Bandana as baby hat
I had two babies who HATED wearing hats. Here's Amber's solution:
This may be a no brainer for some parents, but i have just discovered that it works wonderfully! While at the beach with our 18 month-old daughter, we realized that her sun hat would not stay on. Either because of the wind or because she would pull it off. So we simply bought a multicolored bandana, doubled it over and tied it on! She never bothered with it and looked pretty darn cute too.
Bandanas are a great camping hack as well! Head covering, nose wiper, hand dryer, table duster, etc. (but hopefully not at the same time).
(or any Amazon link at Parent Hacks), you throw some change into our tip jar without any extra steps or cost to you. Thank you!
but, but, the brim is the whole point!
Posted by: shirky | 13 June 2008 at 09:33 AM
Yeah, but if the choice is either no hat or a bandana, at least the bandana keeps the sun from beating down on the kid's head.
Posted by: Parent Hacks Editor | 13 June 2008 at 09:39 AM
I would agree that brim is a feature, but not the whole point. It's easier to sunscreen a face than a scalp!
These are much cheaper than hats, too. I must have 30 of them from my years working at a summer camp.
Posted by: RobMonroe | 13 June 2008 at 10:34 AM
And, if you can get a kid to leave a bandana on their head, you are one step closer to getting to leave a hat on their heads!
Posted by: Angus | 13 June 2008 at 10:16 PM
Brilliant! Never would have thought of it on my own for some reason.
Posted by: Jamie | 14 June 2008 at 02:04 PM
Great idea!! Luckily my kids like hats anyway so they get the added benefit of the brim, but for others the bandana would be a great place to start as far as getting them used to having something on their heads.
Posted by: JEANNE | 14 June 2008 at 02:50 PM
Fantastic idea. My toddler such a small amount of blonde hair and won't wear a hat. At least this will protect his scalp.
Posted by: Lauren | 14 June 2008 at 04:25 PM
Even a thin cloth diaper(not pre-folded) works well for this. My babe was born with a head full of black hair which gets terribly hot in the sun. At ten months, everything that isn't tied down gets pulled off, inspected and then tossed. But the diaper as doo-rag seems to work. It reflects most of the heat away and is thin enough to breathe.
Posted by: Rita | 15 June 2008 at 07:48 PM
Skeptical, that she'll keep it on, but we'll try it. For more protection though parents may want to opt for a UV protectant material. UV rays go through cotton fabrics and clothes. I'm not sure where to get scarves, but here are some sun protection tips...
http://www.organic-baby-resource.com/
(type in baby-sun-protection.html after the url)
Warm Regards
Posted by: Erika | 23 June 2008 at 06:35 PM