Winter Fun Tips for Kids with Special Needs

by jphilo | Jan 29, 2013 | Different Dream, How-Tos, Special Needs Parenting

Winter Fun Tips for Kids with Special Needs

Winter + snow = fun for kids. And this winter, guest blogger Kimberly Drew has four tips for parents who want their kids with special needs to experience winter. She uses the four tips below to make cold weather more tolerable for Abigail, her daughter who lives with cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, hearing loss, microcephaly, and oral dysphagia.

4 Winter Fun Trips for Kids with Special Needs

There’s something almost Norman Rockwell-ish (oh yes, that’s a word…I promise…I think) about seeing your kids all bundled up outside in snow gear and carelessly immersing themselves in the snow. I love it. I love the laughing, the running, the playing, and the snowball fights. I don’t even mind the clean-up. Getting everyone dry, warm, and with a cup of hot chocolate brings back memories of my childhood and my mom that truly fill my heart.

These last couple of winters, I’ve been making more of an effort to give our daughter with multiple disabilities those same kinds of moments. I have very methodically chosen the word moments here because for Abbey, a few moments of freezing temperatures are all her body can handle. I know you love your child with disabilities as much as I love mine, and so you totally get this. It’s worth it! I know it seems like a lot of trouble to get your child completely bundled up for just a few minutes, but the joy that it brings them makes it worth all the effort. I’d like to give you a few thoughts on making moments with your child this winter.

Appropriate Winter Gear. To start with, make sure you have the appropriate weather gear for your child. If you don’t have an older child for hand-me downs, check out your local consignment shop. I consider it a great investment, because I keep them in the trunk of my car all winter. In the case of an accident or car trouble, I know I have winter gear to keep Abbey safe and warm while we wait for help. I buy boys’ gear so that my younger ones will get use of them when she grows out of them. If you don’t have younger ones, you can take them back to the consignment shop where you got them, or pass them onto a friend.
Get Out Your Camera. Once you have appropriate weather gear, get out your camera! Even though Abbey’s all bundled up and tends to look away from the camera, going back through those photos with her is a lot of fun. It’s good for me too…to see her doing what all the other kids do. I know it was only for a few moments, but we’re saving the photos for a lifetime of enjoyment.
Make Simple Adaptations. Now that you’re bundled and camera ready, it’s time to play! We bring a towel outside and fold it into quarters for Abbey to sit on as an extra barrier between her knees and the snow. Don’t feel you’re confined to the usual sled and snowman…Abbey loves to swing, and so we put her on her swing. We also save the short sled ride for the end since bringing her up the hill is a killer!
Remember the Hot Chocolate: If at all possible, never, EVER, leave out the “hot” chocolate. Abbey gets hers in a mug like her brother only it’s extra cool and comes with her straw. She loves it!

Don’t get snowed in this winter! Make the most of your moments.

Winter Fun at Your House

What tips would you add to Kimberly’s list? What activities make winter fun for your child with special needs? Leave a comment.

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Kimberly grew up and went to college in the small town of Upland, IN. She graduated from Taylor University with a degree in Elementary Education in 2002. While at TU, she married her college sweetheart and so began their adventure! Ryan and Kimberly have four amazing kids on earth (Abigail, Jayden, Ellie, and Cooper), and a baby boy waiting for them in heaven. Their daughter Abigail (Abbey) has multiple disabilities including cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, hearing loss, microcephaly, and oral dysphagia. She is the inspiration behind Kimberly’s desire to write. In addition to being a stay-at-home mom, Kimberly has been serving alongside her husband in full time youth ministry for almost fourteen years. She enjoys working with the senior high girls, scrapbooking, reading, and music. You can visit Kimberly at her website, Promises and Perspective.

Author Jolene Philo

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Parenting Stepchildren with Special Needs

Parenting stepchildren isn’t easy. Stepparents have been getting a bad rap since Cinderella’s story first hit the press. But Donna Thompson’s post at her blog The Caregiver’s Living Room shines a different light on the subject of parenting stepchildren with special needs.

Parenting Stepchildren Interview

In her post Caring for Step-Children, Donna shares a stepparent interview first published at BLOOM, an online magazine for special needs families. (BLOOM is published in Canada, and it’s worth a look. It’s loaded with resources and a variety of perspectives about parenting kids with special needs.) In the interview, Louise Kinross, the creator of BLOOM, talks with Canadian Olympic rower, Silken Laumann.

Silken Laumann Parenting Experience

In the interview, Silken talks about her own blended family. The family includes her husband’s daughter Kilee, who experiences autism and sometimes displays challenging behaviors. She is very transparent about the challenges of being Kilee’s stepparent. In the interview, she identifies the challenges of the first few months of the transition, how her discipline strategies had to change, how they avoided making family life all about Kilee, how she’s come to see beyond her stepdaughter’s special needs, and how she’s learned to slow down and see more positives in everyday life.

The entire interview is worth a read at Caring for Step-Children. While you’re at Donna’s site, take a look around. She addresses many aspects of caregiving in her different posts—thought-provoking stuff.

What Parenting Challenges Have You Experienced?

What about you readers who are stepparents to children with special needs? What are your greatest challenges? How do you deal with them? What supports would make life easier?

On the other hand, what joys are part of your parenting experience? What have you learned from your stepchild? How has your perception of kids with special needs changed? Your comments and stories can help people understand how to help and encourage you. Thanks in advance!

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop-up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregiving community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and Amazon. See Jane Dance!, the third book in the West River cozy mystery series, which features characters affected by disability, was released in October of 2023.