What this is about
For a baby who rides in the stroller, snow changes the outfit less than you'd think. Below 4°C (39°F), your baby wears the usual winter layers with a pram suit on top, a warm hat and mittens, and nothing more. Over-bundling makes babies sweat, and sweat turns freezing cold once outside.
The trouble with snow is that it melts. It soaks into cuffs and mittens, and once your baby crawls or walks, it gets in everywhere. So a snowy day is mostly about keeping your baby dry, and staying close enough to home to turn back when the weather turns.
How to dress a baby for snow
The insulated pram suit, which US shops call a snowsuit, is the outer shell. It replaces the warm jacket instead of going over it. Stuffing a jacket inside a pram suit leaves your baby unable to move and prone to overheating. Because most pram suits enclose the feet, booties can stay in the drawer.
A baby under 3 months needs a little more, so the pram suit comes out sooner, below 8°C (46°F), as a winter newborn's outfits show.
A suit with fold-over cuffs saves the mitten hunt, because nothing comes off to drop in the snow. Separate mittens go over the cuffs of the suit, so wrists stay covered when your baby moves. Make sure the warm hat covers the ears completely and stays in place without sliding down over the eyes.
Zip the suit on last, at the front door, once your own boots are on, because a baby waiting in a warm hallway in a pram suit is damp with sweat before you step outside. If snow is falling, pull the canopy forward rather than draping a blanket over the opening, which traps moisture and cuts off fresh air. In wet snow or sleet, the rain cover keeps the suit dry until the snow stops.
How long can a baby stay out in the snow?
A baby dressed for it can have an ordinary walk on a calm snowy day, a young baby too. Only the bitterly cold days, when bare skin can freeze within minutes, are for staying in. Below 0°C (32°F) feels-like, keep outings shorter and stay near shelter. Parents often look for an exact minute limit, but weather does not work that way. Twenty minutes in calm winter sun can feel comfortable. Five minutes into a gusty, freezing wind can leave everyone miserable. Turn back based on the wind, dampness and how your baby feels, not a timer.
How your baby feels shows at the back of the neck, not the hands. Slide two fingers inside the collar of the suit after the first stretch: warm and dry is right, and damp or cool skin there means it's time to head back.
Plan your route as a tight loop around the block or near a heated cafe. Pushing a stroller through slush is slow work. If the wind picks up or your baby starts fussing, getting back to a warm room should take five minutes, not a half-hour trek across an open park.
Can a baby play in the snow, or go sledding?
Before your baby can sit up, the snow is for looking at, from the stroller or your arms. A mittened hand can pat it, and that is a first snow too.
Once your baby sits steadily, a few minutes on the snow are fine. Sit your baby on a sled or a folded mat rather than straight on the snow, which draws the warmth out through the seat. A quilted pram suit has a shell that sheds falling snow in the stroller, but sitting in wet snow soaks it through.
That is also the age for a first sled ride: pulled along on the flat, in a sled with a high back and a harness, with you walking in front. Hills come later, and a child under 5 goes down one only with an adult, on a gentle slope with a flat stretch at the bottom.
Toddlers in the snow: what to wear to play
A baby who crawls or walks kneels, sits, digs and falls in the snow, so the outer layer has to keep water out, not only cold. Underneath go the usual home clothes and a warm fleece. On top goes a waterproof snowsuit in one piece, or a warm jacket with snow bibs. Add winter boots with room for a thick sock, waterproof mittens, a warm hat over the ears and a neck warmer.
Where the snow gets in
Neck
Snow slides down the collar when a toddler falls or lies back in it. Zip the suit up to the chin, and a neck warmer closes the gap under the hat, with no loose ends like a scarf.
Wrists
Wet snow gets in at the wrist first. A long mitten cuff goes over the sleeve and tightens there, so snow can't work its way in while your toddler digs.
Waist and back
A short jacket rides up when a toddler bends or reaches, and snow packs in at the back. A one-piece suit closes the gap, and so do bib snow pants that come up to the chest.
Knees and seat
They spend the most time in the snow. Fleece and knit soak through, while a waterproof suit with reinforced patches stays dry.
Boot tops
Legs tucked into the boots funnel snow inside. The suit's legs go down over the boots, with the inner cuff around the boot top and the strap hooked under the sole.
A toddler having fun rarely asks to go in, even when getting cold. Play in short spells with a warm-up indoors in between, and look inside a mitten now and then: a wet one comes off, and the dry pair from your pocket goes on. Before the ride home, brush the snow off the suit and knock it out of the boots, so none of it melts in the stroller.
Wet mittens and socks: change them straight away
Snow on a cuff melts against the warm fabric. Wet cuffs and wet socks pull heat away from skin much faster than cold air alone, so if you see snow gathering on mitten cuffs or around the collar, brush it off before it has a chance to melt through.
On a snowy day, the spare set in the stroller bag gets a second pair of mittens and dry socks. If slush gets past a boot or mitten, step into a warm entrance and change the wet layer immediately.
Back indoors: unzip first, then dry everything
An insulated suit in a heated hallway turns into an oven within minutes, so it comes off with the hat right away, even if your baby fell asleep on the way home, and a damp bodysuit gets swapped for a dry one.
Then get everything dry for tomorrow. Pull the felt liners out of snow boots so they dry overnight, lay the mittens out, and hang the suit up instead of leaving it folded in the basket, so nothing is still damp for the morning walk. Clear wet snow and road salt from the stroller wheels and brakes before you fold it, and let a damp seat or harness dry completely in a warm room.
A bright day on snow: shade the eyes and cheeks
Fresh snow acts like a mirror, reflecting up to eighty percent of ultraviolet radiation back up, under the hat and the stroller hood. Cold air hides it, because the skin feels cold while it burns. From UV 3, your baby still needs protection from winter sun, and in the mountains the sun is stronger still.
The eyes catch it too. Reflected sun can burn the surface of the eye, which is called snow blindness, and a baby shows it with a lot of blinking and fussing for no clear reason. Because a warm winter hat does not have a brim, pull the stroller canopy forward to shade your baby's face. On a long bright day, wraparound baby sunglasses help if your baby keeps them on, and from 6 months, sunscreen goes on the cheeks and nose.
Questions parents ask
We're taking our baby to the snow. What do we need?
Pack the same clothes as for snow at home. A baby who doesn't walk yet needs a pram suit, a warm hat and mittens over the usual layers. A walker needs a waterproof snowsuit, winter boots and waterproof mittens. Mountain paths often stay deep in snow, so bring the carrier too, or use a sled with a backrest.
Can I use a carrier in the snow?
Yes. Your body warms your baby, so the pram suit stays off and the carrier outfit is thinner: indoor clothes and a fleece under a warm carrier cover or a babywearing coat, with the face clear and visible. On snow and ice, wear boots with a good grip and take icy steps slowly.
Can I push a stroller through snow?
Yes, on cleared sidewalks and in a thin layer of fresh snow. Big wheels roll over it, while small ones sink and clog in deep or slushy snow. If you are forcing the stroller along, take another route. Ice is the bigger worry, for your own footing more than the stroller's, so keep to cleared and gritted paths.
Does a baby who isn't walking need snow boots?
No. The pram suit's feet, or its fold-over cuffs over warm socks, keep the feet warm in the stroller. Winter boots come in once your baby walks in the snow.
Should I add a footmuff over the pram suit?
No, one or the other. A pram suit inside a winter footmuff traps too much heat. In a footmuff your baby wears indoor clothes and a warm fleece with a jacket on top, which is easier at every shop door. The pram suit is the one that can come out of the stroller to play in the snow.
Can my baby wear the pram suit in the car seat?
No. Its padding flattens in a crash and leaves the harness loose, so your baby rides in indoor clothes and a thin fleece, with a blanket over the buckled straps. The coat test shows whether a layer is thin enough.
Cold signs that need medical help
- Fingers, toes, ears, nose or cheeks that turn white, pale gray or blotchy, feel hard, or blister.
- Skin that stays pale, or seems to hurt, after a few minutes of warming.
- A baby who is cold to the touch and floppy, unusually quiet and sleepy, or refuses to feed.
Move indoors, take off any wet clothes and warm your baby gently against your own skin, with a blanket around you both. Do not rub cold skin, and do not use a hot bath, a hot water bottle or a hair dryer. Call your pediatrician if skin stays pale or painful after warming. Call emergency services immediately if your baby is floppy, hard to wake or will not feed.
