Back Seat Mirrors - the Good, the Bad and the Pointless

One of the things we suggest when asked about baby "essentials" is a good mirror for the headrest above a new baby's car seat or capsule.

Unfortunately there is a huge difference between good, useful and safe mirrors and those that are better off staying in their packaging.

What makes a good mirror for the car?

1. Safe acrylic shatterproof glass. It's basically not glass but a reflective acrylic as is a MUST. If it doesn't have this it is not approved and unsafe.

2. Should be convex AND should tilt so you can actually see the baby's face and they can see you. Some of the cheaper and widely available mirrors (and the ones we find thrown in the boot pretty quickly) don't tilt and so you get a better view of your car ceiling than the baby.

3. Two straps are better than one. A strap going over the top of the headrest and one going around will stabilise the mirror and reduce slippage over time.

So what are our favourite mirrors?

for rear-facing kids we like

1. Britax Back Seat Mirror - high quality mirror that will last for more than one child https://babythings.com.au/products/britax-safe-n-sound-back-seat-mirror?_pos=1&_sid=0a8da04cb&_ss=r
2. Two Nomads mirror - a slightly cheaper option but still a great size, convex and tiltable https://babythings.com.au/products/two-nomads-baby-view-mirror?_pos=4&_sid=0a8da04cb&_ss=r
3. Playette Baby Car Mirror - great for smaller cars or tiny headrests https://babythings.com.au/products/playette-baby-car-mirror?_pos=2&_sid=0a8da04cb&_ss=r

There are also mirrors available to help with forward-facing kids ane even for trickier cars like utes and coupes or those with fixed headrests.