Severe summer mistake: Experts warn to stop doing this with your baby
While it's common for a parent to shade their baby from the sun, when temperatures rise you could also be creating a dangerous greenhouse effect.
The summer is here, and the heat is rising, but this common summertime mistake could end up costing you a trip to the emergency room with your baby.
Most parent's natural instinct is to cover the baby stroller with a blanket, or a shield so to speak, from the sun. But what many don't realize is that as the sunlight passes through the fabric, it heats up the air inside.
"Essentially the blanket is acting like the glass of a greenhouse. As the heat gets trapped inside, it blocks cooler air from circulating in," explains Nicole Karkic, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. "This causes the temperature inside to rise higher than the outside air."
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You have to also remember, that babies can't sweat to cool themselves the same way that adults do, preventing them from cooling off on their own at all.
"They also can't tell us that they are getting hot, and to tell us and let us know that they need help to cool down," says Dr. Ayisha Kurji, Pediatrician, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Saskatchewan. "So that’s why this is really dangerous."
According to Kurji, these situations can become quite severe, where babies end up with severe complications because of it.
There are many signs of an overheated baby such as irritability, or flushed skin, but extreme fatigue or dehydration are the ultimate indicators to get to the hospital.
"Always better to be safe to take them in and get checked out instead of waiting at home and not being sure," says Kurji.
Watch the video above for more tips on keeping babies safe in the extreme summer heat
