During the summers, Charlie and Olive are out in the sun every single day, so sun protection is something we take very seriously. I share some of our summer sun protection essentials in this post, as well as some of our sunblock hits, misses and favorite resources after the jump!


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1) hat – When we’re out and about and there is no shade, I put hats on the kids and they’re pretty good about keeping them on because they always see Mr. Bee wearing one.

2) sunglasses – Since both kids are used to seeing me wear glasses everyday, they also love their sunglasses. There are ones specifically made for babies and toddlers with straps that keep them on. But when Charlie and Olive are seriously playing in the water or at the playground, they don’t bother to keep sunglasses on so we rely on hats help to shade their eyes from the sun.

3) rashguard – Charlie and Olive go to the playground every day with their daycare, and they usually get wet in the sprinklers. So we send them to school in their rashguards and then they change into regular clothes after they get back from the playground. I like not having to worry about putting sunblock on their bodies because uv rays can easily penetrate light colored clothing.

4) sunscreen – Currently we’re using this sunblock from Badger which has one of the safest ingredient lists. We use this on Charlie and Olive’s arms, neck and legs every day.

5) sunscreen stick – Charlie and Olive both hate having sunblock applied to their faces, and this sunblock stick from Badger has solved the problem! They don’t mind this stick, but Olive usually wants to put it on herself!

6) sun shade tent – If we lived near a beach, I’d definitely invest in one of these sun shade tents which provide shade and block uv rays. I like that this doesn’t have a bottom because the kids can still play in the sand while they’re inside.

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M O R E  O N  S U N S C R E E N S

I really didn’t know that much about sunblocks in the past, but since we slather it on the kids from head to toe at least once a day, ingredient safety is now very important to us.

Before I try a new brand of sunscreen, I check that:

  • it is made with zinc or titanium dioxide
  • it has both UVA and UVB (broad spectrum) protection
  • their rating on the EWG website is ok (the website tells you about parabens, pthalates, oxybenzones and all that chemical stuff that’s hard to remember)

The EWG recently released their 2013 Guide to Sunscreens, which features 184 of their safest sunscreen recommendations. I think the EWG/Cosmetics Database is a wonderful resource and I usually check it first for all kinds of products, but I also take some of their recommendations with a grain of salt. Many products listed have limited information, and I think they tend to lean conservatively on the side of caution. So I might still consider using a product that has a 2 or 3 (1 is the safest) depending on the ingredients, but when I see a product that has a rating of a 7+, I avoid it!

Safemama also has a great 2013 Sunscreen Cheat Sheet which goes into more detail about the specific ingredients in each of her favorite safe sunscreens.

Sunscreens we’ve tried in the past couple of years include:

We first started out using California Baby when Charlie was 6 months old and it was fine. We mostly used Episencial last year, then switched to Burnout and Badger this year, and we’ve been happy with all three. Badger is a great safe brand, but it has a chamomile and calendula scent while I would really prefer a fragrance-free product. Before the summer is out, we’ll have to buy at least one more sunscreen, and the next one we try will probably be Loving Naturals Adorable Baby SPF 30 Clear Sunscreen (EWG Rating 1) and their stick sunscreen. I only recently discovered this through my parenting listserv, but there are sunscreens like Loving Naturals and Babo Botanicals Clear Zinc Sunscreen (EWG Rating 1) that are not only safe, but they’re clear! No more white mess!

As far as our sunscreen misses, we stopped using the MD Moms sunscreen towelettes because they contain parabens, and we stopped using the Babyganics Sunscreen Spray because I’ve read a number of negative things about the Babyganics brand recently, like many of their cleaning products containing formaldehyde and their sunscreens containing chemicals. Too bad because I’ve used a number of their products in the past and have liked them!

What brand of sunblock do you use for your kids?

Summer Essentials part 8 of 8

1. Toddler Beach Essentials by Mrs. Cowgirl
2. Beach Gear by Mrs. Chocolate
3. Summer Toys by Guides
4. Toddler Pooltime Essentials by Mrs. High Heels
5. Beach Baby: My must-haves by mrs. tictactoe
6. The Pen Family's Summer Wishlist by Mrs. Pen
7. Rashguards for Girls by Mrs. Bee
8. Summer Sun Protection and The Safest Sunscreens for Kids by Mrs. Bee