Things you should definitely be doing with your kids during the monsoon, especially if it’s their first monsoon.

With the sweet scent of the soil, the monsoons bring along a refreshing and rejuvenating sensation. But with it also comes special care that your children will require during the rain, especially if your baby is experiencing the rain for the first time. In this blog, we will discover some activities to keep your little ones engaged while it pours outside, some tips that will help keep your children healthy during the rainy season, and how they should experience their first rain. If your baby is experiencing rain for the first time, you might want to stick around till the end because we have some tips at the end that might help.

1.  Indoor activities

While it rains outside with gloomy weather, why don’t you spend some quality time with your children indoors? Here are some amazing activities to do indoors while it rains.

• Building Pillow Castles: We sure have built an amazing pillow castle at some point in our childhood, so why not share the experience with the kids? Building pillow castles is a great way to bond with your children as they learn what it takes to stack pillows that are different from building blocks which will help with their imagination and motor skills. Also, put in some hint of your imagination and roleplay with your kids about rain and building shelters for pillow castles.

• Telling Stories: Once the pillow castles are done, why not put them to some use? Get cosy with your little one in the pillow castle and share some stories over a cup of warm milk with them. Also, encouraging them to tell stories will enhance their imagination and help with their verbal ability.

• Puzzles: If your kids are tired of the stories and want to get out of the pillow castle, need not worry, give them some puzzles and they will be busy for some time.  Puzzles help develop problem-solving skills, cognitive skills, and critical thinking in children. Check out our collection of non-toxic and eco-friendly wooden puzzles for kids on the Mother Touch Toys website to keep them entertained.

• Arts and Crafts: If the puzzles are done, give your children some pencils and paper and let their inner artist out.  Arts and crafts help develop imagination and creativity, improve fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and boost self-esteem and confidence. Also, spending time with children doing art can be relaxing and stress relieving for children as well as parents.

• Music and Dance:  If the colours and craft papers are over you might want to switch to another form of art to keep your kids enjoying the rain even more. Play some rainy nursery rhymes or local folk music related to rain which will make them closer to their roots. Listening to music encourages sensory development, increases social skills, improves language skills and it is also a very great method of relaxing and decreases anxiety in children.

2.  Splashing in the Rain

It is fun indoors, but what’s better than enjoying the rain while splashing around and getting wet? It’s more than just having fun because playing in the rain is a good sensory activity for kids and is found to increase appreciation for nature in kids. Here are some tips to keep in mind while you and your children enjoy in the rain.

 

• Rain Gear: It’s good for kids to get wet in the rain but rain gear is also something kids can have fun in. A good raincoat and rainy boots are good enough to keep children from getting wet; also, a small umbrella would complete the outfit and the children would look more adorable in it. Rain gear allows kids to enjoy rain and not get fully wet, which is also a great way to have fun.

• Drying: It is very important to dry kids immediately after they are done playing in the rain to ensure that they don’t catch a cold. Keep A dry towel handy so that when the children come in their bodies are dried and they have no water on them. Also, keep a pair of dry and warm clothes ready so that they change immediately after getting dried. Also, get them something warm to drink after some time so that they get comfortable.

• Time in the rain: It is very important to spend the right amount of time in the rain or it will be an invitation to cold and fever for children. It is not a hard and fast rule that you have to allow your kids in the rain a fixed time as it also depends upon the intensity of the rain but it’s okay for them to be in the for a few minutes upon how the rain is.

• Supervision: It’s good to have an eye out for your children when they are enjoying the rain to make sure that they are having a fun and safe time. It’s even better if you join them as it will be a more enjoyable experience for them.

3.  Food and Water 

The monsoon comes with not just a cosy atmosphere; it also brings in many diseases with it. It is better to take precautions so that your children can healthily enjoy the rain.

• Make sure proper hygiene is maintained when cooking. Vegetables and fruits should be washed thoroughly, and food should be cooked properly before consumption.

• Try to include more fruits in their diets for their nourishment as being healthy is more important during the rainy season as there are more chances of them getting ill. 

• Street food should be avoided as much as possible during the rainy season as it is more at risk of being contaminated. Best go for home-cooked food as much as possible.

• Water is the most important and the most likely carrier of disease during the rainy season. Make sure the water is filtered and purified before consumption; even boiling the water helps in reducing the pathogens in the water.

• Consider using Probiotic foods in their diets such as yoghurt that are very helpful to the immune system and will keep your kids in great health throughout the season.

4.  First Monsoon

Baby’s firsts are very important, birthdays, words, steps, and monsoons as well. It is important to be extra cautious when your baby is experiencing its first monsoon. Here are some long-awaited tips (since you’ve read this far) for babies experiencing their first monsoons.

 

• Indoor Activities:

There is a wide range of activities that you can do with your baby indoors while it is raining. Below are some activities that will help babies have a great time.

• You can start by showing around the rain from your window and let them feel the cool breeze, raindrops, and sweet smell of the ground. This exercise will be beneficial for their sensory organs to develop. Sensory play should usually start when the baby is around 6 months old. 

• Telling your little one some stories in the rain while being expressive about it can have a great effect on the baby’s behaviour and emotional stability. “Still Face Experiment” conducted by Dr Edward Tronick states that having an expressive session with your baby vastly affects their behaviour and emotions positively, and having fewer expressions or still faces while interacting with your baby can cause them to grow wary and start crying. So, go ahead and behave like a baby with your baby.

• Music is one of the most powerful tools which will help your baby grow. When it is raining outside, sing some local folk songs and traditional songs about rain that will have your baby close to its roots right from the start. Music is said to increase creativity in kids, enhance motor skills and language skills, and develop emotional intelligence and hearing ability.

• First time in the rain:

Getting wet for the first time in the rain is a great sensation for babies as it will help them develop their sensory organs and get closer to nature. Here are some things to keep in mind.

• Start with a little water on your hands and legs and let them feel the falling rain from some distance from the actual falling water to prevent the baby from catching a cold.

• Eventually, you can let your baby in the rain when they are around 6 months old while having some rain gear like raincoats, boots, and umbrellas with them so that they get less wet. This should be done only when it is drizzling and in low rain. Do not let babies out when it is raining heavily.

• Also, be cautious about the surroundings your baby is playing in, supervise carefully and don’t let them play where there are stagnant water bodies as they might have mosquitos near them.

• Keep dry and warm clothes handy with a towel to wipe the baby gently. Dry the baby as soon as they get out of the rain and dress them quickly to make sure they don’t catch a cold. 

• Make certain that your baby is wearing warm clothes and ensure that the baby is comfortable and warm after the session.

• Food and water:

Food and water are the most important things that are to be made sure are safe during the monsoon for babies. 

• Babies should be continued to breastfed from time to time during the day, to make sure that essential nutrients are being given to the babies to keep them healthy, especially during the rainy season.

• Babies above 6 months who have started consuming water in small amounts should be given boiled water after it cooled down in small quantities. 

• If the baby has started consuming solid foods, give them fresh and properly boiled fruits and veggies that are rich in minerals and vitamins to boost their immunity during the rainy season.

The Monsoons can be very enjoyable for your little ones especially those who are going to experience it for the first time. With the help of the tips mentioned, you and your baby will have a healthy and memorable monsoon. Embrace this season as an occasion to bond with your young ones and make valuable memories out of it. Mother Touch Toys wishes a Happy Monsoon to you and your loved ones. Be safe and enjoy the rain.