How Much Is Too Much Sun?

Hi Debbie,

My daughter is 13 months, and I covered her up just like you do, per Dr's instruction. She (the Dr) explained that their skin is way too senstitive for sunscreen until 6 months and it was important to keep the sun off their little bodies. I was also teased, and when we visited relatives in Arizona (in May) I was told that it was okay for her to get sun, that she needed the vitamin D and a little sun would give her some healthy "colour." HOWEVER, they get vitamin D from your milk or formula and if there is no such thing as a healthy glow for an adult, how can it possibly be healthy for a baby who is still developing? So, I agree with you and so does my doctor. As long as he is getting airflow (which of course, you know) keep him covered!! And when people teased me, I just said I guess I would rather be a little overprotective (especially at 3 months) than not protective enough. :)

BTW--My husband teased me about that kind of stuff too. At first I thought it was because I was a first time parent and he wasn't (he has a son from his first marriage) but in speaking to my friends, it just seems to be the way it is with all husbands. I just want to know how they got out of receiving the worry gene!!! :)

Keep him covered up. If your husband doen't understand, simply take him along on a visit to a dermatologist. I think that will do the trick & bring about a better understanding of the need to protect your sons skin!

Just riding in the car & living daily life provides enough vitamin D.

My daughter is 13 months and I'm still VERY cautious. "They" say 10 minutes p/day is good for Vitamin D and that's it. We LOVE to be outdoors so she's always wearing long sleeves, pants, and sunscreen, now that she's older. I try to keep her in the shade but now that she's running around, that gets interesting.

Jen

I'd limit direct sun exposure for the most part until at least 6mos old when you can start putting sunscreen on. Obviously, some sun exposure is great for vit D and for that purpose I think it is 15 minutes. His skin is very delicate right now, personally I'd keep him covered up a bit.

At this age I would cover him up as well.

If you are outside a lot like we are I suggest getting in the habit of putting sunscreen all over him when you dress him in the morning (starting at 6 months). Then if you go to the park add a little more to the fully exposed areas. Mostly I do this just because when we are running around sometimes we get to the park and i don't realize until after we've been there a while that they don't have sunscreen on. I started putting it on them in the mornings and we do it everyday. Also get different spf levels for different days. Like school days my daughter uses a gentle 15 spf, and pool days we use a very strong 50 spf.

No it's not a bad thing to do. You are very smart to cover your son up. I worked for a Dermatologist for 6 years and saw a lot of bad sunburns on kids. Coppertone babies is a great sunscreen for your baby when he turns 6 months old. Apply it 30 minutes before you go outside that's what I do to both my kids. Tell your husband to stop teasing you it's not a bad thing what your doing.

You bring up a very good point these days, as we need to be so much more careful about exposure to the sun. It sounds like you're doing a great job, as we do need to be careful about sun exposure.
Recently my pediatrician was talking to me about this. I had a stress fracture on my foot, and he told me to take lots of vitamin D and went on to explain that with all the sunscreens, that many people are not getting enough Vitamin D anymore, and are having a lot more problems with bones. The sun is our primary source of Vitamin D, as it is not naturally occurring in a huge amount of foods. I believe that he recommended about 15 minutes per day of sunlight.
It's another one of those things that we moms just have to learn to balance.
Particularly for now with your son being so young, absolutely do keep him well covered though.