Travelling with Kids: Safe Car Travel when the Weather is Hot

Travelling with Kids: Safe Car Travel when the Weather is Hot

When summer weather reaches high temperatures during heatwaves, it’s important to do what you can to keep your children safe, comfortable, cool and hydrated. This is important whether you’re at home or out and about and essential during car travel in hot weather too.

Cars heat up very quickly, even with windows opens and the inside temperatures can soon reach dangerous levels, especially when stationary. Young children are extra vulnerable to heat-related illnesses as their small bodies produce more heat relative to their size compared to adults and they also don’t have the same sweating abilities to regulate their temperature.

In this article, we will discuss how to ensure safe car travel when the weather is hot to help your family get to your destination safely and comfortably.

The first thing to mention is to never leave your child/children unattended in the car – this is a good general rule to have no matter what the weather to keep them safe. Also never leave any pets in the car when the weather is warm either.

Before the Journey

• Before you set off on your drive, dress your children in light and comfortable clothing to help keep them cool.
• Cover the windows near your children with sun shades with UPF 50+. Opt for large ones that offer better coverage. They usually just stick to the window with suction cups and can be moved to ensure the best coverage for where your child is sat. Some car sun shade options stretch over the full rear window for full coverage. You want to make sure that your child’s head is away from any direct sun exposure to prevent heat stroke.
• Infant car seats usually have a sun canopy that can be used in the car too – choose one with a good coverage, low reaching canopy with high UPF, if you’re buying something new. Ensure that you can still see your baby from the front of the car by using a baby car mirror.
• Before you put your kids in the car, check that their car seats, straps and buckles aren’t too hot to touch. You can get light coloured car seat covers or car seats with mesh fabric that provide better air flow to keep your kids cool. Another way to stop the seats from getting too hot is to place a lightly coloured blanket over them while your car is parked in sunny spots.

During the Drive

• Check on your children regularly to see how they are feeling and to make sure they’re not getting hot.
• Make regular stops to get some fresh air or visit service stations with air conditioning to cool down. An ice cream makes the perfect snack, of course!
• Use the air conditioning in your car or open the windows by the front seats to get some air flow into the car.
• Children who are old enough can also use their own electric mini travel fans to cool themselves down.
• Keep iced or chilled drinks in insulated water bottles within reach for your children so that they can regularly have sips to keep them hydrated.

Conclusion

Sometimes driving in hot weather can’t be avoided. If you can do your journey earlier or later in the day to avoid the midday heat in the car, then that’s great, but if you can’t, follow the above tips to help ensure your family is safe and cool enough to enjoy the family road trip!

If your family has a truck style care, then look into ute canopies which cover up the tray of the truck or ute to create a secure and versatile storage space which is ideal for travelling with your family. When stationary, the doors can help create spots of shade on sunny days too.

Further reading:

• 10 Tips for a Stress-free Road Trip with Kids
• Games to Play on Car Journeys with Children
• How to Survive Long Car Journeys with Children

Collaboration.