I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to back track to find a lost sun hat for my toddler. Sadly, there have been times when I haven’t been able to find one and I’m guessing they’ve either blown away if it was particularly windy OR someone picked them 
up pronto and claimed them for their own toddler. We look after our sun hats and purchase good ones, so it’d be a great score.
You may wonder where this post is heading (pardon the pun) , so let’s get to the crux of it. I have some criteria I stick to when purchasing sun hats for toddlers. It needs to cover the neck & ears and have a wide enough brim to keep the little ones face shaded, but not so large that it’s a big struggle to see the world around them.
If a sun hat hasn’t got a tie for under the chin, it needs to be made from material that grips well or with good elasticity around the head for on those windy days. Often peak sun hats are good for that. I don’t like elastic around the neck, though and neither does my little girl, Charlotte. If there are no ties on a cotton hat but I like the style, I’m happy to sew some on when I get home so we don’t lose anymore on those windy days.
Sun hats for toddlers also needs to be made from material that blocks out the sun. Straw hats can look cute, but they are generally open weave even if they don’t appear to be, so they don’t cover my criteria for sun protection.
Finally, anything made from a harder material tends to be impractical if you’re in a crowd because they get knocked about.
