How Do I Shade My Baby From The Sun?

How do I shade my baby from the sun? How do I offer my baby a safe haven when they're in the buggy or car? How do I prevent the sun from getting in my baby's eyes? or ensure they are protected from harmful UV rays? Last year I wrote a review of some options when it comes to buggy shades. They all had their pros and cons and I'm really pleased to say that over the last 12 months, the clever people at both Snoozeshade and Outlook have been tweaking their designs to make some significant improvements. Here's my take on the latest offerings when it comes to shading a baby from the sun - a buggy shade review and car shade review in one!

Snoozeshade Plus



The Snoozeshade Plus is a multi-purpose buggy shade that offers your baby sun protection and a nice cosy, shaded place to help them drift to sleep. These days the ONLY time that Lara naps for me is when she is in the buggy so when it is bright I need to cover her to help her fall asleep and the Snoozeshade is ideal.

The Snoozeshade Plus has responded to feedback by ensuring that your child can see out of the shade if they want to with a fold-down flap that reduces the thickness of the shade in front of their face. It has longer velcro tabs which now make it the easiest to fit of all the buggy shades I have ever tried and makes a quick removal of the Snoozeshade a realistic prospect.

Last year I complained that the Snoozeshade original didn't allow me quick access to Lara. The plus features a much bigger zip-open slot for me to see Lara as she sleeps. I'm also happy to see that the length has been made greater so that Lara's long legs don't stick out.

The fabric on the Snoozeshade Plus is, as ever, soft, flexible and very lightweight while still offering UPF50+ sun protection throughout the WHOLE product.

SnoozeShade plus retails for around £30 . If you want to find out more about the Snoozeshade then there are some brilliant videos about how to use and fit them on their youtube channel.

Outlook Shade-A-Babe

   

The Outlook Shade-A-Babe has changed a lot since I last tried it. The fabric is now a lot lighter which means I can fold the buggy with it still attached and the fabric is softer against Lara's legs. The Shade-A-Babe has a really nice big zip-open section so that I can lift Lara in and out even with the shade attached to the buggy.

Although the velcro tabs are easier to fit to the buggy than in previous versions, I do still find the tabs too long and you have to make an effort to tuck them away. Also, the length of the Outlook Shade-A-Babe was one of the things I really rated about it in the past and it seems a bit shorter than I remember (Lara's feet poke out).

Despite this, I really rate the Shade-A-Babe as it is made to a very high standard. It is a little disappointing that you only get the maximum sun protection in the area over your baby's face but the ease of use makes up for this. I love the fact that you can roll down the front cover of the buggy shade and tuck it well-away inside its own little pocket, perhaps if your baby is taking a nap under a tree before moving away later.

The Outlook Shade-a-Babe costs around £30 for a single-buggy version and can be bought online from Cheeky Rascals and you can also find out more on their youtube channel.

Outlook Auto-Shade



Me and traditional car window shades do not get on. Since I got pregnant nearly 3 years ago, I have been through 5 different sets of window shades with those annoying stick-on suckers. The suckers either don't stick, or else I forget they are there and attempt to open the electric windows with them still attached (there is a sucker lodged inside the door cavity!).

The clever people at Outlook have invented a car window shade that DOESN'T USE SUCTION CUPS! And, you can open the window with the shade still in place because it fits over the whole car door, not just the window pane.

The Outlook Auto-Shade brings a gentle darkness to the back of the car and helps Lara to nap when she is in her car seat. I've found that they seem to shade Lara a lot more than any other window shade I have tried and because it is made from the same soft fabric as the Shade-a-babe, I know it offers good UV protection too.



The Outlook Auto-Shade comes in two different shapes for rounded or rectangular car windows. I think our car is somewhere inbetween because the fabric doesn't sit well at the corners and ruffles up - this causes it to flap in the wind and make a really annoying noise when we drive. Annoying enough that my husband won't drive when the shades are fitted.

The Outlook Auto-Shade sells for around £30 a pair and can be bought from Cheeky Rascals

A Summer of Buggy Shades Reviewed

Summer is gone. Boo. So why then am I writing an article all about products designed to protect your little ones from the sun? Well, having spent the summer trialling different types of buggy shade, I have lots of experience which is fresh in my head and now seems like to right time to pass this knowledge on to anyone who is planning a purchase for a winter sun holiday. I'll also remind you all next spring when you might be planning to purchase something for the summer months ahead.

We have tried three different brands of buggy shade over the summer on our two totally different buggies. In case you're interested, we own a Maclaren Triumph and a Mothercare MyChoice.


The Shade-A-Babe

We bought the Shade-A-Babe this time last year for a mediterranean trip. Even then, when Lara was just 3 months old, her little legs rubbed against the harsh fabric over her knees. We bought it because of its UPF50+ sun protection and because it claimed to fit all buggies, ever. It does this through use of extra-long velcro loops which you trim to size; this is all very well but if you, like us, have to swap it between buggies which require two different sizes of velcro, you can't really trim them and they end up flapping around all over the place.

The Shade-A-Babe is the easiest to get your child in and out of as it has a big zip-up opening. It also has an extra level of sun protection over your child's face and it is the only buggy shade we have tried which is genuinely long enough to cover the full length of the Maclaren pushchair. The Shade-a-babe is bulky and the pushchair won't fold with it on so we got very stressed having to put it on and off all the time.

The Shade-a-Babe costs around £30 and they also make them in different colours and sizes to fit double buggies.



The Snoozeshade

The Snoozeshade sells itself more as a mobile blackout blind than a sun shade. It is full length buggy cover that offers UPF50+ sun protection.

We loved the fact that the Snoozeshade is made from a soft elasticated fabric because it was gentler on the legs when/if they rubbed and because it was easy to stretch over the buggy. It is also a lot more compact than the Shade-a-babe and can be folded up into its own little carry case.

We found the (fixed-length) velcro tabs a lot easier to fit and as such, it is more more appealing for when you know you are going to have to take the cover on and off frequently. We were a little disappointed that the Snoozeshade didn't quite reach to the bottom of the pushchair - it looked like it would be a better fit on a pushchair with a slight angled shape to it and it worked well when the MyChoice was in pram-mode.

The Snoozeshade has a very small peek-hole which zips up - I think I'd rather have a bigger opening in case I need to quickly get to my child.

The Snoozeshade costs around £20.



The Kurtis Baby Peace

I recently reviewed the Kurtis Baby Peace on The Family Panel. I liked it but I came to the conclusion that it is much better suited to a pram than a pushchair and that it wasn't very good value for money given the short amount of time that your baby will spend in a pram.

The Baby Peace is much easier to use than the other two shades because it doesn't require you to mess about with velcro. You simply clip the 100% organic cotton cover onto the roof of your buggy using plastic shower-curtain-esque rings. The Baby Peace looks great, offers the same UPF5-+ protection and is less cumbersome than the other two. It is incredibly easy just to push it to one side if you need to reach in to tend your child but it isn't really long enough for use on an upright pushchair.

The Baby Peace costs around £30 and would make a great luxury gift for a newborn.



None of these buggy shades is 100% right for our needs. There is no single one I would say 'yes', that's the one I recommend. I feel they are all lacking a little and could evolve a bit more. In terms of value for money and general ease of use, I tend to prefer the Snoozeshade for a pushchair. In terms of quality and looks, the Baby Peace is my favourite for a pram.