In the back seat, your baby sits right beside a side window, with no visor to pull down and no way to move out of the sun. A shade there takes the glare out of the eyes and the heat off the skin, and cuts the part of the sun's UV that side windows let through.
You need one if you often drive in sunshine, winter included, when the low sun shines straight in at the side. You can do without one if your car has blinds built into the back doors.
- For ages0–4years
- You'll need2
- Use itAll year
Can a baby get sunburned through a car window?
Not on an ordinary drive with the windows closed. Car glass stops UVB, the rays behind most sunburns, but side windows let part of the UVA through.
The windshield is laminated glass and blocks almost all UV. Side windows are not, and they vary a lot from car to car. Tests have found some that block almost all of the UVA, and some that let half of it or more through. A dark tint doesn't tell you which kind you have.
What gets through the car's glass
What gets through the car's glass
Good: Every window stops UVB
UVB causes most sunburns, and car glass doesn't let it through. Behind a closed window, your baby is safe from it.
With care: Side windows let some UVA in
UVA ages the skin. The windshield stops almost all of it, while a side window lets part of it through, right where your baby sits. How much depends on the car, and you can't see it in the glass.
Good: A shade stops the sun at the window
A dense shade on the back side window stops the direct sun before it reaches your baby, the UVA that came through the glass along with the glare and the heat.
Types of car window shade
A window sock suits a back door with a frame around its window, and a cling shade suits any car. Both have nothing hard in them, which makes them the two to start with.
Cling shade
A thin sheet of tinted film that sticks to the glass by static, with no glue. It peels off and moves to another window in seconds, but it rarely covers the whole window, so sun gets in at the edges.
- Good: Nothing hard on it
- Good: Moves window to window
- Not good: Gaps at the edges
Pop-up shade
Dark mesh on a light, springy wire rim that twists flat, held to the glass by two suction cups. It covers more of the window than a cling sheet, but the cups let go now and then.
- Good: Covers more of the glass
- Not good: Suction cups let go
Roller blind
A blind that pulls down from a bar at the top of the window and rolls back up. Handy when the sun comes and goes, but the bar is hard and hangs on suction cups or hooks.
- Good: Rolls up when not needed
- Not good: A hard bar that can come loose
Window sock
A mesh sleeve pulled down over the top of the back door, around the window frame. It covers the glass edge to edge, and the window still opens for air. It fits only doors with a frame around the window, and it darkens the view out of that window.
- Good: Covers the whole window
- Good: Window still opens
- Not good: Framed doors only
- Not good: Darker view out
How to choose a car window shade
1. Nothing hard that can fly
A roller blind's metal bar, and the suction cups that hold it, can come loose and fly in a sudden stop, like anything loose in the car. A cling shade or a sock has nothing hard in it.
- Good: Cling sheet or soft mesh
- Not good: A metal bar on suction cups
2. Dark enough, but see-through
Thin, see-through mesh leaves most of the glare. A very dark shade also hides the street from the driver. Choose one dark enough to take the glare off your baby's face that you can still see the road through.
- Good: Dark, close weave
- Good: Street still shows through
- Not good: Thin mesh that leaves the glare
3. It covers the window to the edges
Low sun gets in around a shade that is too small. Measure the glass before you buy and compare it with the size on the pack, or choose a sock, which covers the whole window.
- Good: Sized for your window
- Good: Lies flat to the frame
- Not good: Gaps at the corners
How to put on a car window shade
Every kind goes on a back side window or the back windshield. The windshield and the front side windows stay clear for the driver, and in most places the law says so.
Cling shade
Wipe the glass clean, then smooth the sheet on from the middle out, so it lies flat with no air bubbles under it.
Pop-up shade
Let it spring open and press both suction cups firmly onto clean glass. Take it off before anyone lowers the window, because the cups ride down with the glass.
Roller blind
Fix the bar along the top of the window by its suction cups or hooks, and press it firm so it can't slip. Then pull the blind down as far as the sun needs.
Window sock
Open the back door, close its window, and pull the sock down over the top of the door like a sleeve until the hem sits below the window. Then shut the door with the sock on.
Questions parents ask
How many window shades do I need?
Two, one for each back side window. The sun moves from side to side as the road turns, and most shades are sold in pairs.
Are car window shades safe for babies?
Yes, a soft one on a back window. The two things to watch are hard parts that could come loose and the driver's view, which is why a shade never goes on the windshield or the front side windows.
Does a window shade keep a parked car cool?
No. A car parked in the sun heats up fast, shades or not, so never leave your baby in it, even for a minute.
Do I need a window shade if my car windows are tinted?
Often yes. A dark tint cuts glare and heat, but its darkness tells you little about UV, because a clear UV film can block almost all of it and a dark tint may block no more. Tint also leaves direct sun on a baby who can't turn away.
What about sun through the back windshield?
A baby facing the back looks straight into it, so a mesh shade there helps too, along with the infant seat's own canopy pulled forward. Check that you can still see behind you in the mirrors.
Can I put a cover over the car seat instead?
Not over the whole seat, because a cover there holds the heat in. Pull the infant seat's own canopy forward, and let the window shade keep the sun off from the side (car seat blankets and covers).
