Health & Wellness

Ask the Expert: Sun safety & sunscreen tips for babies & children

Applying sunscreen often, seeking shade and avoiding long periods outdoors can all help protect children in the sun and heat.

Protecting your baby or child from the sun is essential whether you're heading to the park or beach, running errands, or enjoying a summer day outdoors. Babies and children are especially vulnerable to the dangers of heat and sun exposure.

Even on cloudy days, their sensitive skin can burn easily. Sunburn at any age, including in childhood, increases the risk of skin cancer later in life. UV rays from the sun cause damage to DNA, ages skin, damages eyes, and ultimately increases the risk of skin cancer.

Dr. Miriam Oliver is a pediatrician and the head of the Department of Pediatrics at Penticton Regional Hospital. She's a mother of two young children and shared with us her tips for how you can protect your child or baby in the sun.

Tips to keep your child or baby safe in the sun

In the summer months, children can lose body fluids quickly and become dehydrated. Their skin can also burn from contact with hot surfaces like pavement, sand, metal slides or car doors. That’s why it’s crucial to protect your child’s skin and keep them cool and hydrated.

Use these tips and guidelines to keep your children safe in the sun.

Limit sun exposure

  • Avoid being outdoors for long periods when the summer begins. Gradually increase your child’s time outside over several days.
  • Try to stay indoors or in shaded areas between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun is at its strongest.

Protect babies from the sun

  • Keep babies out of direct sunlight, especially during peak hours.
  • Dress them in loose, lightweight clothing and a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Use a stroller with a sunshade to protect them on walks.
  • For babies under six months, avoid sunscreen. Instead, keep them covered and shaded. For babies older than six months, apply a small amount of SPF 30 sunscreen to exposed skin areas.

Dress your child for protection

  • Choose loose cotton clothing or garments labelled as UV-protective.
  • Always have your child wear:
    • A wide-brimmed sun hat with a back flap to cover the neck
    • Sunglasses with 100% UV (broad spectrum) protection
  • Apply SPF 30 or higher sunscreen to all exposed skin at least 30 minutes before going outside.
  • Don’t forget tricky spots like the ears, nose, neck, tops of feet and legs.
  • Use SPF 15 lip balm to protect their lips.
  • Reapply sunscreen every 2–3 hours, or more often if swimming or sweating.

My child has darker skin—is sunscreen necessary?

UV sunlight affects everyone! Children and people with darker skin should protect themselves in the same way as those with lighter skin.

Sun protection tips for people with dark skin (Doctors of Nova Scotia)

How to prevent heat illness and dehydration

  • Encourage frequent water breaks—even if your child doesn’t say they’re thirsty.
  • Watch for signs of heat exhaustion, such as:
    • Fatigue
    • Thirst
    • Leg or stomach cramps
    • Cool, moist skin
  • If you notice any signs of heat exhaustions, bring your child indoors or into the shade to rest, remove extra layers of clothing, and offer small sips of water. Fanning can help them cool down slowly.

Set a good example

Children learn from what they see. Make sure you’re protecting yourself from the sun, too: wear sunscreen, hydrate often, and seek shade whenever possible.

Related Stories@IH: Summer safety: Tips to protect yourself from summer heat

Sunscreen tips for babies and kids: What parents need to know

A girl with blond hair wearing a tshirt holds out her arm as someone applies sunscreen from a blue and yellow can.
Dr. Oliver sprays sunscreen on her daughter's arm.
Sunscreen use by age
  • Under six months: No sunscreen
    • Babies can rub sunscreen into their eyes or mouth, which is why it’s not recommended at this age.
    • Use protective clothing, hats and shade to keep baby safe.
  • Over six months: Safe to use sunscreen
    • Babies and children can use physical, chemical or combination sunscreens.
    • For babies, apply sunscreen on exposed skin.
Types of sunscreen

Learn about the different types of sunscreen and how to apply them.

Physical (mineral) sunscreens

  • Ingredients: Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide
  • How they work: Reflect UV rays
  • Benefits: Less likely to irritate skin; not absorbed by the body

Chemical sunscreens

  • Ingredients: Avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, octinoxate, octocrylene or oxybenzone (note you can buy oxybenzone-free sunscreens)
  • How they work: Absorb UV rays
  • Note: Once applied, the body absorbs sunscreen, in small amounts. Some people prefer physical sunscreens. Collective research has not demonstrated any evidence of health harms from chemical sunscreen use.

Combination sunscreens

  • Mix of both physical and chemical ingredients
How us choose and use sunscreen
  • Use SPF 30 or higher
  • Choose water or sweat-resistant sunscreen
  • Use child-specific formulations (gentler on skin)
  • Apply to all exposed areas 30 minutes before sun exposure
  • Don’t forget SPF 15+ lip balm
  • Reapply every 2–3 hours, and after swimming or active play

Tip: Many parents prefer mineral sunscreens for younger kids due to reduced risk of irritation and absorption.  Mineral sunscreens are very effective at protecting children.

You might be surprised to know I go to town with spray sunscreen for my kids! Getting my kids to sit still for long enough to apply rub-on sunscreen is like trying to wrestle a honey badger. Not worth it.

I spray their bodies with kids’ SPF 30+ sunscreen and rub it in, careful that they don’t inhale the spray. For their faces, I spray it on my hands first before I rub it on their skin. 

Then I spray them after they've been running around, in the water, or outside for more than an hour.  I keep cans in my car, by the door, in my gym bag and in our beach bag. Because skin cancer is real and so are sunburns. 

The collection of research does not show harm from using chemical sunscreens to protect from skin cancer. There is evidence, however, that overexposure to sunlight causes skin cancer.  I choose to protect myself and my family against the long-term risks of sun exposure with consistent sunscreen use.

-- Dr. Miriam Oliver, pediatrician

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