Daily Sunscreen Question...What do you do?

[lmwbasye]

I've been trying to figure out something that one would think I would know by now. What do you do for your little ones to protect them from the sun on a daily basis...not just when at the pool/beach. The weather is great right now and DS2 is outside probably 60 - 75% of his day. I'm not sure if I should get like a CB lotion with the 18 SPF in it and slap it on him in the morning and again at noon or just get the normal CB sunblock and reapply constantly throughout the day. He's not swimming or anything. Just running around the outdoors and I'm realizing that he really should have something on to protect him. Especially as we are moving to the Sun City in two months! LOL!

Thanks in advance. I appreciate your help as I try to figure this out.

[salsah]

i just put sunblock on my dc when i know they are going to be in the sun for more than 15 min. a little sun is good for them. so if they are playing the backyard and either will not be there long or are spending most of the time in the shade, i skip the sunblock. i also don't bother with it early in the morning or at the end of the day (a few hours before sunset).
for long days out in the sun, i find it easier to just keep them covered up as much as possible (pants, ls tee, wide brim hat). applying and reapplying isn't fun for me or for them. so if they are mostly covered up, i can just focus on their face, neck, and hands (and maybe feet).
my approach isn't very conservative. i think someone who burns easily and/or has a family history of skin cancer should be a little more conservative.

[crl]

Before DS started school, we usually were outside for two blocks of time. One in the morning and one after lunch and nap. So I would put sunblock on right before we went outside each time. We used CA baby stick on face and hands and Blue Lizard elsewhere.

I haven't figured out a good way to deal with the school thing. He goes outside 3 times between me seeing him, but there's really no one to help him apply sunblock at kindergarten, yk?

Catherine

[geochick]

I'm glad you asked this question. My kindergartner (3 recesses/day) is getting a tan at school. I understand that some VitD is good, but he's getting really tan. I need to apply something that will last through the day each morning...something that won't drip into his eyes if he sweats...something that won't be too sticky or smelly.

I'll be watching the responses to this post. Thanks.

[lil_acorn]

we use blue lizard sensitive - I put it on his face / arms in the morning before heading off to school

[hillview]

In the summer we do CA Baby in the AM and again after lunch. If at the pool we do it every 2 hrs.
/hillary

[pantrygirl]

We're not the slathering kind but it also depends on the situation.

For us in NYC with mostly shady playgrounds, we don't use sunscreen unless it's especially sunny and she's out in direct sunlight for more than 15 minutes.

At the beach or where we're in direct sunlight, I slather the stuff on.

I don't like to put too many chemicals on my child but I also see the importance of protection.

[maestramommy]

Well, I think it depends on where you live. When we lived in SoCal we used sunscreen of at least 30 spf on the kids whenever they went out. Here I don't know if I should bother. They get a fraction of the sun they were getting before. Vitamin D and all that, so even though we use the same sunscreen I don't always put it on.