At what age did you start taking your baby out in the sun with sunscreen?

Question

I have read that you shouldn't put sunscreen on a baby until they are at least 6 months and I have also heard that not until they are a year. So does this mean no going to the pool or anything until then?

Answer 1

I use california baby sunscreen on my daughter since she was a month old the first time I took her outside. I am a skin specialist and crazy about  ingredients and skin and It is fine to use it. It is really good to use it actually, it's a very nice thing to do for your child's skin.  

Answer 2

My doctor said 6 months, but if you MUST be in the sun, she said you can use the sunscreen, b/c it's better than the baby getting burned. They also sell little pop up sun shades. Then you can be in the sun and baby will be safe.  

Answer 3

i used water babies when she was 5 months old and it was perfect, i also heard neutrogena kind is great. just try a little bit on her and see that shes not allergic to it, and make sure your baby wears a hat and just stay for a little (in the pool) and keep her on the shade. and of course hydrated.

Answer 4

you can buy Toddler Milk Sunscreen for children who are 3mths old.

Until then short plays in the sun are fine.

Here in Queensland Australia our sun burns skin quickly, so we are recommended to keep little ones out of direct sun play between 10am - 3pm. But outside of those hours your baby should be experiencing a little bit of sun each day for his/her vitamin D requirements. 15mins in the sun is perfectly healthy outside of the "danger times" of the day. Even laying in a sun beam inside (with out clothes on) will benefit baby each day.

Swimming is so much fun, go for it :) baby pools always have shade available so use it to your advantage! here in queensland baby pools are shaded completely and are warm water too so babies can be comfortable - so suss out what you have locally available to you and go for it!

Answer 5

You really aren't supposed to use sunscreen until 6 months, but sometimes necessity requires it.  I live in the Phoenix area, where it gets into the 100s in April and stays that way until November.  I took my kids to the park in April and kept the baby in the shade (it's too hot to keep her fully clothed).  She got sunburned while I was pushing her from the park to the car in the stroller.  In 5 minutes!   She was 4 months old, so I asked the doctor because I was worried about the sunscreen rule and the doctor said to try and keep her face shaded with a hat but that baby sunscreen on her arms and legs should be fine.

As for the pool, you can buy baby floats that have shades over them to keep them in the shade, and hats for their faces.  I took my daughter in the pool at 5 months (the pool water was too cold before then) and she loves splashing in the water.  But I always sunscreen her face, arms and legs and I even bought a swimsuit that covered all of her except her forearms, lower legs and face, and a matching hat.  

Answer 6

I had a January and a February baby. They both started going swiming with my in about June. We did not use sun-block. Just tried to stay near shade.