. I could see no difference to that than her falling asleep if we were outside walking.

She was/has been a very healthy child. Whether this has anything to do with her outdoor napping I have no idea.

[CaurnieBred]

If it were really "cold". And I am in north London by the way.

[ppeatfruit]

caurniebred I agree. I was never happy unless I could see and hear my DCs when they were asleep I would say to myself 'better to be safe than sorry'
IMO the cat nets are not really cat proof and definitely not fox proof!

[Whatsthatnoise]

My dd always napped outside as a baby I think its the norm here (Scotland). I don't think the fresh air did her any harm however she is always ill so it definitely didn't make her any healthier.

[ppeatfruit]

sorry I meant I agree with TheThickPlottens

[NorthernLurker]

One of my scottish sils does this. I did a bit but it wasn't too easy to get our pram in to our back garden - no side access and getting it through the house was a performance. What I did do was take them out for walks a lot and they would nap then. Dh has visited friends of ours in Sweden and seen their wee son napping outside in the snow. He was frankly horrified but they showed him the layers etc and he came home saying it was brilliant! I thionk it's a good idea. Especially in more northern countries when you need to get the dc outside as much as possible so they get whatever sunlight they can. no good raising children who can't bear to be outside.

[louisianablue2000]

Another north of scotland baby that was put out for naps here. My cousin still lives there and did it with her kids.

I think 'northern' people tend to have a more positive view of cold weather, just think of the forest nurseries that are popular in Scandinavia and Germany (there are a few in Scotland as well now!) where the LOs are outside all the time. Some of my ILs are from very hot countries and they are amazed at me having the windows open every day to air the house and complain if they have to out in anything other than roasting weather.

[louisianablue2000]

Oh, I was also going to say at DD1's school there are big signs up saying don't take pushchairs into the school. There is a playground just outside the classroom that is not visible from the main road and yet at pickup time the majority of people with pushchairs take them into the school to queue instead of leaving them outside for five minutes. I feel negligent leaving DS outside even though I'm sure they want to keep the corridors clear for fire safety reasons and I can't imagine another parent would want to steal someone else's baby.

[Inertia]

I avoided the nursery that put babies outside to sleep and brought them indoors to play . We picked the one which put the babies / children in cots / quiet room to sleep, and took them outside for most of the rest of the day for nature walks in the woods, playing in the fields and on outdoor play equipment. We did the same at home too - outside to play rather than sleep. I think it's more beneficial to actually be awake and interacting with the environment in their outdoor time.

If a baby is sleeping outside because that's where everyone else is then fair enough .

[BadMissM]

My mother used to do it all the time, with my brother and I, but very wrapped up and in an ancient Silver Cross pram the size of a tank.... I grew up in London in the 60s/70s! When I was a child, you'd often see prams parked outside houses or cafes with sleeping babies inside. That said, don't think the tank like prams were too welcome IN shops and cafes...

DD was at creche in France, and they spent a large part of the time outside. If it was afternoon nap time and they fell asleep outside, they used to cover them and put them somewhere shady... (that said, Paris was warmer on the whole and they had a lovely enclosed garden....)

Would be lovely if we all had nice outside spaces to put sleeping babies!

[prettybird]

Never seen a problem with it. In fact, did it occasionally with ds.

Another one from Scotland.

[chesticles]

I often put my babies in a pram and went for a walk to get them to sleep, and then left them in the garden when I came back. They always seemed to have better naps when sleeping outside. Would do it in all sorts of weather, even if raining, as we have a small veranda so they were sheltered from the rain. I'd just check on them every 10 minutes. I've no idea if it helps with viruses etc, but it made then sleep better which is all I cared about. I'm another Scottish one, so maybe it's more normal up here

[OutsideOverThere]

Oh wow, we have that pram actually all three

I love Swedish prams

[OutsideOverThere]

Top pic is a Teutonia (German actually)

Bottom has two Emmaljungas I think

FYI

[OutsideOverThere]

(I realise no one asked for that info)

[poachedeggs]

IMO this is more to do with spending less time indoors sharing stuffy airspace with other DC than it is to do with them better in the cold. That's the health benefit that I can see anyway.

[surroundedbyblondes]

We live in Sweden now and I have had DD2 sleep both indoors and outdoors. Both have benefits imo, but certainly haven't seen low temps as a reason not to. As others have said, sturdy prams, outdoor lifestyle and very good clothing are key to doing it imo. DD2 settled and slept happily outdoors and at 2 she still naps like that if the situation warrants it. I have always kept her in my sight though, parked in front of the window.
At her nursery the rules on supervision ratios mean that the children don't nap outside. Some parents I talked to thought this was a classic example of health & safety gone mad.