Sun Protection for babies???

[amystevekai&bump]

Hi, just wondering what you do with your young children/babies in the florida sun.

I had planned to buy a sun protector/visor for my buggy - but have been advised that the ones on the market are a bit of a con!! (Apparently although they claim to have a high protective layer - that only applies to one small part of the hood and not to the bulk of the cover. )

So what do you normally do??? Apply baby sunscreen and just have them in an open stroller or do you bother with the sun covers???

thanks alot.

 

[gilld]

You need to apply the highest factor sunscreen you can find, and use a sunshade for your baby. The sun is extremely intense in Florida and babies burn terribly quickly....in a few moments. Keep the baby under the sunshade even when it's cloudy, as the sun's rays will still cause damage.

You'll also need to give your baby a lot more water than usual, as he/she will dehydrate easily in the heat, and take frequent rests inside in the cool.

Have fun.

 

[Jakey Rowling]

Best tip is to keep the little one out of the sun at peak hours, the easiest way is using a canopy on the buggy as much as it practical. I would still cover them in loose clothing and a SPF of 30, expecially on the legs and arms which will still catch the sun.

There's a lot of sensible advice here from the EU consumer affairs.

There's a lot of discussion on the benefits or not of "higher" SPF products, I think in the US they have now banned anything from advertising itself above SPF30. It might be even as low as 15 in Australia. The higher SPF suggests a longer time before burning, I wouldn't rely on it personally and use a SPF30 and repeat applications regularly.

Use common sense and the heat will be more of an issue than anything else.

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Use a high factor sunscreen,and Parasol,also our LO wore a sunhat.
The sun/heat is very intense in Florida and you can burn very easily without realising.
I bought the special sunscreen for children what goes on green so you can see what area's you've covered,it does obviously soak in and you never notice it.
Plenty water,if you have a buggy fan then use it.

 

[PoppyAnna]

I am quite pale and have freckles, I remember burning a few times as a child when the products weren't as good as they are now. I have a child with mid brown hair and given the chance would tan. On her and on us we use a fantastic product called P20, applied once a day for 10 hrs protection it really does work. My youngest DD2 is a red head with very pale skin. On her I use a product for babies with a high factor (spf30), boots Soltan has a very good reputation and has always worked fantastically on her. I will re-apply frequently and again at every nappy change as a habit. She also wears a wide brimmed hat and her buggy has a parasol. I find at the regular theme parks you do spend quite a bit of time indoors in lines, its the water parks where you have to be really careful, the children love the freedom of the water and the rides and slides and sunscreen is often forgotton. I'm happy to say we just made it home with no burning and no colour change to our children. We are very lightly tanned and often get comments when we get home from holiday that we're not very tanned and we get asked if the weather was bad. Ultimately brown is a sign of damage and I don't want me or my children to have skin like a handbag when we get older. Professional fake tans are so good now and advancing all the time, if you want a tan, fake it!
A tip for older children and adults, the fine mist no rub sprays that are for sale in Florida are really good for quick and easy application. These are available for babies and younger children too.

 

[lawlesslovewdw]

hi. We took factor 40 with us and bought a great sunscreen over in US called baby blanket,. We also used a parasol and hat (we went in nov) a pair of thin socks is also an idea esp if the buggy is front facing. The pushchair fans are also good. He came back as white as he went over!

 

[WDWfan uk]

Do please remember to put sunscreen generously onto babies/childrens ears - I remember a case of a young child screaming in pain from burnt ears. Mum & Dad had applied suncream all over the little one dutifully every day, but had overlooked applying to his ears.

 

[erebus_0]

Hey I hope I'm not going to get into trouble for posting here. I'm from Texas and I'm so glad to hear people taking the sun seriously, especially when children are involved. All your advice has been good. Keep that kid hydrated and shaded.

If I may. I a special concern I've heard of in EPCOT is excessive leg burning because of the amont of sun that reflects off whatever king of concrete they use there. Can't say first hand because I'll wear jeans in 110 degree's.

Later Y'all
Have a happy trip.

 

[Jakey Rowling]

Hey I hope I'm not going to get into trouble for posting here. I'm from Texas and I'm so glad to hear people taking the sun seriously, especially when children are involved. All your advice has been good. Keep that kid hydrated and shaded.

If I may. I a special concern I've heard of in EPCOT is excessive leg burning because of the amont of sun that reflects off whatever king of concrete they use there. Can't say first hand because I'll wear jeans in 110 degree's.

Later Y'all
Have a happy trip.

There is a genuine problem with sunburn caused by reflection of the lighter concrete found in many of the parks combined with the intensity of the Florida sun. This causes unusual parts, the back of the knee, bottom of the calf to burn if sunscreen is not applied well enough.

I don't know whether Epcot is worse than any other park.

There is also the very common problem of Polymorphic light eruption (PLE) which is a rash caused by the skin's photo-sensitivity and common in the intense Florida sun, reflections can make this worse but it's not sunburn as such.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

thank you all so much for your replies - I will be buying the best baby sunscreen I can find and applying it frequently as you suggest. ( I also have a 4 year old red head so will also be taking extra precautions with him as well!)

The fans sound a good idea and obviously fluids are essential - so I will be properly prepared now - so thanks again