Parenting

UNH Cooperative Extension family and consumer resource educators provide ongoing education and support to families and professionals serving families across the state. In addition, each month one of our education staff writes a feature article for Parenting New Hampshire magazine.

The latest of these monthly "Parenting 411" articles, containing evidence-based research on good parenting practices, can be found below.

This Month's Feature Article

Keeping Up Family Spirits During Winter

by Sue Buteau

Q: It’s winter. The temperature outside is sometimes frigid, and the days are often short and gloomy. How can I keep our family spirits up until the warmer sunny days arrive once again?

A: Winter is an exciting season for families who find seasonal sports thrilling. Families with very young children find it unwise, unsafe, or impossible to include everyone in the family in sports like snow machining, skiing, or winter hikes. Short activities like building a snowman, skating, or sledding allow you to protect against frostbite. Every parent who has bundled a child in layers to protect against bitter winds has heard, “Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom!” Winter activities are a challenge for young families.

Like anything in life, results are more rewarding when well planned. In New Hampshire, we can depend on changing seasons, and changing lifestyle between January and July. Rather than worrying about the winter doldrums, plan events for your family that you might be too busy for in summer.

Like temperature, the winter palette is a cool range of gray, pale blues and purples, soft brown and deep greens. Color warms and excites us! How cheerful is your home? Do the accessories in your home reflect the warm colors of yellow, orange or red? Could you make small changes that brighten your home? When your family sits for dinner, is your table bright with deeply colored vegetables and fruits? Mealtime is more fun, especially served on fun placemats that you’ve crafted with your children.

Try focusing on the arts during winter. Explore galleries, especially those with exhibits that might really interest children. Local artists are more ‘real’ when your family can meet and talk with them about their work. One of my children became very interested in a Maine artist that we met on a coastal vacation, and now, as an adult, her home decor includes many of his paintings. She was inspired to experiment with many different art forms in college.

Winter is also a wonderful time to visit science museums, especially those with children in mind. Consider the Montshire Museum, located in Norwich, Vermont, just five miles from Hanover. Learn about upcoming events and activities at the Children’s Museum in Dover, New Hampshire at http://www.childrens-museum.org/cmnh.

On those days when travel is best avoided, take a new approach to ordinary activities. Read books together, and make the characters come alive by creating them with sugar cookie dough. Your child will learn to measure and mix, dabble in kitchen chemistry, and learn skills that will last a lifetime. Best of all, you’ll have fun together making memories.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to capture those memories in pictures. If you have a digital camera, have you shown your toddler how to use it? The world looks very different through the eyes of a child, and their photography is reflective of how they see life around them. A couple of my grandchildren began taking pictures when they were two, and some of our heartiest laughter has been the result of their perspective. When my children were young, we had to consider the cost of film and developing. In this digital age, that’s not a worry. My granddaughter just received her very own digital camera for her third birthday, and she’s having a wonderful time as a photographer!

If your children love to swim, but there isn’t an indoor pool in your community, consider a weekend at a hotel with a pool. It doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy, just an opportunity to be together for a special mid-winter treat. Consider clipping coupons and banking your savings. Encourage your children to help save for a mini-vacation during the darkest time of the year.

It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it’s fun for you and your children. The cold winter months will fly by, and when the summer begins to wind to a close, you’ll look forward to a different and exciting season of family activities.

Sue Buteau is an Extension Educator in Family and Consumer Resources, with UNH Cooperative Extension in Coös County. For more information contact the Coös County at 603-788-4961 or email them at coos@ceunh.unh.edu.