Safe Fun in the Sun with Baby

I find that I am more concerned with a lot of things now that I have a son. I'm more interested in eating healthy, providing a good example by the way I eat (I've never been a "bad" eater, but find myself uttering the word "vegetable" a lot more when One Philly Daddy and I are planning out our meals.), good sleeping habits, reading to my child, and on and on.

One of these areas is sun protection. I do work (full disclosure) for the American Cancer Society, so this is a topic that I have a heightened awareness of, but still feel its important.

In Parent's magazine there is a full article on safety in the sun, complete with dermatologist advice. The most important tips are to provide as much coverage from the sun, either through shade or swim shirts (a good idea is to buy a size larger for your child, as they tend to fit tight), use sunscreen and re-apply every half hour when in the water.

This is, of course, a far cry from when I was a child and routinely fell asleep in the sun without sunscreen, spending the night carefully propped up on cold washcloths and dousing myself in aloe.

Since we joined the pool AND had  beach trip already this summer (I know, lucky us!), I am being very careful to keep my son protected from the sun. We love Neutrogena's Baby Sunblock Stick because it makes it a breeze to apply to my son's face. For the top of his head (he pulls his hat off, and his hair is definitely not think enough to count as "shade" just yet!) we use the spray, even though it does make his hair crunchy.

Check out this list of other articles on Parents.com that might be interesting to you.

If there are any sunscreen products you love, let me know!