Sun Exposure

[Louisianafive]

My 5 year old is prone to sunburns and we will be at WDW in June. My husband is very concerned that by day 2 she will be as red as a crab. Besides sunscreen repeatedly, hats and an umbrella does anyone have any suggestions to ease his mind?

 

[NotUrsula]

You can buy solar protective clothing if she has issues with sunblock. Take a look at coolibar.com for some examples.

No one in my family has gotten a sunburn since I started using no-rub spray-on mist sport sunblock, and we're porcelain-skinned redheads. The trick is to use a LOT of it, and often. You should by rights use 1 oz. per application on an adult, and reapply every 90 minutes or so. For one week, my party of 3 adults and one 7 yo used 18 [yes, eighteen] 6-oz. spray cans of sunblock, plus 3 wax sticks for faces, and the part in our hair. We do wear sunhats and sunglasses, too.

I find that the spray works because it is so easy to apply; we actually do it when we are supposed to. With the lotion types we hated the messiness of getting it applied, so we tended to procrastinate.

Make sure that whatever you buy is rated to repel both UVA and UVB radiation.

 

[merekc]

I agree with everything that has been said. The most important thing you can do is keep reapplying the sunscreen. My fishbelly white sons didn't burn when we went last year.

If you don't buy special clothes (I personally don't have any experience with them), I'd at least plan to put the kids in short sleeves not tank tops. It's not quite as cool, but it protects those sensitive shoulders and back of neck better.

 

[CampbellScot]

As long as you sunscreen every exposed bit of skin, including ears and between toes, every hour and a half or so, keep her in a hat, in the shade of a stroller most of the day, you should be just fine. Sun exposure at a young age is extremely detrimental, so good for your husband and you for being so proactive!!

I got my stepkids some SPF tees for the trip. It can't hurt any. check at Land's End.

 

[tacomaranch]

Don't forget that first aid will give you suncreen upon request. One less thing to carry and they also offer sunburn relief and bottled water.

 

[lisajo5]

Also, make sure you apply the sunscreen at least 20 minutes before going out in the sun. It does take a little while to actually start working, just my two cents.

 

[nbodyhome]

You can buy solar protective clothing if she has issues with sunblock. Take a look at coolibar.com for some examples.
.

I think the BEST thing to do is to wear sun protective clothing. It doesn't have to be reapplied, and it's very light. I get mine from Stingray, but you can go to Coolibar online, or Sun Precautions, etc. I wear a long sleeve shirt and long pants in the park, yet they are much lighter than what most people wear and they are SPF 50.

Mexoryl is the best sunscreen ingredient - from Loreal, and it's cheapest to buy from Canada (but now legal in the US, it wasn't or 15 years!)

 

[NotUrsula]

I agree that sun protective clothing is the best protection, but many people have issues with the cost of investing in it for children because they outgrow it so quickly.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Great advice. only thing i can think to add is to perhaps plan yur day to be out of the parks or in shows during the time the sun is most intense and do more of the outdoor stuff early am or evening.

 

[disney_fan_fam]

Make sure you get an SPF 50 waterproof sunscreen. Coppertone's Waterbabies is a good one. Remember to get the ears and tops of feet

 

[Gillian]

3 out of the 4 of us are very fair and freckly. We used Coppertone Continuous Sport Sunblock Spray, SPF 30 last year and it was wonderful. We went through A LOT of it though (4-5 for a week at Disney), and it's rather expensive. But it's so worth it. It dries fast, works well, is easy to apply. I always keep a container in my stroller.

For faces I make the kids suffer through bullfrog gel, spf 36. It has alcohol which can burn at first but then dries quickly without getting into their eyes.

Lands End has bathing suits, including long and short sleeve surf-type shirts, with sun protection. I haven't tried them yet, but they're not expensive.

a hat with neck/ear protection flaps is helpful as well.

 

[CastleCreations]

I made the mistake of forgetting my daugher's part in their hair, and the tops of their ears. I now use the clear, no rub sprays, and spray them down before they get dressed in the morning before we leave the hotel.