Is My Kid
Cold or Hot?

The full narration of the video.

A child's cold little hands don't always mean they're cold. Before heading out in winter, a grown-up touches the kid's hand. It's cold, so on goes one more layer. A little while later, the kid's back is soaked in sweat.

So do cold hands mean cold, or not? Let's find the answer on your own body first. Touch your fingers, then put your hand on the back of your neck.

Most likely your fingers feel cooler, and your neck warmer. Yet you don't feel cold. Your body works a bit like a house with heating in winter. The boiler sits in the chest and belly. The heart and lungs live there, and they must stay warm.

Warm blood flows through pipes to every room. The hands and feet are the little rooms at the end of the hall. When it gets chilly, the body turns down the valves to those little rooms. The heat stays in the main room. So cold hands and feet often mean the body is saving heat. The main room is still cozy.

Those valves are the tiny blood vessels in fingers and toes. When they narrow, less warm blood gets through. The hands cool down, and fingertips can even look a little pale. Doctors call this vasoconstriction. When your own fingers go pale in winter, that's it at work.

In kids it's even more obvious. Small hands lose heat fast, and their valve control is still developing. And when it's hot? The valves open wide, and hands and feet turn warm and pink. Hotter still, and the body opens the windows: it sweats. In kids, sweat shows up first on the head and the back of the neck.

So to tell if a child is cold, skip the little rooms. Check the main room. Slip your hand into the back of the collar, or onto the back, for two seconds. Warm and dry: just right.

Damp or sweaty: too many clothes. Take one off. Cool to the touch: that's really cold. Add a layer. Not right after crying or running, though. The body is extra warm then, so you'll get it wrong.

A young baby can wear one more layer than an adult. A kid who runs and jumps is a little boiler. Dressing about the same as you is enough. Don't bundle a sleeping baby too warmly. Getting too hot isn't safe.

One case to watch for: cold hands and feet, a hot neck, and a droopy kid. That may be a fever starting. Take their temperature, and follow your doctor's advice. Tonight, after your kid falls asleep, feel the back of their neck.

Then come back and tell us: warm and dry, or a handful of sweat?