The 8 Best Baby Sun Hats of 2021

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Our Top Picks

Best Overall: Sunday Afternoons Kids Play Hat at Amazon

"Parents will stop you at the pool, park, or playground to ask you where you got this stylish UPF 50+ baby hat."

Best With a Flap: SimpliKids UPF 50+ Baby Hat at Amazon

"This super lightweight sun hat has an extra-large neck flap that reaches all the way to your baby's shoulders, shielding from harmful rays."

Best Wide Brim: i play. Brim Sun Hat at buybuybaby.com

"This wide brim hat provides loads of sun protection and helps keep the sun out of your baby’s face and eyes."

Best for Boys: SunBusters UPF 50+ Flap Hat at Amazon

"This quick-drying baseball cap has a fabric flap that covers ears, neck, and back with colors and patterns your son will love."

Best for Girls: UV Skinz Baby Girl Swim Flap Hat at uvskinz.com

"With adorable fabrics and a cute style, this flap hat will protect your little lady’s face, neck, and back from the hot sun."

Best for an Active Baby: Swimlids Sun Hat at swimlids.com

"This UPF 50+ sun hat will stay on even when swimming, running on a windy beach, or riding on a boat, making it a must-have for boat babies."

Best Monogrammed Hat: Etsy BowsAndBelongings Sun Hat at etsy.com

"Up the cute factor with this monogrammed adjustable sun hat available in over twenty fonts and thread colors."

Best Bonnet Style Sun Hat: ModBonnet Sun Hat at urbanbabybonnets.com

"This reversible UPF 50+ bonnet comes in countless patterns of showstopping fabrics and is fabricated by a company you can be proud of."

If you’re headed outside with a baby on a sunny day, it’s best to have them wear a sun hat to protect their delicate skin from harmful rays. UVB and UVA rays can easily burn a tot's skin when left unprotected, and this could lead to increased skin damage later in life. Wide-brimmed sun hats made with UPF material can shield babies and young kids from the sun damage that typically occurs in childhood.

Some little ones won’t even realize they’ve got one on, while others will protest all day long. Find the right sun hat for your babe and keep that cute little head covered up.

Our Top Picks

Best Overall: Sunday Afternoons Kids Play Hat

Parents will stop you at the pool, park, or playground to ask you where you got this hat. It’s literally that good. The UPF 50+ hat is made with an adjustable chinstrap with breakaway technology that releases upon tension, easy sizing adjustments, and mesh panels for breathability. A chinstrap is a must when you're dealing with a fussy baby or you're in a windy location.

Heads, necks, and faces will be protected in a stylish array of over 20 colors. The Infant size is for 0-6 months and the baby size is for 6-24 months.

Why You'll Love It

Highest UPF protection available
Adjustable chin strap
Breakaway chin strap
Water repellant
Stain-resistant
Easily packable

Best With a Flap: SimpliKids UPF 50+ Baby Hat

This super lightweight sun hat has an extra-large neck flap that can reach all the way to your baby's shoulders, while the wide front brim helps protect your baby's face.

The smartest thing about this hat is the back drawstring, which helps secure a tight fit on your baby's head. Even if older babies try to pull on the chin tie, the drawstring should help keep the hat secure on baby’s head. Choose from more than ten colors and patterned fabrics, and a range of sizes for babies of 1-12 months up to 2-4 years.

Best Wide Brim: i play. Brim Sun Hat

i-play-reg-brim-sun-hat — Courtesy of buybuyBABY.

A wide brim hat provides loads of sun protection and helps keep the sun out of your baby’s face and eyes. Your little one will look adorable in any of the six bright colors. A registry favorite for good reason, this hat comes in sizes 0-6 months, 9-18 months, and 2-4 years.

The fun-in-the-sun style ties under the chin, so it may be best for younger babies or an infant that won’t mind the tie.

Best for Boys: SunBusters UPF 50+ Flap Hat

Skip the trucker hat style and go for these cute caps instead. These baseball style flap hats are equally as cute as they are protective. The quick-drying baseball cap has a fabric flap that covers ears, neck, and back.

For an optimal fit, measure your babe’s head circumference and choose between small, medium, and large. SunBusters hats are made from reef-safe material and come in a variety of colors and patterns that your son will love.

Best for Girls: UV Skinz Baby Girl Swim Flap Hat

uv-skinz-baby-girl-flap-hat — Courtesy of UV Skinz.

With adorable fabrics and a cute style, this sun hat will protect your little lady’s face, neck, and back from the hot sun. The ruffled brim ensures cuteness, and the elastic back makes for a perfect fit. Sizes range from 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, and 18-24 months, as well as 2T and 3T, so it’s easy to get the right fit for your girl.

Good to Know

It is best to avoid the sun between the hours of 10 AM and 3 PM. If you are outside during these hours, please be sure to apply and reapply sunscreen every few hours.

Best for an Active Baby: Swimlids Sun Hat

Swimlids infant sun hats are truly innovative. The nylon/spandex UPF 50+ fabric provides a bit of a tighter fit, almost like a swim cap but with the protection of a baseball hat. The hat will stay on even when swimming, running on a windy beach, or riding on a boat.

There’s no fussing with straps, since the hat just stays put. The infant size fits ages 0-1, but you can find Swimlids hats for toddlers, kids, and adults as well. For any boating babies, this hat is a must-have.

Best Monogrammed Hat: Etsy BowsAndBelongings Sun Hat

monogrammed-personalized-embroidered-infant-sun-hat — Courtesy of Etsy.

Up the cute factor with this monogrammed adjustable sun hat. Choose from six colors and over twenty fonts and thread colors to make this sweet monogrammed sun hat a truly custom cap.

The cap is available in a range of sizes, including for 0-6 months, 9-18 months, and for toddlers from two to four years old. Give this as a gift or make one for your own sweet baby.

Good to Know

Most of the sun's rays can come through the clouds even on an overcast day, so be sure to use sun protection even on cloudy days.

Best Bonnet Style Sun Hat: ModBonnet in Believe! Sun Hat

modbonnet-in-believe-baby-sun-hat — Courtesy of Urban Baby Bonnets.

These bonnet sun hats are a beautiful work of art. The reversible hats come in countless patterns of showstopping fabrics and are fabricated by a company you can be proud of. They are made by fairly paid work-at-home women in the USA.

With a seamed, wide brim, this hat can be folded back as much or as little as you want. The company boasts that these bonnets are also a useful cover for discreet breastfeeding. The snap closure means that baby can’t tug or pull on any strings, so the hat will stay on. This bonnet will become a treasured heirloom you’ll want to pass on to the next generation.

Why Trust Verywell Family

Maya Polton is a former marketing manager and current freelance writer who covers food, home, and parenting. She's a mom of a 9-year-old son, 6-year-old son, and 2-year old daughter. With three spring babies, she's all for cute hats that stay put on those tiny heads. She misses how cute her daughter looked in her Urban Baby Bonnet and is ready to buy some Swimlids caps for her deep-sea fishing boys.