The Heat Wave is Coming
Oh dear! It is about to get hot.
As a child growing up in Texas/California, it felt like I was immune to the heat. I don’t know if it is because I am older or because I’ve acclimated to Montana’s cooler weather after being here for almost 20 years, but I am not looking forward to the heat. Unfortunately as someone who doesn’t handle being cooped up inside with two hyper kids, I’ll have to spend some time outside. Here are my plans to survive:
Get out early. Usually I try and take my toddler outside after lunch. Not anymore. Sorry neighbors, be prepared to hear shrieks of delight at 7am. And yes, we are in our pajamas. Taking the time to get dressed means more time for it start to heating up.
Stay out late. I would lie and say my big kid will go outside early, but he won’t. He’s not that much of a morning person. I’ll let him play longer outside when it’s cooler. Sorry neighbors, you are now hearing the screams of a Zombie Hunter after dinner. Thank goodness there is no school.
Shade. If I’m outside, I’m in the shade. For the young one I’ll set up art supplies. We usually color and paint outside, so that’ll keep him there for a while. With the older one, we’ve done “observe nature” a couple times. Aka try to find something cool in the natural world that you might usually overlook. I’ll just make sure that cool thing involves shade.
Hydrate. If anyone looks at me, they are drinking water. There’ll also be a lot of fruit on the menu. Luckily for me both boys eat fruit, luckier for me they both like watermelon.
Water games! We have a splash pad that connects to the hose. Both boys love it. The big one uses it as a slip and slide, the small one uses it to yell at. A hose by itself is also great. Toddler loves to fill up containers with water. Ten year old likes to play whatever game he’s playing (generally lasers). With my toddler I’ve also filled a container up with ice and gave him a spoon so he could move them into another container. He just used his hands, but he had a blast.
Sunscreen. 10-15 minutes before going outside and reapplied frequently.
Privacy. (At least during the day.) Our blinds will be closed the moment it starts feeling warm. Good luck figuring out what’s going on at our place. Are we re-modeling our entire house, is that a jackhammer you hear? Or are the boys having a contest on who can cause the most chaos in the shortest amount of time? (Actually we are probably placing balloons in front of fans/air conditioners and then chasing them down as they blow away.) You won’t know what’s going on until it cools down outside and I open the blinds and windows to let cool air in.
For water around Missoula, the splash pads are open again this summer and so are Currents (http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/161/Aquatics) and Splash Montana (http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/169/Splash-Montana). There are some river areas to play with kids at Kelley Island, Council Groves, and Greenough Park. Please make sure the water isn’t too high or too fast and that you are touch distance from your kids.
Have fun staying cool! Also don’t push yourself or your kids. Know when it is time to go inside and cool down.
Check out these helpful tips from the CDC on how to about heat stroke and exhaustion.
