What is the waterparks policy on...

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

What is the waterparks policy on wearing a t-shirt over your swimsuit in the water? My whole family is fair complected and we always wear t-shirts swimming. Well, we were at a public pool last summer and they made us take them off due to health policy. Needless to say, my entire family was burned by the end of the day.

 

[CarolA]

I don't know what the policy is but did you know a Tshirt only has an SPF of like 4 or 6 once it gets wet. A better choice would be an SPF 30 waterproof sunblock LIBERALLY applied and reapplied often. (That goes for everyone, not just fair skinned people.)

 

[buzz2400]

You can wear t shirts over your bathing suit. The only think I heard them say was that you cannot wear the face masks. However, you can wear the goggles. Even if you wear a t shirt make sure you put on sunscreen. FL sun is very nasty. It seems no matter how much I put on sunscreen I still get sunburnt when I am down there.

 

[mrsmom]

When we were there last june and my red head always were a t-shirt over her bathing suit and nothing has ever been said to us.

mrsmom

 

[kilee]

My son is extremely fair skinned. He never tans. Anyhow he is 10 and I still use the water babies sun block on him. DH and I leave Florida nice and tan and DS without a drop of color on him.

 

[grinningghost]

I always wore one of DH's big tank tops over my suit and never had any problem. I saw lots of people wearing shirts over their suits. It's OK.

 

[danicaw]

I saw plenty of people in t-shirt, board shorts, whatever, on our trip in Sept.

We use at least SPF 30, usually more like 45. Have Fun!

 

[mom_rules]

Our family is very fair-always have t-shirts, sunblock and even hats on in the water-no problems.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

Thanks for the responses! I didn't know that about the t-shirt having a low SPF once wet, but if we don't wear them we're crispy by the end of the day. Thanks again.

 

[loriandmatt]

my DS is alergic to sunblock (even those that claim to be hypoalergenic give him the all over body bumps) and always wears a shirt over his suit.

i would love to find info on that "wet T-shirt = very little sun protection" thing. not that i doubt it, but i just would love to read more about this as this (and a wide brimmed hat) is my sons main mode of sunblock

- lori

 

[mhelsley]

I'm very fair skinned and knew that i'd be spending many hours in the sun and didn't want to be in pain for the rest of our trip so i did a google search on sun protective clothing. I not only found some great products but also some useful information. Hope this will help keep you safe in the sun.

 

[PammyK]

For those who are really serious about using clothing as sun protection at the water parks, there is clothing specifically made to provide protection from UV rays. Especially for the kids, these some of these might be better because they are more form fitting (like a wetsuit) and less likely to get caught on something. Also, a regular cotton t-shirt will hold water and get very heavy as you are in the pools and on the slides and these don't absorb the water as much. Here is a link to one company that makes sun protective clothing.

Solar Eclipse Sun Protective Clothing

 

[loriandmatt]

thanks - my "not so little anymore" guy would love some options. I'll check it out.

- lori

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by loriandmatt
my DS is alergic to sunblock (even those that claim to be hypoalergenic give him the all over body bumps) and always wears a shirt over his suit.

i would love to find info on that "wet T-shirt = very little sun protection" thing. not that i doubt it, but i just would love to read more about this as this (and a wide brimmed hat) is my sons main mode of sunblock

- lori

I too have read about t-shirts not giving a lot of protection but that was for the very thin white ones. Wearing a darker colors and heavyweight t-shirt gives added protection up to 10 times more then a basic white T.

 

[jfulcer]

Originally posted by loriandmatt
my DS is alergic to sunblock (even those that claim to be hypoalergenic give him the all over body bumps) and always wears a shirt over his suit.

i would love to find info on that "wet T-shirt = very little sun protection" thing. not that i doubt it, but i just would love to read more about this as this (and a wide brimmed hat) is my sons main mode of sunblock

- lori

http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/users/sawweb/sawnet/health/sunscreen.html

 

[carene]

I too have read about t-shirts not giving a lot of protection but that was for the very thin white ones. Wearing a darker colors and heavyweight t-shirt gives added protection up to 10 times more then a basic white T.

Yes, but won't wearing a heavier and darker colored top make you feel really hot?
I don't know how you would cope with that in the Florida sun.

I always thought that dark colors attracted more sun.
So yes, wearing a top would protect your skin from the sun, but you're gonna get awful hot in the process!

Carene

 

[jfulcer]

Originally posted by loriandmatt
my DS is alergic to sunblock (even those that claim to be hypoalergenic give him the all over body bumps) and always wears a shirt over his suit.

i would love to find info on that "wet T-shirt = very little sun protection" thing. not that i doubt it, but i just would love to read more about this as this (and a wide brimmed hat) is my sons main mode of sunblock

- lori

I replied to this with a link, but I was thinking about something that made me laugh... Think about Wet T-Shirts. That's why they have Wet-T-Shirt contests cause when they get wet they get see through.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by carene
Yes, but won't wearing a heavier and darker colored top make you feel really hot?
I don't know how you would cope with that in the Florida sun.

I always thought that dark colors attracted more sun.
So yes, wearing a top would protect your skin from the sun, but you're gonna get awful hot in the process!

Carene

Yes it seems it would make you hotter. I don't wear dark t-shirts though. I was only commenting on what I've read. I use sunblock and add a white t-shirt over my bathing suit only if needed. That has always worked for me.

 

[loriandmatt]

thanks for all the links and info.

I think that a darker colored t-shirt would certainly be hotter if you were not using it for a swim cover up. My DS will be in the water anyway and the dark colored t-shirt will provide better protection that a white tshirt when wet. (the wet tshirt contest reference was perfect.)

As my son is getting a bit older and concerned with how "cool" he looks, he may like the surfer style sun blocking clothing that i saw on one of the links mentioned. He spends almost everyday in the summer at the pool and it would be worth the price.

- lori

 

[colleen costello]

Sunblock just doesn't cut it for my daughter. Last summer we had great luck with a WETSUIT from Children's Wear Digest catalog (search for "CWD"online.) It worked great and she found it very comfy. It cost around $30 and they have them again this year. LLBean Kids also offers a similar one for girls and boys, as well as a top that coordinates with their regular suits, called a "wave shirt." These are $20 to $30 and come in all kinds of colors for girls and boys.

For faces, we've had great luck with the colored zinc-oxide that you can buy at the pharmacy. Last year we got it at the Walgreens just off WDW property. It comes in little tubes and costs less than $1. Erin wore pink to coordinate with her wetsuit!