In Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, children at a kindergarten strip to their underwear and throw themselves with a bucket of ice water as part of the curriculum.
The state kindergarten number 317 says that this act is believed to keep the Little Siberians healthy and ward off infections.
The children take cold showers daily after a hot sauna as long as the temperature is no lower than 25 degrees celsius.
“The little walruses warmed themselves in the sauna and went outside for a traditional cold water shower,” a spokesperson for Krasnoyarsk education department said.
Oksana Kabotko, 45, a pre-school teacher and swimming coach said that ‘the children have the ice-cold shower if it’s no colder than minus 25C.’
The majority of the parents give their permission for the cold shower which she claims leads to fewer days off school in a typical year.
The Little Siberians are also taught breathing exercises for the deep cold.
“The children who do have the ice showers are also more sensible, balanced – and optimistic,” she said. “They are better organized.”
“But just imagine, you need to do it every morning, you require the willpower to do that,” she added. “We don’t force anyone.”
Meanwhile, another supporter of cold war training for children, teacher Lyubov Daniltsova, said that ‘facts are hard to argue with.’
“Our doctor confirms that children in groups that practice dousing get through the flu season a lot more easily,” Daniltsova said. “Generally the statistics show there is 95 percent of healthy children in the ‘wet’ group, compared to 75 percent among the others.”