Dificulty keeping baby's hat on???

[The Sweetness]

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE~~ DON"T FLAME ME ABOUT WHAT A HORRIBLE PARENT I AM FOR LETTING MY 2Y OLD HAVE HER WAY MORE OFTEN THAN NOT ON HER FIRST EVER VACA. I JUST WANT HER TO BE HAPPY,W/OUT RISKING HER HEALTH/ SAFETY (THEN DADDY AND I WILL ALSO BE HAPPY BTW~)

I must not be the first mommy to WDW w a highly opinionated 2y old who may well refuse to cooperate and wear the hat. I dont want to cause scenes with tantrums, or wind up w my little **angel** having her head scorched. I have already considered that the canopy thingy on her stroller will provide some support, and I have ample sunscreen for the whole fam ((baby formula (for her sensitive skin and SPF 45)) She may not like putting it on a few times a day, but it will be quick, and quickly forgotten once over with

A hat on the other hand~ is no quickie. What crossed my mind, is this~ What if I actually put some sunscreen on her head? I will already be rubbing some on her precious lil face~ HAs anyone tried this? ((I am going to try to get her to keep the hat on (I'll even bribe her if necessarry I just want to have a peaceful vaca. Regardless if the plans I have been slaving over for 18 months work out how I wanted or not

 

[barkley]

i'm a redhead and have hair as fine and sparse as most toddlers. ds is the same way. once he got to the age where it was safe for him to be out in the sun for any extended periods of time i regularly put sunscreen on his head-still do to this day (as well as my own). i take some 'water babies' (my favorite since it does'nt wash off in the water) and basicly apply it like hair moose. then we style our hair and go.

don't know if they still make it, but avon used to have a hair conditioning product with sunscreen in it. you shampooed, rinsed, did a conditioner application-then left it in your hair. i used this and it protected realy well.

 

[Andy B]

Staple Gun

 

[MSSANDRA]

For sure use the sun screen in her hair. I did when DS was a toddler and had fine, blond hair.

one trick with the hat is to wait till she is busy and then just sorta plop it on from the back and she might just not notice. Another idea is letting her pick a really special hat at WDW to wear.

Good LUCK

 

[Mouse House Mama]

My kids are not fans of hats. They are just too hot! I put sunscreen on their heads. No flames here. I would never want to wear a hat in the florida sun. I would pass out.

 

[Hannathy]

Put the sunscreen on and don't worry about the hat. My DD wouldn't wear a hat any way anyhow when she was a baby/toddler. She wouldn't wear one in the winter either no matter how cold. I had to go to hoods when she was an infant because she would pull the hat so hard her face would turn red from the tie under her chin and throat. so summer hats were definitely out! And she was bald for over a year. Use sunscreen, canopy on her stroller and try not to stand still for hours out in the direct sun. At Disney at least you go in and out of buildings all day and there is shade.

 

[lutherlovr]

At Babies R Us they have something called "scalp spray" in thier brand of sunscreen that works really well for my son.

 

[The Sweetness]

Thanks for all the tips! When she's older, I can simply tell her she's wearing it or we stay in the room, or skip her fave treats etc. 2 y olds (at least my little tyrant) doesnt reason like that yet

 

[Oceana]

I am 34 and you couldnt get me to wear a hat all day in the sun even with threats.

put sunscreen on her head and dont ever worry about the hat... frankly hats can get lost and its 1 more thing to keep track of

 

[NotUrsula]

I think that you definitely should use some sunscreen on her scalp, but personally I stay WELL away from Waterbabies, because of the scent. I find that it attracts bees in landscaped areas where there are flowering plants. The more neutral the scent the better when it comes to sunscreen.

Now as to the hat. Hats are good and should be encouraged. My DS hated them, too, except for one situation: visits to WDW. To this day, those parks are the one and only place where he will consistently agree to wear a hat; not so much to keep the sun off his head, but to get the glare out of his eyes. IME, there are two tricks to encouraging children to wear hats: 1) Everyone else in the family needs to wear hats, too. If Mom & Dad and the siblings wear one, babies will often feel it's more normal, and 2) the hat needs to be light-colored and LOOSE. I find that adult hats are more likely to be worn than hats that are specifically made for kids.

Also, make sure that the hat is crushable, so that it is not a difficult item to take care of, and can be easily crammed into the diaper bag when you go indoors. Forget cutesy sunbonnets with lace and the like; they are scratchy.

 

[The Sweetness]

Her 2 hats I got are loose, crushable, and DH and I will wear them for sure, so maybe I am just fretting over nothing. Now, since I am just back from paytime at our local mall's playground, I have another dillema~ Do I get one of those harness/ leads? I have always been uncomfortable for some reason seeing other ppls children harnessed, but now that my 2 y old is as fast as the tazmanian devil, and has no sense of fear of getting seperated, I am begginning to fear for her safety

It breaks my heart to even consider it, but facing the alternative (multiple trips to the missing person's area in sheer panic I think that the harness is the lesser of 2 evils. At least I know if I don't bring one, I can pick one up in the local Walmart, a few miles away But maybe I should get one sooner, and use it a few times, just to adjust? This whole subjest just gives me a whopping

 

[tidblgrrer]

At that age it's better to get the few stares than to lose your mind with a missing child. I agree you should get it before you leave and get her used to it. Our rule is if you want out of the stroller -- you have to wear the lead or hold a hand. As soon as they try to let go of the hand they are back in the stroller and we ask if them if they want to ride or wear the lead. (After they let go, the hand is not an option for this time) They learn quickly that this is not optional. As they get older they would request the lead so they could have a bit of freedom, but still feel close to us. (I think they thought we might get lost not them -- but who cares)

We suncreen everything ---scalps, ears, necks and feet. (Sometimes the little ones take off shoes and socks in the stroller so suncreen before socks and then you know you didn't miss a spot) Before we even leave the hotel room and then reapply. As they get older they prefer the hats because the sunscreen is so sticky and makes them sweat more.

Good luck!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Honestly I think you are stressing yourself out. You have 2 adults and a 2 year old. You will be fine. If having the harness with you in case makes you feel better then go for it. I doubt you will need it. As for the hats, I never make my kids wear hats. I have hats for all of them and if they want to wear them then fine. If not we double up on the sunscreen. I could never wear a hat in the sun. My body does not regulate well in the heat and wearing a hat makes me feel even worse so I understand the aversion. I don't see it as a battle of wills because they may find it too hot. Sunscreen up and get a rayshade for the stroller. You'll be fine. You are going to make yourself nuts. Nobody is going to look at you and point their fingers and announce what a horrible parent you are. Enjoy your trip and have fun. That's most important.

 

[SnowWhite12]

I got a box set today at Babies R Us. It has scalp spray, travel size sunscreen body spray, face sunscreen and sunscreen wipes in it. It was $11.

 

[meandtheguys2]

Staple Gun

My first idea was a straight pin. Used to keep Barbie's hats on.

We used sunscreen on their heads when necessary.

 

[katerkat]

What about a hat with a tie? That slows Russ down and usually he gives up. He's very fair so a hat is a must, but we keep it light and make sure HE picks it out. (Because if he doesn't make the decision, it's a battle.) Usually I give him a choice - "do you want to wear THIS hat or THAT hat?" (NO hat was never a choice. ) BTW, he loved his mouse ears so that really helped, too. Still wears those.

 

[PA Princess]

Mom of a hat hating two year old here I wish she would wear them (other three kiddos never gave me much of a problem), but I can hardly blame her because I really detest hats myself

Sunscreen her head...we do it all the time! I love the sprayable sunscreen and that is what we use for everywhere but the face (we use a stick sunscreen for that...works well and does not tend to run). These have worked well for us all summer at the pool, in FL, and at the beach.

Let her pick out a fun new hat...ears or princess or whatever floats her boat. Then maybe she will be more likely to wear it. Another option is a visor...this is my personal preference. It still shades the face and lessens the glare, but it does not make me as unbearably hot as a hat. I still have to sunscreen my head, but the visor is a decent compromise.

Last, avoid the worst of the sun...do early morning and late afternoon and evening hours. This is what we always do anyway and it really helps lessen sun exposure.

Hope you have a magical trip

 

[**eeyore**]

We are just back from a trip to WDW with twin 2-year old toddlers - both hate wearing hats and both will run if out of their strollers. So... we brought with us their floppy hats with chin ties - didn't work! So... we did the sunscreen on the scalp/hair trick, used sun visors on the strollers and tried to stay in the shade whenever possible.

As for the harnesses, we brought them for both girls. Actually the only time we used them was in Magic Kingdom, when touring Fantasyland and Toontown. Most other times they rode in their stroller and were quite happy. (I have to compliment Disney on making WDW friendly to "stroller-riders". I find so often at other places that there are railings or half-walls obstructing the view of children in strollers, whereas at WDW, our daughters seemed to be able to see everything they wanted without having to get out of the strollers.)

Don't worry too much - you'll have a great trip! Just remember - it could always be harder - you could have two 2 year olds...or 3...or 4...or 5... (This is what I tell myself when I start to feel overwhelmed with my 2!)

 

[The Sweetness]

This is true! I should count my blessings about my other child being 15 She wipes her own rear, feeds herself, and everything

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

We use Bullfrog spray sunscreen on DN when we got to Disney and that seems to do the trick without making his fine little hairs look all greasy.