Hiking With Your Baby: Staying Safe in the Sun

Parents who want to enjoy the outdoors with their babies have to take extra measures to protect their new, sensitive skin from the sun.

Use sunscreen, sun shades, and UV-protectant clothes to protect your baby from the sun while hiking. You can find shady trails to walk on, as well as limit your hiking to morning and evening hours when the sun’s rays are less direct. Sunglasses and sun hats provide additional protection.

Keeping your baby from experiencing sun damage while you are hiking is important, but it’s not hard once you understand the basics.

Why It’s Important to Protect Your Baby From the Sun

Babies have sensitive, pale, skin that burns and experiences sun damage easily. It’s vital to protect them from UV rays. Early skin damage can increase the chances of skin cancer later in life. In fact, one blistering sunburn in childhood almost doubles the child’s risk of developing melanoma as an adult. Children who learn to protect their skin when they are young are likely to continue the habit into adolescence and adulthood.

You can learn more about the ins and outs of hiking with your baby in my post: Hiking With Your Baby: EVERYTHING You Need to Know.

Providing Sun Protection for Young Babies While Hiking

Babies under six months old aren’t supposed to use sunscreen because their immature systems can’t metabolize the chemicals. It is best to use physical methods of sun protection for these babies. Most importantly, keep babies out of the sun as much as possible. Finding shady hikes is the best option for very young babies.

You can also use clothing to protect babies from the sun. All clothing provides some protection, but it’s minimal and shouldn’t be relied on. The best sun protection comes from UPF clothing which protects babies’ skin through three actions: blocking, reflecting, and absorbing UV rays. These types of clothes are often called rashguards and are designed for swimming. However, they can also protect the skin in other situations.

If you can’t avoid the sun, go out in the early morning or evening when the rays are less intense. St Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida.

Protecting Older Babies and Toddlers From the Sun While Hiking

Babies and toddlers over the age of six months can start using sunscreen. Because their skin is sensitive and immature, you may have to use a lighter layer and reapply it often. You should avoid chemical-based sunscreens and focus on mineral ingredients such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

You should continue to use physical methods of sun protection such as shade and UPF clothing to help keep babies cool and safe. Light layers of sunscreen alone might not be enough to keep your baby from burning in the harsh sun, so stick with morning and late afternoon hikes and try to find shaded trails. Sun hats and sunglasses provide protection in areas that sunscreen alone can’t reach.

Sunscreen Basics

Sunscreen can be used on babies and toddlers over the age of six months. Using sunscreen is one of the best ways to protect kids’ skin against UV damage from the sun. This is because it can be used on skin that isn’t covered by clothes, such as faces, and it can be used in situations such as outdoor play and hiking when kids are moving around and aren’t always staying in shaded areas.

Different Kinds of Sunscreen

There are different types of sunscreen and they all use different active ingredients. Most people recommend using mineral-based sunscreens on babies and toddlers. The ingredients aren’t absorbed into the blood in the same way that chemical sunscreens are. They are also more gentle for those with sensitive skin.

How to Apply Sunscreen Effectively

Sunscreen can only work correctly if it’s applied correctly. Many people use too little sunscreen, which reduces the amount of SPF that they are applying. You should really slather it on the get the full benefit. In addition, you will have to reapply sunscreen regularly- every 2-3 hours under normal conditions, and more often after getting wet. Finally, it’s easy to miss some common problem areas, especially the tops of the ears, the back of the neck, and the exposed tops of the feet.

Staying in the shade is one of the best ways to protect children and adults from skin damage caused by the sun. If the day is bright, try to find hiking trails with a lot of shade. Cedaredge, Colorado.

The Importance of Shade

Keeping your baby in the shade is one of the best ways to protect them from the sun. This is especially true for babies under six months old, who can’t use sunscreen. When you are hiking with a baby, consider using shade as one of your biggest defenses against sun damage.

Finding Shade While Hiking

Choosing hikes with a lot of shade can help keep your kids from skin damage and sunburn. Hikes through forests are often very shady, especially if you avoid hiking during the middle of the day. Some public lands websites such as those made for national and state parks will occasionally mention trails that are shady but can be hit and miss depending on the site. If this is important to you, look for trails that go through deep forests.

Adding Shade to Baby Carriers and Strollers

This universal stroller shade keeps the sun off your baby.

If you are hiking with a backpack carrier or stroller, you can usually add shade so your baby will always have protection from the sun, no matter what kind of trail you are on. These shade features are either built into the original product or are available as after-market additions.

Many baby carriers designed for hiking come with sunshades.

Using Clothing as Sun Protection

Clothing can help protect against the rays of the sun because it creates a layer of shade. However, most clothing only provides a small amount of protection. For example, a t-shirt might only have an SPF of about 5. This will still allow the sun to burn skin, even through clothing. That is why it’s important to use special UV-resistant clothes and use them in combination with other methods for the best results.

Choosing UV-Blocking Clothing

UPF clothes can be a great way to provide more sun protection for your baby while relying less on sunscreen. These UPF clothing options, which are often designed as swimming clothes, can have a higher SPF rating than many sunscreens. They can be great for infants under 6 months and as a supplement to sunscreen. Try to get long sleeves and long pants so more of your child’s skin is covered. These clothes provide UV protection for about 1 year or 30-40 washes.

Sun hats provide protection for little heads even on cool days. Silver Jack Reservoir, Colorado

Using Sun Hats and Sun Glasses on Babies

Sun hats are an important tool for skin protection. Many babies and toddlers have hair that is too light and thin to provide enough UV protection. However, it’s hard to use sunscreen on hair. Use a UV-rated sun hat to protect their heads, necks, and faces from the sun’s rays, as well as help keep little heads shaded.

Sunglasses help protect the eyes from UV rays which can damage not only the skin around the eyes but also the eyes themselves. Infant sunglasses are available and if you start having your baby wear the glasses early, they will get used to them and be less likely to fight them.

Infant sunglasses are recommended by eye doctors.

Conclusion

Sun protection is important and pediatricians, eye doctors, and dermatologists emphasize that starting the habit of keeping healthy skin in childhood is essential. Parents can use a combination of sunscreen, UV-resistant clothing, shade, and sunscreens to keep their baby’s skin safe.