We all know about the horror of the hot car mistakes that sweep over so many unfortunate parents’ lives. But did you ever think that putting a thin blanket over the stroller to block shade and cool things down could actually be raising the temperature to dangerous levels, over a not-so-long period of time?
Some research is coming out to show that cars aren’t the only dangerous places babies can find themselves in the heat. Who would have thought that draping a light blanket over your stroller can create a furnace-like effect? “It gets extremely hot down in the pram, something like a thermos,” pediatrician Svante Norgren told the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet. “There is also bad circulation of the air and it is hard to see the baby with a cover over the pram.”
This same newspaper did an experiment of its own, and here’s what they discovered:
Without a blanket or cover of any sort, the temperature inside the stroller left outside in the heat was 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit. With a thin cover, in 30 minutes, the temperature rose to 93.2 degrees. After an hour, they were looking at a reading of 98.6 degrees.
Young children are especially at risk for overheating and heatstroke. If your young child seems to have red hot skin, is breathing rapid, shallow breaths, seems to have a rapid pulse and appear lethargic, they may be having a heat stroke. Read here for Signs of heatstroke.