Why Chinese parents let baby sweat?

M

meimeid

Registered User
Today I was on a longhaul flight to Europe and sitting next to a Chinese couple I noticed they really overdressed their bub. She was sweating like a pig and they kept wiping her sweat away. During the night they covered her with three blankets and put a thick coat over her head like a hat.
In the middle of the night they had to change her clothes because they were drenched... The girl didn't seem ill or anything.
I don't get it, why do they do this? I couldn't ask because I don't speak Mandarin. I thought maybe someone is able to satisfy my curiosity?
 
they don't just do it on flights. they do it ALL THE TIME. every class, i have to ask parents to please remove 2-3 layers of clothing. at 22C, i have kids coming to classes with 5-7 layers, including thermal layers!
 
I think most Chinese believe that you get sick from being cold and exposed to the elements, but not from being hot.
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My husband is Chinese and he believes that if a person sneezes that indicates that they are cold--in whatever temperature--even in the summer when it's hot. And the cure for sneezes is to add more layers of clothing. He tends to try to over-dress our children and he is slowly learning not to do that. For example, about three weeks ago our daughter was fussing and carrying on at bedtime. I said, "I think she is too hot...I'm going to take off a layer or two." He didn't believe me. But, sure enough, as soon as I removed the extra clothing she calmed down and was content. He did have to admit I was right. But, even though he has the tendency to over-dress our kids...at least it's not in 5-7 layers--maybe 1 or 2. ;) I think Chinese grandparents are the ones that keep this tradition alive. My parents-in-law LOVE to overdress my son. It's like a past-time. :P
 
i have the same problem with my chinese husband... i'm constantly saying, its 23C they don't need their winter jackets! LOL!
 
No, I don't agree with it. I'm a Chinese and I always dress the baby with only 1 more layer than myself. But my husband, who is an English, always asks me to put on more clothes for the baby.
 
It is not just a Chinese thing, may wife also puts on too many layers for our daughter - often 4 or 5 when I feel 3 would be fine.
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I'm Chinese and I tend to put 4 cotton layers on my daughter than one t-shirt and a down jacket. I believe that the 4 layers are more adjustable to the different temperatures outdoor, on buses/mtr, and indoor. My American husband used to believe in the "one shirt & jacket" until he realizes how malls in HK keeps their air-con blasting year round and there is no central heating, i.e. can't take jacket off indoor, but outdoor jacket is just too much.
 
Actually, I am Chinese myself, I was not meaning to generalize all Chinese. That's why I asked, because as a Chinese I did not understand. Seems to me that when you sweat, you are actually more prone to catch a cold if the temperature suddenly drops.
 
Not to mention, studies show that infants that suffer from over-heating are more prone to SIDS.

Personally, I also think that's why you see so much ecxema in infants here.
 
4 layers of cotton & a t-shirt & a jacket? can your child move properly with all of those layers? why do you need 4 layers of cotton? why not an undershirt, a t-shirt and a jumper... then a light jacket if necessary?
 
just realised i may have misread that post... is it 4 cotton layers THEN a t-shirt & jacket... or is it 4 cotton layers RATHER THAN a t-shirt and jacket?
 
Today it's 11-15 C. I took my 4-month-old baby out in ONE layer -- a thicker onsie with long sleeves and long legs. I threw on some sock and booties -- and that's it! In my bag, I had an extra blanket and hat just in case.
My baby goes out to the park every day and hasn't had a cold yet (touch wood). If she sneezes or coughs a little bit, we just wipe her nose and ignore it. Of course if (God forbid) she gets really ill, we will take her to the doctor. But normal winter-time sniffles are fine. I hope that she will grow up with the natural ability to adjust to the weather, unlike most Hong Kongers.
I met a mother of another 4-month-old in my building lobby, and her kid looked like she was being dressed for a ski holiday in the Arctic. Poor thing was totally red in the face from overheating.
When my parents first emigrated to Canada in the 1970s, their doctors yelled at them for overdressing us in the winter. They said that it led to sweaty babies -- which, ironically, leads to chills, as well as skin sores. The Canadian doctors also told them that overly tight or stuffy clothing can obstruct circulation. If your child is red and sweaty, this is a sign that circulation is being blocked.
Since then, none of the babies in our family have been overdressed.
Plus, HK is a tropical island. It gets a bit chilly here in winter, but it's not a cold place.
PS. My family are Chinese.
 
Carang: it's "rather than." And the 4 cotton layers are spaghetti straps under shirt, short-sleeves t-shirt, long-sleeve t-shirt and a thin cotton hoodie.
 
that sounds more reasonable...;) i would probably forget the short-sleeves t-shirt and just put on a slightly heavier hoody (which, where i'm from, we call... a BUNNY HUG!)
 
As some people have mentioned layering clothes--I really don't think there's anything wrong with putting layers on if your intention is that some of the layers are going to come off at some time. But, we were at a school picnic last Spring in May and it was a pretty warm and sunny day. In the morning it was cool but when the sun came out it was hot and we were outside all day and there wasn't much shade at all. I had dressed my son in his school sweatsuit in the morning but by afternoon he had a tank top on. His little friend, a little girl was still dressed in the sweatsuit but she had an extra sweater and a t-shirt on underneath it! Her family was there with her but they wouldn't take anything off--she was sweating so much that her hair was soaked and the helper had to keep changing the towel that was stuffed down the back of her shirt because it was getting soaked with sweat. So, layering is great for the many "climate changes" (air con to non-air con to outside etc.) we experience in HK but...sometimes you have to take a few (or many) layers off. :)
 
There are occasions when DH & I are dressed a layer more than our toddler when it gets cold It seems like it gets colder for us easier than for him...
Talk abt the hanky, this hanky-behind-kid's neck thingy here is quite a contradicting practice...The other day I saw 2 kids from a same family at our clubhouse playground dressed in 3 layers or so- top being a thick sweater, both with hankies hung from behind their necks They were apparently the ones sweating non-stop and the hankies were all wet! When we first got here we bought a set of clothes for LO & didn't realize inside the packaging comes with a hanky with some odd cutting It was until the first debut of a hanky hung from the back of the neck of a little plumb boy sweating away I witnessed did I realized what the odd-shaped piece of cloth we have was about So surprised they even offer hankies with a 'convenient' design for such purpose!
 
Ureshii3 said:
When we first got here we bought a set of clothes for LO & didn't realize inside the packaging comes with a hanky with some odd cutting It was until the first debut of a hanky hung from the back of the neck of a little plumb boy sweating away I witnessed did I realized what the odd-shaped piece of cloth we have was about So surprised they even offer hankies with a 'convenient' design for such purpose!
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Are you serious?! That is so funny!
 
OK, I'll admit that it was chilly last night. Baby went to bed in a long-sleeved onsie, and a thick sleeping bag, and a blanket tucked firmly into the sides of the mattress.
But still -- if your baby is sweating, he/she is too hot and will probably get sick from being wet.
 
Gracey said:
if your baby is sweating, he/she is too hot and will probably get sick from being wet.
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While being cold, hot or wet can be uncomfortable for anyone (especially young ones), I'm not aware of any illnesses that you could pick up from such situations.
 
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