GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — As a good chunk of the country is already dealing with extreme heat, we are surely in store for more summer-like temperatures in the Midwest. Now is the perfect time to remind parents and guardians about keeping their little ones safe from overheating, because sometimes with kids... it's hard to tell.
"My goal is to make it easier for parents and not this big elusive thing that you cant get right," said Michelle Pratt who like many new parents, had a lot of questions when it came to raising a kid and all of the baby stuff meant to keep your kid safe.
"We don't just birth a child or have a child come into our lives and it's like now you have this magic wand that hits you and now you just know how to use all of this baby gear… like what? I don't know how to do this," Michelle said.
When Michelle couldn't find the right resources on car seat safety, she took matters into her own hands and became a Nationally Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. She later founded Safe in the Seat, her company that is geared at helping parents keep their kids safe.
In one of her viral videos demonstrating the dangers of just how hot strollers can get in in direct sunlight, Michelle tested four common ways we see parents cover car seats in full sun on an 87° day, in an attempt to keep their little ones cool.
"I knew it would get hot, I didn't think it would get that hot that fast," Michelle said.
What she found that DID work was fairly simple.
"The fan to me is critical, and the least amount of coverage is critical, and the shade so if the duration has to be longer you are preventing any of the major risks. Shade, fan, lightweight clothing and sunscreen if they are 6 months plus."
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more KARE11 Sunrise:
Watch the latest coverage from KARE11 Sunrise in our YouTube playlist: