We love the Summer.
So many more people are out and about with big happy smiles. There’s something fabulous about feeling the sun on your skin and getting that healthy glowing tan. Usually via a variety of lobster pink shades because, let’s face it we have to get it while we can.
Lightweight for Summer from Morrck on Vimeo.
A car is probably the last place you want to be on a hot, sunny day but if you have to travel in the car remember that babies and toddlers can get very hot very quickly so here are a few hints and tips to keep them safe and happy.
Car seats are designed for safety. They are padded well to protect from impact and are also quite deep to contain children well within them. The fabric is generally dark and not a natural fibre. The snugness of the car seat doesn’t allow for much airflow around baby and if they are rear facing they don’t get a lot of benefit from the air conditioning, so they can get a bit hot and bothered quite quickly.
Airflow is important so it’s best not to cover the car seat over to protect from the sun, even a muslin can trap hot air within the car seat area.
If you can, pop the air conditioning on in the car to cool it down before you start your journey. Even opening the doors to let some air circulate before you set off would help some.
Have a cold/wet flannel handy, perhaps in a cool bag, to mop your baby down. The back of the neck is quite a hot spot. A fine spray with cold water can be really useful as well, especially for toddlers.
Pop a reflective shade on the windscreen while your car is parked to help keep it cool and park in the shade if you can.
The dark fabric in car seats gets much hotter than a lighter fabric would. Research shows that a dark interior in a car can get up to 57degrees F or 13 degrees C hotter than a light interior at an outside temp of 26 degrees, so if you place a light or white coloured blanket or towel over the car seat while you are away from the car, it should keep the car seat cooler.
Alternatively you could use our Ultra Lightweight Baby Hoodie. This lines the car seat in a soft cotton that keeps baby more comfortable in their seat and also provides a light cover if the weather becomes cooler or you go somewhere with air conditioning.
