Are car window shades for a baby a necessity?

[Fagin99]

I'm due my first child soon and am currently panicking about things I may or may not have bought yet. One thing I've only just thought about are those window shades you sometimes see stuck onto car back windows to block out the sun.

What I thought would be a simple online purchase has led me down another rabbit hole and now I'm wondering if I need to bother at all.

I suppose I'd like to ask: are they a necessity for UV safety or just "nice to have?"

Thank you in advance from my tired brain!

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MNHQ

I never had them. Think I had a free one I used for a bit but not for long.

Not until the summer.

They keep your child cool, shield the eyes from the sun (they sit much lower in the car than you do) and they prevent sunburn.

I'd get them, but wouldn't worry about what type!

I think a lit depends on the country/ climate you are in .
I live in the UK, and wouldn't unless your DC was going out in mid summer and mid day on a warm day .
But Auz / USA parts of Europe etc hot summer day the yes get one.

Total waste of money, my two just ripped them off the window.

Maybe when they're older

Many thanks for your replies! I am also based in England so sunny days are normally a fantasy! During my research (over-thinking) I did become concerned that they might fall off.

That's good to know that it's not urgent anyway, and I can save this particular rabbit hole for when/if we get a decent summer!

Many thanks all! x

You can buy the ones that go over the whole window
They are great imo

I wouldn't be without them. Babies and toddlers/young children often struggle with the concept of closing eyes and/or turning away from the sun and will cry and complain if the sun is in their eyes and bothering them. The shades are also great at keeping the car cool in the summer.

I have the shades that go over the window part of the door like a sock and would highly recommend them, much less faff, don't fall off and better coverage than suction shades.

I cannot believe that there's so little education on this. I'm sorry, I only saw this because it was in active discussions but you need to know..

9 out of 10 cases of melanoma are avoidable. 90% of UV can still get through cloud cover.

Babies have the least protection of all, so PLEASE, get those window screens.

The best ones are like a sock that goes over the whole window and window frame. They can't be pulled off, and they cover them wherever the sun is.

[[https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/uv-index-forecast/#?tab=map&map=MaxUVIndex&zoom=5&lon=-4.00&lat=54.50&fcTime=1647662400 I'm not saying this one,
this is just the first one I found. ]]

Today's UV Index

This talks too much about sunburn, but still very useful.

Agree with the facts @lborgia puts forward but please don't panic your baby is going to get skin cancer if daylight or unfiltered sun falls on them for a few minutes. Just...don't stress about the shade you get, you sound overwhelmed so don't let this become a Big Thing in your head.

UV light cannot pass through glass, so please ignore the previous posters who might be alarming you. They really are nice to haves

Well actually, it can. Sorry kitten.

Glass can be treated to block uv rays but none of us know whether this applies to the ops car windows.

I'm completely against inducing op to panic though. It's not an emergency, her baby won't get skin cancer from brief exposure to a bit of daylight and it's easily fixable through an affordable car window sock.

We found we needed window shades because as a PP said, babies get very upset by the sun shining in their eyes. We have the window sock ones recommended above, which live in the car door pockets most of the time. You only need them when the sun is at the right angle to go straight into their eyes, although I do also use them when parked on a hot day to keep the car a bit cooler.

My 8 month old was woken from her nap then cried in the car for 10 minutes today as the bright low sun blasted her through the bit of the window the shade didn't cover and we were on the motorway so I waited until the services to adjust the shade for her. The sun can burn them as well as irritate them and ruin naps!

Yes I would say you definitely need them. Imagine being forced to sit in a position in the car with the sun glaring in your eyes! However, they don’t need to be expensive or fancy in any way.

You can’t get sun burn or melanoma from light passing through glass……

But they are useful to have!

I wasn't saying her baby would get skin cancer by sitting in the car, but I think that's obvious to anyone.

As to Kit and Cat, where do you get such bollocks?! Of course it can get through glass!

Maybe you need to live in Australia to take it seriously.

Ask any GP here, or, if I wanted to share photos, if you're a driver, you get far more skin damage on the right side of your face, and right arm, because it's in the light where your left side is further inside the car.

I started looking up references, but clearly anyone can google uv skin damage car windows etc.

It's not up to us to lie to the OP because we're worried about her levels of anxiety. Giving her the facts so she can protect her baby, is more useful.

Oh, and it's not about a baby getting cancer . It's about when their 40 years old.

I always use shades - I've just put them back on this weekend. I think it's especially important to new babies as they have much less movement in their seats with all the cushioning so can't move their heads to escape the sunshine as easily.

I used to drive a lot in my first graduate job - my steering wheel arm was much browner than my other arm. Something was happening to my skin and I'd rather not take any chances.

We never used one, just used the inbuilt shade on the maxicosi baby seat when they were tiny. In the pram we'd clip over a muslin so they were shaded but breezy.

Perhaps if we lived in a very sunny place, and spent hours in the car but then again we've done many long journeys in sunny places and still haven't bothered so not sure my logic holds up.

I was quite keen not to have lots of 'stuff' when we had the DC, I honestly didn't even consider a sunshade once

Sometimes the stick on ones don’t fit certain car windows. I sent around 5 back as they were leaving too much gap and the sun was still getting into the kids eyes.

The sock thing looks a mess, plus you can’t open the window with a sun shade or sock on.

I got my rear windows tinted instead

I had some. They were essential in the summer and kept the car cooler. I had ones which clipped over the glass and then pulled down like a blind. I still have a free one with a sucker that works well. In DH’s car they are fitted as standard in the car they pop up from the door and fix to the glass.

Wind the window down a bit and trap a t shirt or muslin cloth In then Wind it back up, Simples!

I would say necessity. We have one that goes over the entire door frame. We have used it all winter also due to the low winter sun. DD hates the sun on her face in the car. And my car has tinted windows, so they're not standard even before the shade.

The problem on sunny days is because kids are strapped into car seats they can't turn their head away if the sun is in their eyes. That is unpleasant for them if it happens to be shining right in and you're stuck on a road going that direction for some time. However most of the time you are changing direction fairly quickly so it isn't a huge problem. You can just trap a muslin in the door for a makeshift solution. Some car seats also come with a sun shade although ours was a bit useless for smaller babies as it only covered the very top of the seat way over their head!

Of course you can burn through glass . IMO they’re essential. No one wants to have the sun blazing in their eyes and on their face on a boiling hot day, not even for ten minutes.

UVB rays, which are the ones that burn you, don’t pass through glass, but I would look it up yourself rather than wading through the misinformation on this thread.
Baby car seats already make them quite hot so if they also have the sun on them its a recipe for a screaming grumpy baby. That’s why we have them.