How to put sunscreen on kids without a wrestling match
Plus, the budget pram bag with more than 10 pockets.
Leaving the house with a small child is a complicated production at the best of times, but on days when you have to ensure they are liberally covered with sunscreen, the preparation can take on epic proportions.
My 22-month-old loves running round the house holding a bottle of sun cream while triumphantly shouting ‘Bottle! Bottle! Bottle!’ But the second I try to get anywhere near his face with said cream, his pleasure is replaced with outrage, and he employs evasive moves that would impress an accomplished contortionist.
This inevitably results in more sun cream ending up on me, his clothes and in his eyes, than on his face – which means we both end up hot, bothered and frazzled before we’ve even managed to enjoy any sun on our skin.
‘There must be an easier way!’ I’ve wailed on more than one occasion – and thankfully it seems there is, as The Little Things readers and parents on Twitter were happy to tell me their top tips for getting sunscreen onto a small wriggly child.
With young children “part of the resistance is the unknown”, explains Lucille Whiting, who says she finally figured this out with child number three.
You would resist too, if someone was trying to put a cold, gloopy substance on your face and you didn’t know why. The trouble is, really young children aren’t going to be able to understand why they need to wear sunscreen, so it’s all about making the process as enjoyable as possible with these techniques:
Tool Up
“Use a make-up sponge or beauty blender for their face,” Angharad Planells advised me over email. “Makes it much less of a fight with my 18-month-old at the moment and she likes having a go herself.”
Tag Team
“This only works if you have two or more kids aged 3-ish+, but I get them to apply it to each other and to me,” Emma Fast-Field told me via email. “That way, it becomes a game and a bit of a bonding ceremony, as we're helping to protect each other. (I usually do a quick rub-down at the end to get any missed bits and wipe away any excess.)”
Sunscreen? What Sunscreen?
“It’s not sunscreen. It’s super power cream,” says Matt Zitron. “You get a different one every time you put it on. And they guess what the power is.”
Earn Your Tiger Stripes
The CBeebies Grown-Ups Twitter account also recently shared some great advice on this topic from their fans. One wrote: “My sister-in-law told me a great tip when I kept wrestling my toddler to put on suncream. She said to him "do you want spots or stripes?" he picked stripes like a tiger, so she applied the sun cream in ‘tiger stripes’ and he rubbed it all in.”
Good Cop, Bad Cop
“Bad cop piles the cream on, then when the kid starts fussing, good cop comes to the rescue to rub it off,” suggested another CBeebies Grown-Ups fan.
Buddy Up
A few of the parents I spoke to recommended little gadgets called Solar Buddies, £8.99. These plastic applicators can be filled with sunscreen, which is then dispensed via a rollerball and sponge, making it easier (and less messy) for children to apply their own.
Colour Coded
Older kids who need reminding about when to reapply sunscreen, may benefit from Boots’ new Soltan Kids Learn to Reapply UV Detection Stickers, £5. They’re little purple dots, which you can stick on your child’s upper arm, then you apply sunscreen to their arm as you normally would, ensuring the sticker is covered too. It will turn white once exposed to direct sunlight. Then when the sunscreen wears off the sticker turns purple again, alerting your child to the fact it’s time to reapply.
Can You Help With A Little Thing?
An upcoming issue of The Little Things will focus on how to remove a splinter from a wriggly child. Do you have any advice to share? If so, you can let me know by replying to this email. Thank you 😊
Little Loves
Pram bags can be eye-wateringly expensive, but there is a budget alternative that can compete with the big brands. The Kroser backpack costs £17.99. It has more than 10 pockets - enough for separating nappies, wipes, a change of clothes and even your laptop, should you wish; and it’s sturdy and waterproof, so can withstand being bumped around when attached to your buggy’s handlebar. I am by no means the only person to love this bag - you’ll find its praises being sung in many an article/thread about the best bags for remote workers. I only hope that the makers don’t cotton on to the fact that it is such a good fit for parents too - because as with everything baby-related, they would probably add an extra 0 on the end of the price if they did.
The Little Lowdown
Did you know there are more than 400 police officers in London schools? The aim is to make schools feel safer, but in this article on Black Ballad, Tobi Adunni asks whether police presence actually does make all pupils feel safer, and explores an alternative that could have a more positive impact.
“It is crucial single mothers of sons know that there is no man-shaped void to be filled, that everything they have to offer their sons is enough,” writes Miranda Armstrong in another insightful article on Black Ballad, which explores how myths about how the single black mother family is harmful to boys can “disempower and discourage” mothers.
Pregnant women have told Rachel Moss at HuffPost UK that they feel totally 'forgotten' as pubs and shops reopen following lockdown, but they’re still facing scans alone and having antenatal appointments conducted remotely. “No one has spoken to me about alternatives for birthing classes or breastfeeding tuition, or anything like that. I’ve been floating for the longest time,” one mum said.
“It’s not uncommon to see little ones get naked in public, or stick their hands down their pants, or compare penises in the school cafeteria… all of this behaviour is totally age-appropriate. Yet school rules must be followed, and limits must be set,” Jenny Marder speaks to experts to get advice on how to keep kids curious about their bodies without shame, for The New York Times.
And now for something a little different: A clinical psychologist has shared a calming breathing exercise for children and young people - and parents may also find it useful in theses stressful times.
About Me
I’m Ellen Wallwork, a sleep-deprived mum-of-one, incessant worrier and freelance journalist. I’ve been writing about parenting for more years than I care to remember and previously launched the Parents section on HuffPost UK. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (but be warned, I’m not a prolific poster).
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