my second child is allergice to EVERY sunscreen/sunblock. She gets welts and rashes, it’s horrible.
I have yet to solve this issue.

I think that it is better to get physical rather than chemical sunblocks. Look for ingredients like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

Recent research, cited in Fitness magazine, shows that people who eat diets high in vegetables and fruits, whole grains and healthy oils showed far greater resistance to skin damage than people who ate more processed diets. Basically a Mediterranean diet let people send 3-6 hours in the sun with less damage than people who ate regular diets. You an mimic this affect with an antioxident drink as well.

Maybe coupling a physical block and plenty of skin protective foods? (SPF of two sorts if you will…)

Since we discovered regular sunscreens aggravate our son’s eczema, we’ve all switched to natural ones like Badger Balm or Burt’s Bees. I don’t bother with them at all in the early morning or evening, and if we’ll only be in direct sun for a relatively short amount of time. I burn very easily, though, so I do have to be sure I’m out of the sun or have something on - clothing or the Badger Balm.

My son gets eaten alives by mosquitos, and I’m paranoid about ticks, so I use the Avon skin so soft spray pump which is a combination of sunblock and insect repellent.  I do have concerns about it, though.

We use the brand Badger. It’s rated 1 on all the levels. I found ours at a natural food store. 12.999 for 4 ozs. But just a little bit goes a long way! I recommend checking this brand out, esp those of you who are allergic to the popular brands. Maybe your kiddos won’t be allergic. My son would also break out with the the other ones. He has not broke outwhile using Badger. You might find it cheaper on amazon.com.

We live in the desert…a lot of sun. I prefer the blocks also, as others have indicated. I use it after the kids have gotten a little sun each day, early in the season and work up to a nice healthy tan. (That way, if it’s forgotten one day, the child isn’t burnt!) Eleven children and 12 years here, it has worked very well for us.

I use regular sunblock.  The ingredients that are so bad for you have already been removed from most brands.  It’s wierd how paranoid people are getting about health these days.  Eat right, exersize and don’t smoke and the rest is not a huge deal.  Most of us aren’t doing that much, yet we panic about sunblock?  Did it ever occur to any of these “researchers” that increased sunblock use correlates strongly with increased sun exposure??  How would you ever isolate the 2?  I personally have very fair skin, and I often do get burned even WITH it on.

I’ve been buying Coppertone Pure and Simple, either the Kids or Water Babies (same ingredients). It gets a 3 on WGA scale, not as great as Badger or some of the natural brands, but it can be found anywhere, often on sale for $8. I do worry about the Vitamin A and the oxybenzone, which can interfere with testosterone in the body—mainly because I have 3 boys.

we use CA Baby’s sunblock (at target now!) because we had to take my son out when he was only an infant and it was the only kind i felt comfortable with for one so young.  now, its the only thing i’ll use - its a block (zinc oxide) and i also use swim shirts and really wide brimmed hats.  i also only apply if we’re going to be at hte pool or ocean during heavy sun hours (10-3).  instead, i am to go to the pool after 4 so i can skip it.  its crazy expensive, but does last a long time!

but i dont put it on to play or whathaveyou for the Vitamin D reason and for me, who burns, i try to stay in shade and/or wear lightweight long sleeves

Yes I agree with the article an have read the information in other places. For my daughter I use a long sleeve shirt at the pool and badger sunscreen if we are going to be out for a really long time. Look for sunscreens with zinc oxide as the sunblock. I try to just go into the shade once I’ve had enough sun and build up a tan gradually. In the book protein power life plan by the dr’s eades there is a very good chapter on this subject!  Highly recommend finding it at the library!

Thank you all so much for weighing in! I really appreciate it. Lots to think about!

I tended to keep my kids inside during the worst of the sun hours in the summertime.  When they were little that was their nap time anyway.  We used to arrive at our local pool just as everyone else was packing up to go home, but consequently they virtually never got a serious burn I’m not sure what I would have done if I’d had kids playing outdoor sports in the heat of the day, but the sunblocks with zinc oxide look like an acceptable alternative to those of us who are fair skinned.  I’ve always made my kids wear shirts at the beach when they weren’t actually in the water, and we’ve had beach umbrellas etc.  After my granddaughter was born we actually sprung for a beach tent, which is even better.

I agree, however, that you can’t necessarily trust that everything on the shelf is safe in the long term.  That doesn’t mean I’m ditching shampoo as some people seem to be trying to, but I certainly am more aware of all the chemicals in our life and trying to be more conscious of just exactly what we are using.

Wow, I have always thought we were safer with sunblock!  I freckle and burn at a moments notice, so sunscreen allows me to be outdoors.  Thank you for the links above - I’ve got 3 fair kiddos and want to be sure I’m protecting them the best ways I can!

I avoid sunscreen use unless absolutely necessary (we’re going to be out at the pool, during the hottest hours of the day, etc.) I don’t buy face creams or lip balms that include sunscreen at all.  Everyone in our family wears hats when we’re out for long periods of time in the summer and I’ve never had a problem with my kids getting sunburns if I plan their outdoor time in the morning or evening.  Even being outside for 30 minutes during the peak hours of the day usually isn’t going to result in a burn unless it’s extremely hot (you just gotta know your family’s skin and what conditions it can handle).

I have had four precancerous melanoma moles removed from my body.  Two on my back and two on my legs.  The thing is, not all melanomas are caused by the sun.  Many cases of deadly melanoma occur in places that never see the light of day - the scalp under hair, the soles of the feet, in between toes, in the vaginal/buttock area.  The problem is that the moles grow and change and you can’t see them, or don’t notice them. 

I’ve also had basel moles removed on my face and these are the direct result of sun damage.

Believe it or not, my doctors don’t advise over-using sunscreen.  I wear a hat when I’m at the beach, and I don’t allow myself to burn.  The best thing you can do to prevent skin cancer is to have yourself checked out by a dermatologist on a yearly or half yearly basis.  Wearing sun screen is ok, but it won’t stop melanomas from growing.

This seems to me like a Scylla and Charybdis scenario.  My kids are all super-fair and my now 8 year old was burned horribly as a baby, so we use sunblock.  She had been under six months so I was afraid to put anything on her, but kept her in the shade all day, wearing a hat and t-shirt.  She still ended up burned so badly that her little face was covered in oozing blisters…I will never allow that to happen again! My kids all wear those swim t-shirts (I love those!) and the baby wears a hat, but I keep sunblock on their faces, ears, necks and forearms. 

I already have a kid (different kid) who’s been through cancer (not skin cancer) and the funny thing is that it has made me much less worried about this sort of thing.  I try my best to stay away from things that seem super harmful, but don’t sweat the smaller stuff.

I don’t like the feeling of sunblock on my skin so I try to keep the wading pool in a shady place and put up the patio umbrella for myself. I burn pretty easily so we do use it when we go to the pool or when we play in the sun during the middle of the day, but since we don’t do that very often, I’m not too concerned about it having long term consequences.

This past February I thought I had developed Post-Partum Depression.  My baby was 5 months old (my 3rd child, no PPD with the first two).  I was fatigued, anxious, and had light depression.  Come to find out, after some blood tests, I had a low vitamin D.  After looking at my cosmetic drawer, my lotion, make-up—most of what I put on my skin—had sunscreen included.  I started feeling better after taking up to 3,000 IU of Vit D daily, but wasn’t back to normal after weeks of sitting out in the sun (somedays cool temps here in Michigan) for over a month.  We have rid our house of all lotions w/sunscreen.  I did buy an organic, all natural, no chemical sunscreen for my kids, but I think we’ll cover our skin with long sleeve rash guards while we splash in the water this summer.  I was recently reminded that our skin is our largest organ and absorbs all we put on it into our system.  Something to consider.

We don’t use sunscreen, or block, or whatever. And we’re organic CSA farmers of Norwegian/British descent…out a lot and very fair. We just keep out of the sun from 12-2 or 3 like most of the world. And we wear big sun hats. It works.

Well let’s see, the “sun spot” on my nose has shrunk since I started using sunscreen on my face everyday. But….....My Vitamin D levels were very low last winter.  What is a person to do???? Beats me. It’s an oxymoron.  No concrete answers from me!

We are VERY fair-skinned so we have to use something, but we use only the physical sunblocks, not the chemical ones (Burt’s Bees is my favorite, and easy to find at Target). And we supplement heavily with Vitamin D (much more than the government recommendations, which are inadequate for most people to get to optimal levels), as it is a HUGE problem; the majority of women of childbearing age are severly deficient (and therefore many babies and children, too), and in the U.S. it is virtually *impossible* to get enough from the sun unless you are a farmer or something, literally outside ALL DAY - and even then, probably only in certain months of the year.

Loved Katie’s article.  Thank you!  We are in Florida and have strong sun year-round.  I’m very fair, freckled and burn after 15 min. outside.  My husband is olive skin toned and rarely burns.  But for my daughter and myself, we stick with California baby sunblock, LONG-sleeved rash guards, hats, or other shirts that contain the SPF in them. 

My biggest beef is finding the rash guard tops with long sleeves.  Target’s this season are short sleeved and lands end for toddlers have a scoop neck (I prefer the higher neck).  I have purchased from iplay in the past and we have been pleased with them.  I would still like a more affordable option though.

Wow there are so many comments that I can’t even begin to read them. Well for me since I’ve been hearing so much about the new problem with just about everyone being vitamin D deficient, I only put sunscreen on my children when we are going to be outside in the direct sun for a long period of time so they don’t get burned. When they are running outside playing close to the house I don’t. And since this was a very long cold winter here in Pa I don’t even put any on them so they can soak up the sun as much as they can.

I agree with some of the other commenters- I get the cheapest, easiest to apply.  For 6 kids and my husband and me to put on all that stuff used to take forever—now it’s a snap.  Although I make everyone stand so the wind is blowing it away as we spray!

It’s amazing to me how everyone in the world will jump on the bandwagon that something is good but no long term effects of it are known.  Now we are all vitamin D deficient because we use so much sunscreen/sunblock!  Sunscreen is bad because it soaks into your pores….is it better to get sunburned or just never go out in the sun?  Will normal, healthy people have any effects from using sunscreen?  Will my kids get cancer because I do or don’t use sunscreen?  I don’t know, but I do know I would never willingly put something on them that is harmful.

All I try to remember is that I am trying to do my best to take care of my kids and if I worry about every thing they eat, wear, see, hear, etc. I would go insane!  I’m not saying I won’t think about this sunscreen vs. sunblock, but it’s just one more thing to worry about when all I want to do is help my kids grow into healthy, happy adults.

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