To think everyone needs to know that covering the front of a buggy in this heat is unsafe?

[readingmakesmehappy]

I've seen so many buggies and prams out this week with muslins and cloths clipped to the front. Why doesn't everyone know this is unsafe?
It's slightly better if it's a wet muslin, but only slightly.
NHS, for those who want citations: https://www.nhs.uk/baby/first-aid-and-safety/safety/safety-in-the-sun/
And Which? https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1D6id4EG4u/

Me I have 4 and never had any.

Come to Australia if you want to see blankets and covers over children in prams. It’s very common here. I never saw it the UK.

Gobsmackingly stupid.

The problem is the companies that sell the travel systems make them so the carseats fit on the pushchair frame. People don't seem to know that they should be lying flat.

Also something I think a lot of people don’t realise is that a standard muslin doesn’t really provide much UV protection anyway (equivalent of using something ridiculous like factor 5 suncream) so it’s a pointless exercise and won’t keep your baby particularly safe from getting sunburnt.

I am not a mother, am not ever around any children or babies (or information about them), and any offspring of f&f are now adults themselves so my exposure is about as limited as it can be.

Even I have somehow absorbed the information babies shouldn't be covered with a blanket in hot weather.

(Same for dogs and dog walking in high temps)

I didn't need any with my first baby and then had two pukers so owned probably hundreds of muslins 😂Everything was covered in a muslin.

When my DC were small I had this fab foldable sun visor that tied onto the pram to offer more shade without covering them up at all, a bit like this. Much safer than a muslin and less faff than an umbrella.

www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/baby/pushchairs-and-strollers/pushchair-accessories-and-toys/babylo-universal-solar-upf-50-stroller-sun-shade

When I had my children it was drummed into me by midwives and my NCT leader that babies shouldn't be in car seats outside of the car (or even in the car for more than set amounts of time depending on age). It really confused me when we started going to baby groups and so many people left their little ones sleeping in their car seats for extended periods... I was far too scared to risk it!

A couple of friends said they were never given this advice though (and I'm not sure how obvious it is when shops sell car seats that clip directly onto prams).

The car seat MIL bought for their car had a massive tag saying "keep rear facing as long as possible" but she still fitted it forward facing.

So I'm not sure a sign would help!

Snooze shades aren't designed to be used in boiling hot, direct sun. They're designed to keep the light out on normal days so baby can sleep.

When it's hot they have the same effect as any other blanket/ cover - I used one last month and it trapped the heat like crazy, my baby was sweating (it was a proper, branded one). I know they claim that you can use them but I wouldn't.

I have the Bugaboo Breezy suncover and it's brilliant for protecting baby against the sun, it has a window on the front and mesh panels on the side.

That being said when it's hot like this I use it in 5-10 minute bursts to nip in and out of air-conditioned shops/library/nursery, so my baby isn't in it for very long.

I wasn’t using it in “boiling direct sun”, surely nobody is just parking their baby in the sun and leaving them there.

I used it to shade my baby when, for example, walking between the car park and the library/shop/whatever and it’s brilliant for keeping the UV rays off them.

As I said, I’ve stuck my hand inside many a time and it’s never been hot in there. Obviously if you’re silly enough to park your pram in the sun in 30+ degrees or go on long walks it’s going to get hot in there (or any pram, even with a parasol).

I agree and I absolutely hate the Doona prams for this reason.

Same, they are so unsafe. I think the issue is with these 'travel systems' which obviously promote clipping the car seat to the frame, and then of course why wouldn't parents think that's safe. We never had one - if baby was asleep in car, we'd always move her to the lie flat pram or into her cot.

Some of them do fully recline on the pram, we had one (a cybex I think) which are ok, but most don’t.

The trouble with parasols is that they constantly need repositioning, I never saw one that provided adequate shade. My eldest is 18, we had a mesh suncover for our buggy, it fitted on exactly the same way as the rain cover, and it was several degrees cooler under that than in the full sun and provided UV protection. I loved it because I didn't need to worry about them getting burnt or overheated under there. I've checked and the nhs still says suncovers are safe.

People really underestimate heat exhaustion in both children and adults. It comes on so quickly! This helps explain how to deal with it well if it happens. https://brity.co.uk/learn-first-aid/skills/heat-exhaustion. Doesnt specifically cover children but it applies well.

For previous generations this was not thought to be a problem. Advice on childcare changes across time. “Cat nets” were a thing when I was as a child — an elastic mesh put over the hood of a pram.

I’ll never forget one day in the hot summer my DS was a baby. There he was sprawled in his parasolled pushchair wearing just a hat, vest, nappy and the highest factor sunscreen I could buy, all spotty with heat rash, and another mum wheeled past with her baby in a faux fur lined Cosytoes! Poor thing must have been broiled. Madness.

Our first "big row" as parents came when my husband and I had chatted about keeping our son cool when the weather finally improved, not needing the pram muff and shade etc.

The very next day it was sunny again, and my husband dressed him in three layers, the cosytoes and put the shade over him.

Poor DS was sick and shivering as he tried to regulate his temp after. My husband felt absolutely awful, but I wasn't in a very forgiving mood.

Yes that and not to put coats on your dc while in their car seat! The amount of people I see doing that is ridiculous!!

Car seats are ridiculously warm at the moment. I did a 20m trip with my son with the AC on, but he'd sweated buckets when he came out, the seat was just so warm when we got in the car.

Yeah but even in the winter you’re not supposed to do it.

I remember being told not to cover prams with blankets as well as not using use car seats for a long period, this was 25 years ago!
Baffles me how people still do it, maybe because unlike leaving a baby in a hot car accidentally it isn't reported if deaths occur or isn't a direct or definite cause perhaps?

No one had ever told me it was unsafe until one warm day an elderly lady approached me in the town centre and very kindly explained that the muslin cloth covering my son’s pram was probably making him hotter. I was in the depths of extremely bad PND, and she was so kind to me when she explained that I cried for about half an hour. She was absolutely lovely and bought me a coffee, we sat on a bench and we talked for a good hour together. I don’t even know what her name was but I hope wherever she is now, she knows how much she helped me that day. I’m not just referring to the muslin cloth safety advice. I’ve never seen her since to thank her properly in my normal state of mind.