Winter means staying warm – sometimes easier said than done for someone who can’t really articulate whether they are hot or cold (and who generally prefers to be cooler than warm). So trying to find easy ways for others to help keep Mac warm (but not overheated) in winter needed some thought.
Jumpers get very bundled up under harnesses and seem to be uncomfortable. Jackets are really awkward to put on and off with Mac’s high muscle tone – the solutions need to be easy, efficient and flexible.
Here are some of the items in Mac’s ‘winter kit’:
leg warmers / arm warmers
- no need to get out of the chair just to adjust layers.
- quick and easy to put on and take off
- can be used for either legs or arms
- take up less room in the bag than extra jumpers
- we use royal blue for arms (and legs on sports day) and grey for legs
These are so great we also use them out of school we have some very cool swallow, skull and argyle varieties – fantastic for change of seasons and really handy to have in a small pocket on the wheelchair.
Our favourite suppliers are both in the US on Etsy at:
[click links to visit sites]
CRAWLER COVERS & MORE, and
MAMA RUNS WITH SCISSORS
We haven’t found any plain varieties in Australia yet, nor any really cool 6 yo boy styles.
scarves way better than bibs & bandanas
- we use scarves in winter as great dribble catchers
- cool looking and easy care they are far less obvious than wearing a bib or bandana
- a couple of grey polar fleece scarves and a two tone knitted grey scarf make up the current batch – we are waiting for some royal blue fleece to make it into the shops
- super easy to make, literally cut polarfleece or microfleece to size, decide whether to cut a fringe or not… then wear
- one fleece scarf has a 5cm slit cut about a third in from one end to feed the other end through to save tying – this works well
- we haven’t tried them but the neckband neck warmers in fleece might be a good option too
mini z-tek kids safety glasses
- from OUTDOOR KIDS AUSTRALIA
- these are really used year round but have another purpose in winter as our playground is often blasted by the bitter westerly winds which picks up dirt and pelts it into your face
- the safety glasses give Mac some relief from getting eyefuls of grit with every blink
- they are also able to be used when he is traveling in areas where there might be low branches or other objects which he might not see and, he gets to look pretty cool (very Bono)
- they still need a strap to hold them on – we’re working on that
Inky Ed 