How to keep your little swimmers from getting burnt?

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PachinkoPlayer

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Jun 25, 2009
122
Loogootee, IN
I have a 6yr old and a soon to be 5yr old.

I let them go swimming this past Monday in the pool for about 3-4hrs while I was about 15ft away in the shade doing some work on the laptop.

My wife comes home and gives me holy :whip: the girls are little lobsters!!! They will be going swimming today (first time since memorial day.) I had put a good coating of this Coppertone kids sunscreen lotion on them about 10mins before they went swimming last monday, but they still got burnt and blistered. It is 70+ spf broad spectrum and its waterproof.

they have since lost their blisters and the skin has peeled and they are back to being pretty close to as white as what they were. All the other years, they got pink, but quickly got tanned. And by the 3rd or 4th week of swimming they didn't use sunscreen at all!

What do I need to do or get, so they don't get lobsterfied again today?
 
Sunscreen needs a few minutes to soak into the skin before jumping in the pool, even the waterproof kind. My youngest is as pale as they come, complete with red hair and freckles. I have him wear a short sleeved rashgard in addition to sunscreen on his arms, legs and face.

I don't know if you used the spray sunscreen or rubbed in lotion, but give either about 5 minutes to soak in before the girls get in the sun. After 5 minutes if their skin feels dry let them loose!
 
Use a couple of different brands. Get the spray stuff--kids seem to be less squirmy with it. Rub it in. Let it dry as others have said.

Reapply often! Time the reapply breaks with the pee breaks. :-D

Try putting it on them earlier in the day too. Then apply a second coat, letting it dry, before it's pool time.

If I am going to the Caribbean or someplace with major sun, I start using my SPF8 days before, as a body lotion. Then the day before I start with the 40 or 50.

Lana
 
The sun around here has been intense recently. My son is a lifeguard, and he's going through the SPF 100 like water and still tanning.
 
This tip works best if you're bald, by the way..

If they're in the sun, you're in the sun. Bareheaded. Your head will tell you way before the kids will when enough's enough! And if you ignore it, well, let's just say there are new levels of pain you never imagined the first time you step under a hot shower, and you'll never make that mistake again.
 
Richard320 said:
This tip works best if you're bald, by the way..

If they're in the sun, you're in the sun. Bareheaded. Your head will tell you way before the kids will when enough's enough! And if you ignore it, well, let's just say there are new levels of pain you never imagined the first time you step under a hot shower, and you'll never make that mistake again.
Click to expand...


Thats why I was sitting in the shade. :oops:
 
An article I read recently said that we are not using enough sunscreen. According to Consumer Reports, we should be using 2-3 tablespoons of sunscreen every time we apply it. If using a spray, it should be sprayed evenly all over and then applied again. They also said that sunscreen should be reapplied at least every two hours. That's a lot of sunscreen!
 

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Bullfrog sunblock is the best i have found. I am dark complected, But my wife and son are fair skinned. This stuff works like a charm. They even have a block with mosquito repellent. :) It lasts the longest in the water. IMO Just google it and yake a look at the site.
 
Also, keep in mind that sunblock usually has an expiration date. The wife and I just get new stuff every year in the spring and we still end up with leftover. Probably an unnecessary cost but worth it IMO. Most of my family is fair skinned. One weekend with a really burned three year old and you'll buy new every year too.
 
I agree with the opinions above. But I still manage to do that, sit under a parasol and get a sunburn. So I usely wear a Tshirt to prevent "going lobster" all the way. As a child my mum would make me special capes, very thin fabric to protect my shoulders and back. Worked for me, though I think I would prefer an UVshirt now. Can't find those in the shops here :(
 
I have boys. Sigh. Flying tackle, pin 'em to the ground, spray one side, tickle-flip the kid, spray the other side, administer gooey treat or freezie pop to delay jumping into the water before the spray dries, repeat with remaining children.

I do buy the expensive, aerosol sprays because they are faster to use, end of story. Their girly friends absolute adore using the spray and will drain a $15 can in about six minutes. Should also mention that I now also buy expensive hypo-allergenic face cream (now the concern is acne!) in a tube rather than spray them in the face.
 
Out of the pool when the sunburn hours approach (10-2).

Do as I say, not as I do.... nursing a sunburn from hanging out in the pool with no sunscreen on at all but for my face. Poor back has not really seen the sun yet this year. Thanks for the blue goo that Tammy had in the fridge with Lidocane and aloe.
 
I would recommend reading the following:

http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscre ... unscreens/
http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscre ... e-summary/
http://safemama.com/cheatsheets/sunscreen/
http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/less ... endly-car/

There is some major disagreement between EWG and Consumer Reports, so I'd say read some articles like this one:

http://writingonhealth.com/2011/05/30/s ... ports-ewg/

We just had a baby, so I've done some reading. We ended up with Loving Naturals and Badger for our baby.

Thanks,
Brad
 
Ditto on the Badger sunscreen (you might need to go to a health food store to find it) -- this stuff is great, and used by lots of moms that I know because it stays on and prevents both burns and deeper skin damage. If you visit the Environmental Working Group website, you'll see that SPF can mean virtually nothing when it comes to actual skin damage from certain kinds of UV light (there are two kinds of UV waves). The sunscreen industry is very poorly regulated. So, it wasn't your fault that your kids got burned ... it was the sunscreen! (I personally love EWG's SkinDeep website, because my family has sensitive and highly allergic skin, so we need to know the potential allergenic level of a product before we coat ourselves in it!)

The easiest thing might be to keep little ones indoors during the 10am - 2pm burning hours until they have a good tan, and always bring them inside for lunch from 11am - 1pm (during the worst sun). It's usually the hottest after 3pm anyway, so the pool can be an afternoon reward for good behavior earlier in the day.

And if you absolutely can't keep them from the sun from 11am - 1pm, get wetsuits for them! They are really cute ... and complete UV protection.
 
Blue Lizzard (physical sunscreeen) early on in the season or if it will not be convinient to reapply often, then transition to the chemical sunscreens. Blue Lizzard takes a bit of time to rub in, but does not need reapplied every 2 hours like a chemical sunscreen.
 

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