What this is about
Most families end up with a small row of baby hats by the front door: a cotton sun hat, a thin knit hat and a thick one with ear flaps. Which one goes on depends on the weather outside, not on the outfit.
When you come back in, the hat goes back on its hook. Indoors and in bed, your baby is better off with a bare head, newborns included.
Which hat does your baby need today?
A light knit hat takes the edge off cool air, a lined winter hat covers the ears when it gets cold, and a sun hat shades the face once the UV index reaches 3, even through light cloud. Babies under 3 months lose heat faster, so each hat goes on a little sooner in the first months.
Which hat should your baby wear today?
Today's hatThe warm hat.
From UV 3
No hat
From 12°C
54°F
For walks in the stroller or the carrier. Indoors and in the car, hats come off.
Go by the feels-like temperature rather than the air number alone, because a windy 10°C (50°F) day can feel like 7°C (45°F) on bare ears. On a bright, chilly spring day, you can get strong sun and a cold breeze on the same walk. A thin cotton sun hat won't warm the ears, so keep the light knit hat on and pull the stroller canopy forward for shade. Check it from your baby's level after you turn a corner, because the sun can slip in from the side.
Off indoors and for every sleep
Leave your baby's head uncovered for naps and nighttime sleep, in every season. A baby lets off extra body heat through the head. Covering it in bed traps that warmth, and overheating raises the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Even in a cool bedroom, add warmth with a sleep bag or fitted sleepwear instead of a cap.
The thin newborn hat used just after birth helps your newborn stay warm while body temperature settles. Your nurse or midwife will tell you when it can come off. A matching cap in a pajama or sleepsuit set doesn't mean your baby needs it in bed.
It's tempting to leave a hat alone when your baby has finally fallen asleep on a walk, but take outdoor hats off as soon as you step into the house, a store, a café or a heated train so your baby doesn't get too warm.
Sun hats: shade the eyes, ears and neck
A summer hat is portable shade, not a layer for warmth. Look for a sun hat in lightweight, tightly woven cotton or linen with a wide brim all the way around, or a legionnaire style with a soft drape down the back of the neck.
Good: Wide brim or neck flap
Shades the face, the ears and the back of the neck at the same time.
Not good: Baseball cap
The visor shades the front of the face, but leaves the ears and the neck in the sun.
In a reclined stroller or a front carrier, a stiff brim bumps the seat back or your chest and tips down over your baby's eyes. A soft, floppy brim bends out of the way instead.
For babies under 6 months, shade and covering clothes come first on sunny days. Use the stroller canopy or a tree alongside the sun hat, because sunlight still comes in from the side or bounces off pavement, water and sand.
Where the shade falls
The sun here is halfway up the sky, as on a summer morning or afternoon. A lower sun reaches further under every brim.
Cap
Front only
6–7 cm of brim, all of it in front. The sides and the back have none.
Legionnaire
Peak and flap
A peak like a cap's, and a flap over the ears and neck. The flap meets the peak at the sides.
Bucket hat
5 cm (2 in)
At least this much brim, angled down all round, on a deep crown that sits low. That is the minimum for a child.
Wide brim
7.5 cm (3 in)
Brim all round, and at least 6 cm of it on a child's hat.
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarPartly in the sun
- Back of the neckIn the shade
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the sun
- EarIn the sun
- Back of the neckIn the sun
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckIn the sun
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckIn the shade
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the sun
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckIn the shade
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckIn the shade
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckIn the shade
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckPartly in the sun
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckIn the shade
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckIn the shade
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckIn the shade
- EyesIn the shade
- CheekIn the shade
- EarIn the shade
- Back of the neckIn the shade
Cold days: warm ears and a hat that stays put
Below 8°C (46°F), a thin single-layer cotton beanie often isn't enough on a windy walk. Switch to a fleece-lined or wool winter hat shaped to cover the earlobes, and below 4°C (39°F) a trapper hat with warm earflaps blocks gusts at the sides. One well-lined earflap hat can do both jobs, so you may not need two. A spare dry hat in the bag helps on wet or snowy outings. If you aren't sure whether your baby is too warm on a milder day, feel the back of the neck: damp skin means stepping down to a lighter knit.
A jacket or pram suit hood looks like it could do the same job, but a loose hood can stay facing forward when your baby turns to look to the side, pressing into one cheek and leaving the other ear in the wind. A fitted hat turns with the head. When your baby already has a warm winter hat on, leave a thick padded hood down so it doesn't bunch behind the head and tip the chin toward the chest.
Fit and chin straps: why babies pull hats off
If a hat comes off ten seconds after you put it on, check what might be bothering your baby: fabric slipping over the eyes, a scratchy inside seam, or a tight band. Age labels on hats are rough guesses, so measure your baby's head and try the hat on before cutting the tags.
Good: Snug above the brows
Sits mid-forehead with the eyes clear, without slipping or squeezing.
Not good: Too big: slips over the eyes
A deep crown drops over the brows when your baby moves, so your baby pulls it right off.
Not good: Too tight: leaves a mark
A tight band presses into the forehead and leaves a pink line when you take it off.
On windy days, a chin-strap sun hat or earflap hat helps keep the hat on. Pick a short strap with a breakaway clip (a clasp designed to pop open if it catches) or a soft hook-and-loop tab that sits comfortably under the chin without pulling, and skip hats with long strings that tie in a knot.
Questions parents ask
Should my newborn wear a hat to sleep if the room is cold?
No. Keep your baby's head uncovered for sleep even in a cool room, and warm the body with a sleep bag or fitted sleepwear layers instead.
How long do newborns need to wear a hat after birth?
Only while your newborn's temperature settles in the first hours after birth, or for as long as your midwife or nurse advises. Once you're home in a normal room, the newborn hat stays off indoors.
Can my baby wear a hat in the car seat?
Yes, for the cold walk to the car. A hat doesn't sit under the car seat straps, so it isn't a problem the way a puffy coat is. Once the car warms up, take it off, even if your baby has fallen asleep.
Does my baby need a hat in 16°C (61°F) weather?
Not for warmth. At a feels-like 16°C (61°F) or above, even a newborn's head can stay bare. A sun hat still goes on if the UV index is 3 or more.
Do babies need hats in summer?
For sun protection, not warmth. Use a wide-brimmed cotton or linen sun hat when the UV index reaches 3, and take it off indoors or in deep shade so your baby can cool down.
What hat works best in a baby carrier?
In a carrier, your chest warms your baby's body while the head and ears stay exposed to sun, wind or cold. So the hat is the same one you would choose for the stroller that day.
What if my baby still refuses to keep a sun hat on?
Check first that the brim isn't flopping over the eyes, and try putting the hat on right as you step outside when there is something interesting to look at. If your baby still pulls off a chin-strap hat, lean on the stroller canopy, shady routes, covering clothes and earlier or later walk times.
