Youngsters have thinner, more sensitive skin, making it essential for parents — and their little ones — to develop good sun-protection habits from the get-go. “Getting kids used to sun protection early is key,” says Dr. Heidi A. Waldorf, associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Finding the right sunscreen to slather on is of course important, but the dermatologists we spoke with say finding quality sun-protective clothing is just as crucial — especially for new parents — because babies under 6 months old cannot wear any sunscreen.
Even when a child is old enough for sunscreen, experts still recommend using sun-protective clothing because there is less room for user error and because some kids just don’t like the feel of a pasty white film on their skin. Even on cloudy days where the sun doesn’t seem to be much of a threat, Brian Fine, a former chief firefighter who’s now a lifeguard instructor at Lifeguard Training NY, reminded us that “UV rays are able to penetrate through the clouds.” Dr. Stacy Chimento of Riverchase Dermatology adds that sun-protective clothing can be as effective, if not more than, sunscreen on certain areas of the body “because it is a physical blocker of the rays and, unlike sunscreen, you never have to reapply.”
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