Norwegian children in licensed day care have the RIGHT to go outside daily.
The daycare is only allowed to skip the trip out if outdoor temperatures are
less than minus 10 degrees Celsius, and time outside is curtailed by one
hour in the winter months, all 4-6 of them.  The slogan 'There's no such
thing as bad weather, just bad clothing' is a national mantra.

Infants sleep in prams from when they are born, and the pram is placed
outdoors at naptime from the very early weeks, unless temperatures are below
freezing.  'EVERYONE' knows that babies sleep best outside, in their prams.
It is a very rare Norwegian adult who sleeps with bedroom window closed,
even mid-winter.  Most bedrooms are kept chilly, and duvets assure adequate
warmth while in bed.  I myself have lived here for so long that I feel
suffocated if the temperature in my bedroom is over 10 degrees C (about 50
degrees F).  In a real heat wave, with nighttime lows of 20 degrees C, we
have problems sleeping at all.

On the other hand, 'drafts', which are currents of moving air inside
buildings, are known by all to be the cause of many ills, including
respiratory infections, rheumatism, stiff necks, urinary tract infections
and mastitis.  BF women are advised not to spend much time rummaging through
the deep freezer, or hanging wet laundry out in less than summer warmth.
They are also advised to wear wool underwear around their torsos during
lactation, even in spring and fall, as those are the times of year one can
be fooled into believing it is mild when the air is still 'sharp' and thus
constitutes a potential threat to health.

Just as a curiosity, urinary tract infections are also caused by sitting on
cold surfaces.  The role of microbes is known, but chilling is seen as an
essential potentiating factor, without which bacteria are of little
consequence.

Despite all this, I am asked by new parents every summer when they can take
the baby outside, as the standard advice around my maternity ward is 'after
14 days'.  This advice is constant year-round, even when ambient
temperatures exceed the inside temperature in most homes.

By the way, US Americans have a reputation for going everywhere, including
to the toilet, by automobile.  Norwegians like to think of themselves as
great walkers and lovers of the out-of-doors, but the tendency is for more
and more travel to be by private automobile, and more and more shopping to
be done in enclosed shopping malls.  But the children are still given
outdoor time every day in day care, and at school.

toasty warm in my study
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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