Parents trying to protect their babies from the sun are not always aware of the danger.
In summer, we do everything to protect our baby from the sun’s rays, which are particularly dangerous for their fragile skin. The heat is also difficult for little ones to bear and it is recommended to avoid taking them out during the hottest hours. Of course, we put sunscreen on them that is suitable for children with SPF50+, we make them wear sunglasses, a hat and light, covering clothing. But when walking in a stroller, many parents make the same mistake to prevent their baby from being exposed to the sun. Because very often, the hood of the stroller is not enough to provide shade. Baby has the sun in his eyes, which, in addition to bothering him or preventing him from sleeping, exposes him directly to UV rays.
The reflex that many parents adopt is to cover the stroller with a swaddle. The fabric is rather light and one might think that it does the job, but this bad habit is particularly dangerous in the summer, during periods of high heat or heatwave.
According to Svante Norgren, a pediatrician at Stockholm Children’s Hospital, this habit causes a “furnace effect.” When a diaper is placed on the stroller, the air is not renewed properly, preventing good ventilation. As a result, the baby has difficulty breathing and “the temperature in the stroller increases considerably”he explained to the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. And that’s not all: during his experiments, the pediatrician found that after an hour and a half of walking in the sun, a stroller covered with a cloth reached 37 degrees, while a stroller in the open air remained at a temperature of 22 degrees. We would therefore increase the temperature of the stroller in which the baby is installed by 15°C.
In addition, a baby’s body temperature is not regulated in the same way as that of adults. According to researchers at Nashville Hospital in the United States, it increases three to five times faster. It is therefore advisable to use stroller umbrellas, favor hats or caps, sun creams and look for shady spots. You can also place a small fan that can be attached to the baby’s stroller to keep it cool and ventilate it.