Guidelines for preschool children being outside in the cold are missing: "One child is often indoors"

There are no guidelines regarding how preschools should handle outdoor activities for the children when it is cold outside.

According to reports from parents in Stockholm and Södertälje, it is very different how the preschools act when it gets below zero.

One of the parents that SVT has met is Lourdes Haddad, who feels that one daughter's ward is out almost every day, while the other daughter's ward is not out as often, even though they are about the same age.

- The youngest daughter's ward goes out very rarely, she says.

Different approaches

Both the municipality of Södertälje and the city of Stockholm state to SVT that it is up to the preschools themselves to decide what a possible outing should look like.

According to SVT's coordination with a number of preschools, the most common approach seems to be that educators are more restrictive with outdoor play when the temperature drops below ten degrees below zero, and especially when it comes to the youngest children.

But it varies greatly - and at some preschools the children are already kept inside in much milder weather.

Many times factors other than temperature are taken into account, such as how strong the wind is.

Hear how parents and Södertälje municipality's preschool director view the matter in the video.