At what age can you start putting sunscreen on your child? I heard that I may have to wait 6 months or something? This is important, living in Florida :)
I don't think I waited until 6 months with my 3rd baby... we're river rats. I just asked the pediatrician, she asked if my other kids were allergic to sunscreen, I said no, she said go for it ;) I love the neutregena baby stick, I think it's SPF 100 and super gentle! I use it on my face as well :)
6 months is correct. You live in FL, but that's no reason to have your child exposed to the sun. I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, so I get it but that's why they have huge beach umbrellas and whole host of "covering" products to keep you little one from exposure!
- Hat
- Sunglasses
- light weight long sleeves/pants
- Beach umbrella
- blanket or sheet to cover the stroller
- tent at the beach, park, backyard
The reason they say 6 months is that most sunscreens contain chemicals that could be harmful to babies. If you use a physical sunblock rather than a chemical one, there's no age restriction. Check out California Baby or Badger or anything that has zinc as the main ingredient.
Our dr recommended 6 months. Something about the fact that they have a hard time regulating temperature, and putting the lotion on their skin interferes with that process. He said to keep baby in shade.
I have heard they say 6 months because they want to keep infants out of the sun altogether. However, that's not always possible, especially in FL! If I were you, I'd go for all the shade options you can, but when that's not perfect, get a natural, baby-okayed sunscreen (we like Badger) and use it only on exposed parts (probably not face) sparingly. Check with your ped just to be sure though!
My pediatrician said I could start using Aveeno at 3 months. I did, but sparingly, only when we have prolonged exposure to the sun and I couldn't cover her up.
if you MUST put something on your baby's largest organ, makes sure it is chemical free. but plan do most of your sunblocking with hats, umbrellas and lightweight clothes.
most sunscreens are nasty.
khairete
S.
They recommend 6 months but when went on vacation to Florida our youngest was 3 months old (barely) and the pediatrician gave us the okay to use sunscreen sparingly while we were there.
