Hardening procedures for children are carried out in order to increase the body's resistance to the action of different temperatures. By hardening, many diseases can be prevented. It should be carried out with the permission of the pediatrician.
Hardening procedures help to strengthen the child's nervous system, promote the development of bones and muscles, activate metabolism, and improve the functioning of internal organs. Children perceive the impact of disease-causing factors worse.
Most hardeners are readily available and simple. By adhering to the basic principles of hardening, you can achieve a good effect:
- carry out the procedures systematically;
- it is necessary to take into account the child's mood, and the procedures are best carried out in the form of a game;
- when carrying out procedures, change the time and temperature gradually;
- hardening can be started at any age;
- do not allow the child to hypothermia during the procedures;
- when hardening, avoid strong irritants such as excessively low temperatures or overheating in the sun;
- choose the right clothes and shoes - it must correspond to the temperature regime and be made from natural materials and fabrics;
- combine hardening procedures with massage, exercise;
- hardening procedures are best done for the whole family at once.
Before you start hardening a child, be sure to consult a pediatrician. Newborn babies can be hardened from the age of 6-7 days. Procedures such as airing the room, walking in the fresh air, air baths, rubbing and dousing with water are used.
It is not difficult for babies to arrange such a hardening procedure as air baths. During dressing, swaddling, the baby is left to lie down without clothes on the changing table - very small for 2-3 minutes, and by the age of 6 months, the duration of the procedure is brought to 15 minutes. The room temperature should be 20-25 degrees.
For older children, intensive hardening methods are used, which involve brief body contact with cold air, snow or ice water. They are carried out in combination with traditional and contrasting procedures (foot baths, contrasting rubdowns, shower, sauna).
For children over two years of age, contrast drenching of the feet can be performed. Water is poured into two basins to such a level that it reaches the middle of the lower leg. In one basin, the water temperature should be 38-40 degrees, in the other in the first few days it should be 4-5 degrees lower. The child is shown to first lower his feet into a basin with hotter water and there he would chat with them for 2-3 minutes, then move his feet to another basin for half a minute. Change 5-6 times. The procedure should be daily. The temperature of the water in the second basin should be reduced by 1-2 degrees every 5 days and so brought to 17-12 degrees.
