Summer is here! And its finally time to get back out and enjoy those long awaited days by the pool and trips to the beach. Backyard BBQ’s, outdoor festivals, and trips to amusement parks add to summer’s delight. Beach bags packed, water bottles filled, and flip flops on, all we need heading out the door is to top it all off with a layer of sunscreen. It seems like a simple task really, far easier than the winter routine of piling on layers, and adding gloves, coats, snow pants, and boots on the way out the door.
Getting my kids ready for summer fun in the sun and applying sunscreen before we headed outside, however, proved to be a lot harder than I thought. Wiggling up and down, back and forth, and all around, their little bodies move in all directions to avoid the substance. It can be exhausting for both parents and kids.
I remember one afternoon vividly when my oldest son was about three or four, he finally just burst into tears as I was putting on his sunscreen before we headed to the playground. He hated sunscreen so much that he actually seemed to fear it. It was almost not even worth going out in the sun! Fears and tears before we even headed out did not equal fun in the sun.
But I knew we needed a solution. We couldn’t spend all of our time indoors and I knew he needed to be protected from the sun. So one night after my kids went to sleep, I put on my thinking cap and got to work thinking like a kid.
What is it about sunscreen he hates? Why does he fight me to apply it? And how can I make it more fun?
After some late night brainstorming, I thought about how kids thrive on routine, how they like to know what to expect, and how they often have trouble putting their fears into words. Finally, I recalled how play is literally their “work.” It has to be fun, I thought.
The tips and tricks below are what I came up with for my own children which has helped ease the struggle of applying sunscreen to my toddler, preschooler, and school aged children. It’s not a summer’s breeze — but it has gotten far easier in our house and I hope this helps!
1. Take Cover
While I have several tricks up my sleeve for applying sunscreen, my first step in protecting my kids from the sun is keeping them covered. When my kids were babies, I tried to keep them out of direct sunlight as much as possible but as they’ve grown, that’s a lot hard to do. Sitting in the shade which toddlers and preschoolers is often not really practical. My kids want to run and play and soak up the summer sun. It’s also really hard sometimes to find shade at pools and beaches. And I have found many playgrounds receive direct sunlight. So I try to find shade when we break for lunch and schedule playtimes for earlier in the morning or late afternoon, affording us time for naps and an opportunity to avoid the sun during the peak hours of 10am to 4pm.
When heading to the pool or beach with my toddler, I dress him in sun protective swimsuits that cover his arms, legs, torso, and neck so I only have a few spots that I need to cover with sunscreen. The full length swimsuits look like less puffy versions of a snowsuit but it significantly cuts down on the amount of sunscreen I need to apply. My older two now wear sun protective rash guards and trunks instead of the full bodysuit. And when I remember, I try to throw a hat on all of them!
2. Education
Most adults know why we apply sunscreen to our skin — but my kids don’t. They haven’t read articles, listened to podcasts, or been told by their physician why they should wear sunscreen. They still live in a precious and simple world where they aren’t thinking about short-term and long-term effects of the sun. Thinking about that, gave me a whole new perspective on how I needed to approach sunscreen with my kids.
So one evening after a day of playing outside, I sat down with my oldest and we talked about the sun. We looked at the solar system and the earth’s location related to the sun. We talked about the good parts of the sun that helps our plants grow and keeps us warm and we talked about the harmful rays that can hurt us if we don’t protect ourselves. Just like a hot oven, that gives us warm, cooked food, can also burn us if we aren’t careful, the sun, can also burn us if we aren’t careful.
In just a few minutes, with very simple terms, I likened applying sunscreen to wearing a bike helmet. We need to protect our skin from the harmful rays of the sun just as we need to protect our heads when we ride our bikes.
I didn’t use scare tactics and I didn’t want him to be fearful of the sun or worry. He still deserves to live in that simple, precious world. But he also benefited from having an explanation for why his mom is so insistent on applying sunscreen.
Our conversation took place during a calm and comfortable moment in the day — not when we were late and trying to slather sunscreen on as we dashed out the door. He was much more willing to receive that conversation later in the day when I wasn’t putting sunscreen on him, and I was much more willing to have it in that moment when we weren’t rushing out the door.
I noticed a significant change in how my son approached our daily routine of sunscreen after that conversation. He was much more agreeable to having it applied, and much more willing to work through what bothered him. He was also much more invested in convincing his little brother too!
3. Questions and Answers
Starting a conversation with my son also gave him the opportunity to ask questions and tell me what bothered him about applying sunscreen. He told me that when I applied it to his neck it made him feel funny. It turns out, it tickled when I went over his neck with the sunscreen and he felt a gag reflex.
I took a moment to apply sunscreen to my own neck and I noticed that I also felt a little uncomfortable. I had just thought his wiggles were so he could get outside faster but applying sunscreen was literally causing a visceral response for him! I assured him his feelings were real and we have since then found ways to make it more tolerable for him.
“I did it!” he exclaims as he gets past the part that irritates his neck. Now he even prefers to have me start with his neck so he can get it over with and not have the rising anticipation that he used to feel when I, unknowingly, left that part for last. He’s proud of himself and I’m proud of him. Now instead of struggling to apply sunscreen, we both look at it as a sense of accomplishment and a confidence booster.
In those moments, we learned to problem solve together, he learned to work through his fear and discomfort, and most importantly, he felt heard by his mom who loves him unconditionally. Putting down the bottle of sunscreen and taking the time to talk to him uncovered the real issues so that I could pick that bottle back up and get us out the door.
4. Set Expectations
Children thrive on routine and knowing what to expect. We all do! But as routines change with the seasons our children’s expectations often transition slower.
Living up north we don’t use as much sunscreen in the winter months so my kids don’t expect after months of being indoors and bundling up, to be halted at the door come summer for a full application. It is a sudden intrusion to their playtime as they have to stop and have sunscreen applied all over them before they head outside and several times more throughout the day as they play. My kids suddenly feel like this new routine and frequent applications came out of no where — and thinking about it, I can now understand that.
As adults, we don’t like being interrupted from our work when we are in a groove — and neither do kids. Play is their work!
I realized that I needed to set expectations for my kids as the seasons started to change. Reading books and talking about the seasons changing with my kids helped them to know what to expect. From head to toe in the winter we bundle up and from head to toe in the summer, we apply sunscreen when we head outside.
Preparing my kids for the upcoming warm, summer days and the necessary sunscreen applications that will ensue has made them much more agreeable to a change in our routine.
5. Plan Ahead
I used to wait until my kids were dressed and had their socks and sneakers on before I tried to tackle the task of applying sunscreen. I realized I was making things harder for all of us. They were ready to go, excited for our outing, and I was stopping them in their tracks.
Adding to their annoyance as I stopped them was a flustered mom who had forgotten to leave extra time to apply their sunscreen and we were now going to be late. The whole process got off to a stressful start before it even began and we were all on edge.
So I changed things up. I started putting on sunscreen when I got my kids dressed or if they were already dressed, at least before we put on socks and shoes. It was easier to apply without missing spots at the edge of their clothing and I found that by making it part of our routine before we headed to the door, I usually incorporated extra time for it so we weren’t running behind.
Applying sunscreen was now part of getting ready for the day instead of part of why we hadn’t left yet.
6. Enlist Helpers
My kids love other adults helping them. Even though I am perfectly capable of doing it, they are very willing to let a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin step in and assist. I might hear five no’s in a row and then a grandparent will enter with a calm, patient voice and I will see my child’s eyes peer up, face soften, and a deep breath come out — “ok.” And I feel pleasantly defeated, but perfectly happy to accept the help.
Maybe it’s the calm, patient voice of a person who hasn’t battled the task with my kids for the past seven days in a row or maybe it’s the positive attention they are getting from another adult. It’s also probably the games their extended family plays with them to encourage fun while accomplishing a necessary task. Asking for assistance from other adults when they are available has been a handy trick I use especially at family picnics when my kids really don’t want to take a time-out from play to apply sunscreen. The play continues with another family member as their sunscreen is applied.
And just as kids love to have the help of other adults, they also like to be helpers themselves! Mine like to help me sweep, get my shoes, and carry in groceries. They love feeling needed and showing their independence so I try to encourage it whenever I can. While I’m putting sunscreen on one of my kids, I let the other one grab our shoes or fill up their water bottles. Giving them little tasks usually entices the other one to hurry up and get their sunscreen applied so they can help too!
7. Game Time
As you have probably heard many times from Maria Montessori, “Play is the work of a child!” Kids love to play and it’s important for their development. And I find that it’s actually a time saver to turn applying sunscreen into a game — the game takes less time than trying to apply it to a wiggly kid.
My four year old loves the Hokey Pokey and my youngest loves Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. I’ve started incorporating both of those songs into our sunscreen routine, applying sunscreen to one arm and letting them shake it all about and turn themselves around. Or applying sunscreen to the head and following it with a quick, shoulders, knees, and toes melody. I have also come up with a few jingles of my own that I can use to help entice my kids usually by inserting my own words to melodies they already know.
My kids are much more agreeable and I realize they are much more reasonable than I give them credit for, especially when they see me as empathetic and trying to understand their perspective, even as toddlers and preschoolers. I think we all operate that way — kids and adults! We all want to be heard and feel understood.
These tips and tricks have helped my family stay healthy and have fun in the sun! I have also included some additional resources from the American Academy of Pediatrics and The Society For Pediatric Dermatology on sun safety to help you with getting kids covered!
Have fun friends and I hope your summer is off to a great start!
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/Pages/Sunglasses-in-Winter.aspx
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/Pages/Sun-Safety.aspx
https://pedsderm.net/for-patients-families/patient-handouts/#SunProtection
