How far in advance of playing outside can you put on sunscreen and have it be effective?
Assume that the child is playing inside for the duration listed.
Select the furthest in advance you think....
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You're supposed to reapply every 2 hours I think, so I wouldn't put it on more than an hour in advance and assume it would be effective. If you did 2+ hours in advance, you'd need to reapply I think.
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Ours suggests putting on 20min’s before going outside and it says to reapply every 90 minutes.
I wouldn’t put it on more than 30 mins in advance or I’d likely have to reapply.
This is actually the debate I had with LO’s daycare once she was in the toddler room. We are to apply sunscreen before they go to daycare. She was one of the first to arrive (most kids get there between 8-930) she arrived at 730am and they go out at 1030.-1045. I didn’t bother to put sunscreen on her since she’s going to need to have her sunscreen reapplied by the time they went out anyway.
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@YouGotMe: ive been thinking about this too for similar reasons. The playground used to be very shaded so i wasn’t too concerned but they had to take a few trees down and it’s gets a lot more sun now.
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@Foodnerd81: our preschool outdoor space is the least shaded of the three yards so they hang a big.... tarp like thing (that I can’t seem to name today)
Perhaps your school will do something similar? Or it can be requested. They must realize that cutting down the trees affected the space. (One would hope)
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@YouGotMe: they really don’t play outside that long, and school ends in June, so I doubt they will. And half of it still has shade but I obviously can’t control which half my fair blond kid plays in. I’ll just have to remember to apply in the morning and hope it’s good enough for half an hour of outside time mid morning.
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@YouGotMe: @Foodnerd81: I operate on a 2 hour max rule for sunscreen...but my daycare asks that we send in sunscreen for the summer program and reapplies only in the afternoon. They have been willing to reapply for my fair blonde children if I ask.
Also I have seen parents apply sunscreen in the parking lot to help extend the coverage time.
I do try to pick my battles—like maybe not every day but the day that they swim at 11:30 please reapply but if I drop off at 8 and they swim at 9:30 then whatever.
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I am from a very prone to sunburn family that liked to vacation in the Gulf. 2 hours is the max, depending on the type of sunscreen, it could go down to 90 minutes. Definitely read the instructions.
My kids are the only ones that burn easily at our daycare and they apply sunscreen on an as-needed basis. Some days they play outside in the afternoon, some in the morning, sometimes both. I provide the sunscreen, but they put it on.
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@YouGotMe: You read my mind!
I leave the house with the kiddos at 6am and they go outside at 11am. Daycare insists that I put on sunscreen before drop off and that it lasts past 2 hours as long as you don't swim.
Hah.
I'm so glad I'm not alone. I'm going to try to get a doctor's note to ask them to put on sunscreen in the morning.
THANKS!
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@meadow: that is a good idea. We also do rash guards and hats for summer outdoor time. (The little kids splash in their diapers only unless you send a rash guard.) just as an extra backup if you need it.
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@MamaCate: my kiddos are on the playground....so theres not even an option to get wet. I think they make rules based on the fact that most families drop off after 8.
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@meadow: my kids school applies sunscreen to everybody directly before they head outside. I mean it doesn’t make sense to put it on before drop off when they don’t go out until 11
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@meadow: ours is on a university campus. So most parents drop off before their first class, this is why they made our rule too. People would drop their kids off at outdoor time not sunscreened.
For the spring/summer we do leave a tube of sunscreen so they do apply it to all the kids for the afternoon.
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