How To Keep A Baby Cool In A Car Seat? It’s a question that’s often asked by parents every time summer rolls around. Everybody knows that when it gets way too hot in a car, it’s unbearable and extremely difficult to be able to stand it for too long. What could be a quick drive to the store is made torturous by the heat.
It’s one thing for adults to put up with, but for kids, it’s a whole different story. The heat can make them uncomfortable, irritant and sometimes even inconsolably miserable. In extreme circumstances, it can cause heatstroke which is considered dangerous.
And it’s not just the dry heat that causes the problem, the humidity in a car can make the situation worse, especially if you are in one of the southeastern states, making even breathing feel like a chore. It’s bound to make kids and babies unhappy.
If it always comes to this during the hot season for you, then what you need are some tips and product recommendations to help you to know how to keep a baby cool in a car seat.
This knowledge will make life a lot more comfortable and easier for you and your kids when you’re on the road and it’s exactly what this article is going to give you. So buckle up and read on as you will kick yourself for not having thought of these before!
How to Keep a Baby Cool in a Car Seat
Reduce Heat Inside the Car Before Setting Off
Before even considering what you can do whilst on the drive, it’s well worth taking steps to reduce the build-up of heat inside your car while it is parked.
In the summer, or just on particularly hot days, the heat build-up in the car is so noticeable when you jump in. And due to it being so hot and humid outside it’s difficult to get rid of.
That’s why it’s best to nip the problem at the bud, so to speak, by preventing heat accumulation to start with.
Park in a Shaded Location
The first place to start is by considering where you park. You’ll want to reduce the amount of direct sunlight hitting your car, and take into account that the midday sun is often the hottest.
It may be difficult at first because most people who drive aim to park as close as possible to the location that they aim to go, its second nature. But really, it’s worth the extra bit of walking to keep your car cool, so favour the shaded spots and let those who want to save time deal with the heat.
Keep Windows Slightly Open
It’s up to you if you feel secure enough in the area that you park in to do this, but if you leave the windows very slightly open, that is far too little space to fit your arm through, it will promote ventilation.
This works better in less humid climates as it allows the build-up of hot air inside your car to escape into the outside and this balances the temperature a lot better than keeping the windows shut all the way.
Again, it’s worth noting, if you don’t feel secure in doing this, then don’t do it. Especially if you keep valuables in your car that may attract unwanted attention.
How to Keep a Baby Cool in a Car Seat: Car Gear
Use Window Shades
Now parking in the shade is one way of helping your car to stay cool, but the shade does move depending on the position of the sun, and it can stay hot all day, not just midday. A product that will help are window shades, such as the ones pictured above.
The Uarter side window mesh work well to cover the whole window, without the use of sucker pads and it remains in place when the door and windows are open and closed. This helps to keep the rays of the sun out of the car and off of your child while driving.
Not only is this a great suggestion for helping to keep your car from heating up when parked but during driving, it helps to keep the harmful UV rays of the sun from staying in direct contact with the skin of your passengers. It’s essential when your passengers are young children.
Use a Window Visor
A reflective window visor for your windscreen is also a great idea for use while your car is parked. It works by reflecting the sun’s rays away from the interior of your car, helping to keep the interior upholstery form warming up as fast.
It also protects the interior of your car from sun damage such as the dashboard and steering wheel cracking. Also by keeping the steering wheel from heating up, it’s less likely to feel too hot for your hands when you use it.
How to Keep a Baby Cool in a Car Seat: Child Gear
Now that you have steps to take to keep your car cool while you’re not in it, it should be a lot easier to maintain the temperature inside your car as you drive. It also should be a lot more comfortable for your child.
There are also many products available that are super handy for helping your baby to cool down whilst in the car, without you having to pull over and use them.
The Noggle
The Noggle is by far the best backseat cooling system that you can buy. Many people distribute the cool air from their A/C by pointing the front vents towards the ceiling and letting the airflow distribute towards the back. The Noggle speeds up this process and allows you to vent the A/C output directly to your child or backseat passengers.
It is essentially a soft tube which connects to the A/C vents at the front of your car. You extend The Noggle tube to the back of the car and you can either attach it to the roof, the back of the front seat or your child can hold it and direct it the cool air as they wish.
You can purchase The Noggle in two different lengths: 6 or 8 foot which an both reach from front to the back of most cars, depending on the size of your car, and can reach your child whether they are in a front facing or rear facing car seat.
Bear in mind, that a rear-facing car seat position may benefit more from an 8 foot Noggle, just because you may need that extra 2 feet in length for the end of The Noggle to reach your baby.
Britax Frontier ClickTight Cool Flow Car Seats
Britax is a well-respected and trusted brand of car seats, and you may have seen our comparison between their boulevard and marathon models. The Britax frontier range has a model called cool flow, which is lined with a breathable mesh fabric that helps the baby to stay cool in the car seat by increasing air flow.
The car seat is also well designed and high quality, with its ClickTight feature making it super easy to install, and no re-thread harness system making it convenient for you to adjust the harness without having to get the seat out of the car.
These seats can be quite heavy in comparison to other models and don’t make the best car seats for small cars or for those who travel frequently.
Cooling Towels
Cooling towels are usually advertised for those participating in sports or outdoor activities but they work extremely well for children to cool themselves down in the warm weather.
You’ll need to get them wet and ring them out before you get into the car, the child can then wrap it around themselves, or put it on their head to cool them down for however long the effects last.
They may not be as useful for long journeys unless you carry some extra water to get the towel wet again when the cooling effect wears off. But for short journeys, they are perfect, and shouldn’t be overlooked as an effective way for your kids to cool themselves.
The Kuen cooling towels linked above are great value for money, as they come in a 4 pack and work really well.
Misting Bottles
Having misted water sprayed in your face when you’re really hot is so wonderful, and the kids will love it too. What’s more is the 02Cool misting bottles linked above double up as drinking bottles, so your child can stay hydrated at the same time.
They’re really easy to use, are leak free and BPA free. In the case of a baby, you can keep the bottle in your front seat drink holder, and give them a spray just before you set off and maybe during stops if you feel it would help.
Some Additional Words
As much as it would be good to recommend fans for your child to use while driving, whether hand-held or stationary, it’s not safe to have moving objects in the car while driving, just in case there is a collision.
It’s also important to remember that in the hot weather, your children need to stay hydrated, so make sure they have plenty of water or hydrating drinks to keep them refreshed.
And if you have any tips of your own on how you keep your baby cool in the car seat, or if you have some better ways on keeping your car cool while parked, don’t be afraid to let us know in the comments below!