Humidity HELP!

[PeachBaby]

My poor DS is pretty good about riding in a carseat. But just the past 2 days he was screaming his head off withing 2 minutes of driving, so I kept having to pull over to comfort him. When I picked him up, he was sweating like crazy, so I know that's why he'd been crying. The a/c was on full blast, but apparently it's not strong enough.

Is there a cooling pad for carseats? I was thinking of maybe the kind you put in the freezer for a while and then they can keep you cool for several hours.

[heidirk]

You could slip a flexible cold pack under his car seat pad. THe cold would probably help. ('though hard core car seat people might disagree w/me! )

IME though, AC doesn't effectively cool the back seat of a car, and if the sun is shining on you, it's pointless. Moving air is the most effective coolant, especially when you're sweating. We don't really use the AC, we just have the widows open!

[mbbinsc]

Do you have to park in the sun? I had to get the back car windows tinted when we moved back to SC as DSs carseat became too hot (even with covering it with blanket). I usually park in the garage at home so it was a problem when we were out. I think it is why the parking spaces in shade go first around here!

[steelmagnolia9]

:

I've had the same problem with my dd this week! It's getting hot here in the south, and she's miserable in the carseat. I have been going out to turn the car on a few minutes before we leave the house so it will be nice and cool when she gets in, and doing the same when we're out (waiting outside the car until it cools off). But her back is still hot when I get her out of the seat sometimes. Keeping the windows open in 90 degree weather just isn't an option here.

[JMJ]

How old is he? What about giving him an ice-cold drink to carry or even a frozen teething toy?

[heidirk]

well, we're in PA, where summer temps routinely hit 90's, with 80 % relative humidity, and the air moving in the car is still cooller than the air inside the house.

do the kids sweat? yes. are they miserable? no.



The cold teether idea is good!

[K1329]

I'm in the deep south and driving without A/C during the summer months is simply not an option!

I start the car a few minutes before we get in and also make it a point to park in the shade - even if it's further away from where we need to go. We also leave the house with an icy cold drink. Other than that, I haven't found much else to do about it. I'll be checking back for other's ideas!

[4evermom]

Our car's A/C is broken so summer driving is just miserable if we can't find shade to park in or are driving more than 20-30 minutes. I usually have one of those cold packs in my bag to keep drinks cold so I'll hand that back to ds if he complains. I even have packed a couple next to him on longer roadtrips. He also likes those mini battery operated handheld fans. Some squirt water, too. But I've had trouble finding decent ones that don't break quickly. They do help a lot and ds thinks they are fun.

[AVeryGoodYear]

Ohh, this is a good post, I hadn't even considered this angle of the car trip we'll be taking this month. I'll have to be aware of the temperature in the back of the car and whether the sun is shining on our little girl, overheating her... geez, the things you don't think of! She's starting to develop a bit more fine motor control and has just in the past few days begun grabbing objects and trying to bring them to her mouth (awwwh!) so I'll see about packing frozen teething toys... good idea!

[foreverinbluejeans]

I live in Tucson and there have been cooling pads on Craigslist. They are called BabyBee Cool. I think they are around $35 new. I got a cheap emergency foil blanket cover that I use to cover my grandson's carseat when it's in the parked car.

[eepster]

I have a shiny silver insulated cover that I put on DS's carseat, while the car is parked, in the summer. It really helps. DS's seat is the coolest spot in the car when it's been sitting. If we happen to have any cold drinks with us, those go on DS's seat under the cover, not only do they stay cool, but they give the seat an extra chill factor.

When I turn on the AC, I also open the window next to DS just a little bit (like a 1/4 inch.) The slightly open window sucks the cool AC air back to him.

[beanma]

I'm in NC and I also recommend when you park on a sunny day that you leave your windows cracked about an inch. It really helps with the build up of heat. The car will still be hot when you get back in, but not as hot as it would be if you left it sealed up tight to be it's own solar oven.

[4evermom]

And just as a reminder about how hot things like the seat belt clasps get (and I'm in PA, not that far south and it isn't even summer, yet). I tried to pick up a dime that was sitting on my seat in the sun while parked at a rest stop (so not that long of a time and the windows were cracked). That dime burned my finger enough that it was still sore that night even though I dropped it immediately.