Cubworthy, with a catchMonth 3 to year 3. Cubworthy, with a catch. The catch is in the verdicts.The verdicts
The short version
In Bengaluru the only winter accessory he wears daily is socks. The cap comes out for 6am and for Delhi. Mittens lasted one winter and one trip. The muffler was returned to the drawer and should stay there: a loose scarf on a child under three is a strangling hazard and he was too hot in it anyway.
the gift pile has a muffler, mittens on a string and a cap with ties, and you're wondering what actually gets worn.
you're in a cold-all-day city; this is mostly a Bengaluru list with a Delhi footnote.
The story
The gift pile that first winter had everything: a knitted cap with ear flaps, a pair of woolen mittens on a string, two mufflers, and a bundle of socks. Three years later, the socks are the only thing I have had to rebuy.
Socks. The Bengaluru winter item. The floor of a 900-square-foot flat is tile, and tile at 7am in December is the coldest thing in the house. Cotton-rich socks with a grip sole, because a plain sock on tile is a fall. We tried the thick woolen ones once; he pulled them off because his feet sweated. One size up, because his toes are the first thing to outgrow anything.
Caps. Bengaluru: a thin cotton cap for the school run between 6:30 and 8, off by the time we are home. Delhi: a lined cap all day outdoors, with the ear flaps, because the ears went red first. The knitted ones with a string tie I will not use indoors or in the car seat; a cord round the neck of a sleeping toddler is a cord round the neck of a sleeping toddler. For sleep, no cap at all, in either city; the safe-sleep guidance is clear on that and he overheated the one night we tried.
Mittens. Only ever useful in Delhi, and only outdoors. Mittens, not gloves, because a toddler cannot get five fingers into five holes and neither can you, with him squirming. The string-through-the-sleeves kind kept them attached for exactly one afternoon. What worked: mittens with a long ribbed cuff that goes under the fleece sleeve. In Bengaluru they never came out of the drawer.
The muffler. This is the catch. Two mufflers, both gifts, both lovely, both unused. The NHS and the AAP both say no scarves, cords or loose fabric at the neck for small children, in cots, in car seats and in prams, because of the strangling risk, and a toddler running in a muffler is a toddler who will catch it on something. What he wore instead on cold Delhi mornings was a top that zips up to the chin and a cap with flaps. Warm neck, nothing loose. If you must, a snood that cannot unwind, and only when you are holding his hand.
The verdict. Cubworthy for socks with grips, a thin cap for cold windows and cuffed mittens for the north; with a catch, which is the muffler. Your home, your child and your day may be different.
Safe-sleep guidance from the AAP and the NHS: no hats for sleep, no loose items in the cot, dress in one more layer than an adult would wear and check for overheating at the chest or neck. Cords and scarves are named strangulation hazards in both the NHS and the Indian Academy of Pediatrics home-safety advice. Grip socks are a fall-prevention recommendation on hard floors in most pediatric home-safety lists.
If his hands or feet stay cold, mottled or pale after warming, or his lips look blue, that is a doctor, not a thicker sock.
The verdicts
Cotton-rich grip socks, one size up
The only winter item worn daily in Bengaluru. Tile at 7am is the coldest thing in the house, and a plain sock on tile is a fall.
A thin cotton cap for cold windows; a lined cap with ear flaps for the north
On between 6:30 and 8 on the school run, off by the time we are home. Never for sleep, never with a string tie in the car seat.
Cubworthy, with a catch
Mittens with a long ribbed cuff
Only ever useful in Delhi, only outdoors, and only the kind whose cuff goes under the fleece sleeve. In Bengaluru they never left the drawer.
Mufflers, scarves and caps with cords, under three
The NHS and the AAP both name loose fabric at the neck as a strangling risk. A top that zips to the chin does the job.
Thick woolen socks
Pulled off within the hour because his feet sweated.
Product details are as we used them; the version on sale now may differ. Check the exact model and the manufacturer's instructions. Corrections are dated here; see how corrections work.
