In Depth Baby Product Reviews Led by a Pediatrician
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By Wendy Schmitz ⋅ Senior Research Analyst ⋅ May 29, 2024
The Best Babies's Car Baby Mirror
Are you searching for the peace of mind only a baby mirror for the car can provide? We purchased and tested 10 of the most popular car seat mirrors to determine which options were best. Our review includes details on each mirror's installation, stability, and quality and how well they compared to the competition. Continue reading for all the information you need to find the best mirror for your little one and your budget.
If you want to keep tabs on your baby in infant car seat or a rear-facing top-ranked convertible car seat, a great baby mirror is key. Staying rear-facing longer is the safest place for little ones, and we recommend a rear-facing installation for as long as the manufacturer limits allow in the manual.
Editor's Note: We updated our mirror review on May 29, 2024. This update includes a review of mirror availability and accurate pricing.
The Lusso Mirror is a simple headrest mirror with a black bevel that works as it should. This baby mirror is well-packaged and pre-assembled. It comes with extras, such as a soft cleaning cloth, thank you card, a book of coupons, and an air freshener. While we don't need the add-ons and suspect most parents will lose the cloth, we do like the thoughtfulness of the additions. The mirror provides a clear reflection, a sturdy attachment plate, and a straightforward installation. The ball and socket joint with the Lusso are easy to move but stiff enough to prevent shifting and movement while driving. The thicker plate and increased padding helped it avoid wobbling even over gravel roads, and we didn't experience any significant vibration during testing.
The extras make you feel warm and fuzzy, but they are not that useful. Also, occasionally check the straps as they can loosen over time depending on road conditions. Besides that, there aren't many concerns with this mirror. The Cozy Greens is much like the Lusso and could cost you less depending on sales. It has a shiny bevel instead of matte but is otherwise very similar. We feel the price of the Lusso more than suits the quality and functionality of this unassuming and impressive selection. Overall, we think most families will be happy with this straightforward choice.
The Lusso is a higher-quality option with a thicker attachment plate and a stylish matte finish to the bevel.
The Cozy Greens mirror is similar to Lusso in that it comes pre-assembled, and the backplate is thicker and sturdier than competitors. This mirror is easy to install, has a smooth-moving joint for minor changes, and comes with a clear image after removing the protective cover. We like the included cleaning cloth, and we believe the thicker padding helped prevent excessive wobble in our tests, even down gravel roads.
This baby mirror uses what feels like cheaper plastic that could crack over time or if slightly mishandled. We worry the ball and socket joint could become compromised if an older child manages to yank on it when getting in the car. However, we didn't experience any trouble and think most families will be happy with the mirror and its performance, especially for the price. The Lusso is a similar mirror that we felt was better quality and has a matte finish; if your budget can be stretched, we think it is a nicer choice.
The Cozy Greens has a thicker attachment plate and a stiff ball and socket joint for stability when driving.
The Diono Easy View is a unique option in our lineup as the only mirror with a night light for easier viewing in the dark. We like this remote-controlled light and think it could be super helpful if you regularly drive in the dark. The light is dim enough to prevent accidentally waking a sleeping baby, but it is bright enough to see what is happening. This mirror has an attractive silver bevel, and the remote resembles a garage door opener with a clip for easy visor placement.
While the mirror works well, the remote was somewhat persnickety in our tests, and we sometimes struggled to get it to work without some finagling and body contortions. Also, it only has a single installation strap from top to bottom. This design means a secure installation could be challenging, depending on your car's headrest. Finally, it has the smallest viewing area of any mirror in our selection. The Lusso doesn't have a light on it, but it is larger and doesn't have a remote you need to keep track of. If you are okay with fewer features, it could be a better option. Overall, we like the idea of the lighted mirror for nighttime driving, and the mirror is large enough to make it an excellent choice for those who may need light to see.
The Diono has a dim light that works well for seeing little ones when driving at night but doesn't wake them with a bright light.
If you want an adorable baby-centric entertainment mirror that is as much fun for your little one as it is helpful for you, then look no further than the Brica Cruisin' Baby. This brightly colored forest-themed mirror gives your baby something to look at with an in-mirror light show that includes upbeat music or a sleepy lullaby, depending on your needs. We like that the simple remote provides volume control, and we think little ones will find the lights soothing and entertaining, especially for nighttime drives. In our tests, this mirror stayed in place on the headrest, offered a clear image of the baby, and worked well with included batteries (hooray!).
While we love this entertaining option, if you misplace the remote, you'll no longer be able to control the mirror's volume. We also worry that the hook and loop attachment will lose grip over time and fail to hold the mirror in place. However, it has a reasonable price, and we think you will get a quality mirror that will last as long as it is useful, and we think you'll be glad you bought it if it calms even one hysterical crying tantrum while stuck in traffic. This mirror is a must-have for long drives and congested traffic commuters or those whose little ones need something more to relax. If you don't need entertainment, you could save some money by choosing the Lusso or the Cozy Greens that provide basic mirroring abilities without the bells and whistles.
The Brica is as adorable as it is entertaining and the only baby-centric option in this roundup.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
Compare Products
We tested 10 top baby mirrors for cars in this roundup to find the best.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
How We Test Baby Car Mirrors
We researched more than 15 possible mirror contenders using online reviews and quality as our guide. While many of the mirrors appear to be similar, we were surprised that several are actually identical. We chose mirrors we thought would be easy to use, stay in place, and get the job done at least as long as your child is rear-facing in their seat. We selected and used each mirror in this review, testing the products for installation problems, stability woes, and overall quality.
Why Trust GearLab
This roundup is led by Senior Review Editor, Wendy Schmitz. Wendy has been a leading member of the BabyGearLab team since 2014 and is the mother of 2 boys. Wendy uses her background and experience to select quality products with an eye for unique and compelling contenders that bring something different to the table to make parenting easier.
Most of the mirrors in this group have a protective cover over the reflective surface and we suspect some online reviewers don't know you are supposed to remove it prior to use.
Many of the lower quality mirrors required assembly.
Analysis and Test Results
We purchased and tested the top baby car mirrors on the market. We compared each product's ease of installation, stability once installed, and quality to determine which contenders are better than the competition.
What's the Best Value?
Buying the most expensive product in this category doesn't necessarily correlate with a higher quality or better-performing product. This is especially true of the identical products. We recommend comparing prices before purchasing to get the most bang for your buck. At the time of this review, the Cozy Greens is the best deal without sacrificing too much quality. If you don't mind spending a few extra bucks, the Lusso earned a higher overall score, and it's a step up in quality. However, if you seek extra bells and whistles, our lineup includes a few. The Diono Easy View is the only baby car mirror we tested with a light for night viewing, a helpful feature if you frequently travel with your baby at night. Although the remote can be a bit fussy, it is roughly the same price as other baby car mirrors without the light, making it worthy of consideration. Also, the Brica mirror is the only mirror in our tests with baby-centric features. It might be worth the additional cost if it calms a fussy baby on a longer drive even once.
Most of the mirrors had 2 strap installation with one going over the top and bottom and one going around the sides.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
Installation
As we were unboxing and installing the contenders, we noticed a few factors that impact a product's overall ease of installation, such as whether or not it arrives pre-assembled and if it's easy to fix and connect to a car's headrest.
Most baby car mirrors in our lineup are very similar in their installation method and functionality; a handful of options were identical in every way other than the name on the product. Typically, a mirror's main attachment is a set of 2 straps that wrap around the headrest from top to bottom and side to side with clips in the back. This process secures a plate to the headrest, and most plates have a socket-like indent ready to accept the “ball” on the back of the mirror. Many baby car mirrors rotate on this connection point, so you have increased versatility for finding the right angle for a clear view of your baby.
The Brica has one clip and two Velcro straps for installation.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
The Lusso and So Peep rank high in this metric. Unlike some of the competition, these options come pre-assembled and are ready to go, so there is no need to attach the plate to the mirror, saving you time and frustration. We also appreciate how solid these baby car mirrors feel and think this could indicate better durability over time.
The Skip Hop Mirror ranks the lowest. This contender has shorter straps and almost didn't work on our Honda Pilot test car, and the baby car mirror never felt stable. Even the Diono Easy View, which has only a single strap, was more secure and shook less than the Skip Hop (don't even try to head down a gravel road).
The Diono is the only one in the group with a single strap and it still managed to provide a more secure installation than some of the competition.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
Unlike most contenders, the Brica Cruisin' Baby attaches with one strap from top to bottom around the headrest with a clip that secures it to the headrest and prevents it from falling on your baby during use. It then has a fabric portion with a posable wire under the headrest and straps with Velcro that goes over the headrest and attaches to the fabric wire component. This design provides some adjustability of the mirror up or down, but it doesn't allow for side-to-side movement or angling if you can't get a good bead on your little one. While it feels like the most stable installation in the group, we worry that the Velcro will age and be less sticky over time, which could cause the mirror to shift out of place, resulting in reduced viewing of your little one.
Many of the mirrors have a thin attachment plate that makes it challenging to get a snug fit and a non-shaky result.
The better quality mirrors came preassembled and has thicker attachment plates and stiffer socket joints.
Stability
While the attachment to the car and the installation of the mirrors were very similar across products, the connection between the attachment plate and the mirrors was not. This connection is most important as it influences the mirror's stability and how much it might shift or shake while driving. If the mirror slips or falls forward in the socket, it won't matter if you have it securely attached to the headrest, as you still won't be able to see your baby or more than their feet. Therefore, you'll want a mirror with a tight connection and limited movement ability. While all products will bounce somewhat depending on your car, tire tread, and ground you cover, you want a mirror with a minimal shake. Less shaking allows you to quickly see the details of your baby without waiting for a still moment or taking time to discern what is happening through all the vibrations.
Among the competition, the Skip Hop Mirror ranks the lowest, mainly as one of the shakiest contenders in our review, likely due to its flimsy design with thin, rigid plastic parts and loose ball and socket joints. While this mirror is simple in its design and very lightweight, this lack of adjustability or rigid components makes it ripe for shaking and vibration. The Shynerk Baby Car Mirror and Shynerk SH-M-02 Mirror options are flimsy and very wobbly. They look and feel like the same mirror, one of which is the same as the DARVIQS Mirror, complete with an identical box and instruction sheet. The Zacro Mirror is also an identical mirror to the Shynerks and DARVIQS. The Brica Cruisin' Baby feels steady, and the safety clip means it will never fall. Still, we worry about failing Velcro over time. This heavier, music-playing mirror may struggle later in life to avoid the wobble found in the cheaper, flimsy competition.
Try as we might, we couldn't get the Skip Hop to attach securely to the headrest.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
The highest-ranking contenders for stability include the So Peep, Lusso Mirror, and the Cozy Green. The So Peep has a very stiff ball-and-socket joint that prevents the mirror from shaking too much and changing positions, even over bumps and on gravel roads. The Cozy Greens and the Lusso shine for their thicker padding on the headrest plate and stiff adjustment joint. All three mirrors were very stable while driving.
Again, while adjustability may seem essential for getting the ideal angle for baby viewing, if a mirror is too mobile, it might loosen enough to move or shake during use or shift so far out of view you can't see your baby at all. And if you can't see your baby, what's the point of a baby car mirror? Nonetheless, we highly suggest factoring stability into your decision-making process.
The Identical Quadruplets all require assembly, have thin attachment mirrors and almost no padding which results in more wobble when driving.
The better mirrors have a thick attachment plate with thicker padding on the back that helps create a more stable installation with less wobble when driving.
Quality
Quality is somewhat subjective, but there are night and day differences regarding these mirrors. We considered a product's durability and the quality of its image reflection.
Some mirrors that didn't initially stand out eventually impressed us when compared side-by-side with the competition. Ranking the highest in this metric is the Lusso. Compared to the competition, its quality is noticeable. The manufacturer goes out of its way to win your heart with a pre-assembled mirror, a thank you card, a mirror scratch cover, a cleaning cloth, and an air freshener. The Cozy Greens also ranks relatively high with a thicker attachment plate, better padding, and longer attachment straps. The clips are sturdier and feel less fragile, and the angle adjustment connection is smooth but stiff, implying it will stay in place.
The Diono has a useful light for night viewing but the remote wasn't as useful as we hoped.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
The Skip Hop Mirror is the lowest-ranking contender in this metric. Compared to others, it is very flimsy and feels low-quality. The Shernyks, DARVIQS Mirror, and the Zacro Mirror also failed to impress us but scored slightly higher due to somewhat better quality than the lowest-ranking contender. We suspect all four are made in the same facility on the same assembly line using the same materials and design. We noticed little to no variation in design short of a different label on the box or mirror edge. These identical mirrors have thin plastic, thin mounting plates that bend when you attach them to the headrest, shorter straps, and flexible clips that could fail during use. These mirrors had less impressive reflections with more distortion than the higher-quality options. We also worry that the looseness in the mirror to the attachment plate connection could result in no image of the baby and unacceptable shaking and vibrations.
The Lusso and the Cozy Greens both come preassembled and have a much thicker attachment plate that holds the mirror steadier than the thin plate options.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
The Diono Easy View comes with a remote control for turning the light on and off, and the illumination is dim enough that it shouldn't wake or disturb your baby. We had some challenges while testing the remote as it is a single button. Hitting it once turns it on, but pushing it again doesn't turn it off. The light eventually turned off, and we suspect it might take some practice to determine what was happening since there were no instructions.
The Brica has a sleepy song and light show and a happy entertainment show with lights and upbeat music.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
The Brica is the only mirror in our review with baby-centric features in its bright colors and an adorable owl driving a car hanging on the side. This entertaining mirror plays two melodies, one for energizing waking moments and the other to help soothe a sleepy or upset baby. It also has lights inside the mirror to entertain a crabby baby. We love the idea of a baby-centric mirror, and little ones will, too. However, we also believe older babies might get frustrated that they can't reach or grab the owl to play with. You'll also want to keep spare batteries on hand, as little ones may get frustrated with a non-working mirror.
The Shynerk and the Davrviqs are the exact same mirror arriving in the same box with only a vendor name change in the corner.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
Identical Products?
As we did, you might wonder why the competition appears strikingly similar. We believe many of these products come from the same manufacturing plant, and even though we purchased several products for this category, we only truly had a couple of products at the end of the day.
The Lusso Mirror and So Peep appear almost identical, except the Lusso has a better-looking matte finish that we prefer because it doesn't collect fingerprints or smudges. The design and other materials are virtually identical in almost every way, so we strongly suspect these two come from the same manufacturing plant.
The Shynerks, DARVIQS, and Zacro are the exact mirror arriving in the same box with only a vendor name change in the corner.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
The following four products: Shynerk Baby Car Mirror, Shynerk SH-M-02 Mirror, DARVIQS Mirror, and Zacro Mirror are what we call 'the quadruplets' as they are virtually identical, with two even coming in identical boxes with different brand names. After closely inspecting the product's details, we are convinced that all four came from the same assembly line or manufacturer and are identical in every way other than the name. None of these products were impressive compared to the better-scoring competition. This identical product problem hasn't happened in all our eight years of buying and testing products. We feel giving each mirror its own slot in the lineup is essential. Still, we want our readers to note that they are the same, so if you are considering purchasing one of the quadruplets (for any reason), you should choose whichever product is the least expensive when you are ready to buy. However, we recommend a higher ranking product above any of the four and believe spending a few more dollars is worth getting a better quality product.
Many of the products in the competition are remarkably similar or absolutely identical.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
Conclusion
Finding an excellent car mirror for spying on your little one while driving can make the adventure more enjoyable. With the right product, you won't need to guess what your baby is doing or nervously pull over to check on a snoozing kid. A helpful mirror can provide peace of mind, and we think you'll be glad you purchased one. This roundup of the most popular options has something for every need and every budget, and our testing can help you skip the poor performers and cheap contenders to focus on the best mirror for your baby and your wallet.
