Parents are making this dangerous mistake all too often in hot weather

Hot weather parenting is not usually something we're up against in this country.

However, in the last few days temperatures have soared into the high 20s and mums and dads are coping with sunblock battles, dehydrated kids and fitful nights in hot beds. It's at this time of year that a muslin or scarf draped over the opening of the pram seems like a good way to provide shade for our little ones. However, Swedish paediatrician Svante Norgren, of Stockholm children’s hospital has previously warned of the dangers of covering prams with anything, even light muslin cloths in hot weather. “It gets extremely hot down in the pram, something like a thermos,” he told Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. “There is also bad circulation of the air and it is hard to see the baby with a cover over the pram.” The newspaper decided to conduct an experiment during which they left a pram out in the sun for an hour and a half during the midday heat. They found that uncovered the temperature inside the pram rose to 22°C, while with a thin blanket covering the hooded section the temperatures reached 34°C inside the pram. These findings were reported on Kidspot. The HSE guidelines on safe baby sleep explicitly advise not allowing your baby to get too hot as they sleep as this will increase the risk of SIDS. They also state: "Never place the cot, pram or bed next to a radiator, heater or fire or in direct sunlight." Dr. Hamed Khan, an emergency department doctor at St George’s Hospital London, told The Huffington Post UK that he was "unsurprised" by the result of the experiment. “Children in such situations are at risk of dehydration, especially if they are subjected to such high temperatures for a long period of time." “I agree that you should not excessively cover a pram, but of course, it also depends on the individual situation, the weather, and the extent of the cover." “I always advise my patients who are parents to keep a very close eye on their children during hot weather, and make sure that they are drinking ample water and other fluids," he told Huff Post UK. Visit here for further HSE guidelines on safe infant sleep.