Kent Professor warns parents of heat stress in children
Temperatures are set to hit highs across the South East again this weekend.
Professor Kristy Howells, from Canterbury Christchurch University, is highlighting the importance of heat literacy, especially as temperatures are set to rise.
What is Heat Stress?
Speaking to Hits and Greatest Hits Radio Kent, Prof Howells said:
"Heat stress is basically the environmental challenge.
"So as we go into next week and we're about to hit our 35 degrees, that's the environmental impact of the heat stress that's about to impact on you and your body.
"This then causes heat strain, which is what the body does in terms of response to the extreme heat.
"So what happens physiologically is we often get increased heart rate, increased sweating, increased core temperature, dehydration, a bit of fatigue, sometimes reduced cognitive functioning, and just overall load."
The issue can be found in both adults and children, but children often struggle more in high temperatures, as they are less able to self-regulate.
Understanding Heat Stress in Children
Children often struggle to recognise the physical cues for hydration and overheating, according to Professor Howells:
"What we can see in children in particular is they just become too hot.
"They then lose their concentration. They have real difficulty in terms of emotional regulation or decision making.
"And it develops before it's visibly seen."
One main factor is that children, particularly under the age of nine, struggle to tell when they are dehydrated, wearing too many layers or overheating until the situation has already become an inconvenience.
She added that the lack of emotional regulation can lead to behavioural problems without assistance:
"You can really see it because their emotional regulation just goes.
"So they'll suddenly have emotional outbursts or they'd be irritable and that's the biggest one to be able to see, or they'll suddenly be actively playing and they just stop because actually they've just got really unusual fatigue.
"They get dizzy, which they're not used to, and then headaches.
"Poor co-ordination is another good sign that you can look for, or they just become disengaged.
" So that's when normally they're absorbed in their play or their sport or their activity. Instead they're just not really being engaged or excited about it."
But, Professor Howells added, there were ways for parents to prevent heat stress from developing into an issue.
Preventive Measures for Parents
Professor Howell said there were five main steps parents could take to help their children avoid heat stress during the hot weather:
"Firstly, encourage them to drink even before they feel thirsty, so we're having active drinks all the way through the day.
"Think about moving more or doing more activities at the beginning of the day, or the end of the day, so that we're avoiding the midday heat.
"Build in regular cooling and shading breaks so that we actually actively go, right, time out, we're having a cooling break or we're going to go and play in the shade. So that just becomes our normal behaviour.
"We need to be cautious of artificial surfaces, because they're going to be significantly hotter.
"Even things like slides, we need to be careful of in playgrounds.
"And then just watch for those signs. So irritable; fatigue, headaches, dizziness, emotional deregulation.
"There are our big signs that we need to you know, do something before we go into full physiological strain."
On keeping playtime enjoyable she added:
"We don't want to stop them. It's not about stopping play. It's not about stopping about being outside. It's about how do we do it."
As heat waves become more frequent due to climate change, adopting these habits can help build resilience in both children and adults, ensuring safer outdoor activities.