When your children were babies and toddlers, you probably always had a bottle of sunscreen on hand for their time playing out in the sun. But as your toddler grows, the sunscreen sometimes get shoved to the side and no longer becomes the priority that it once was. However, your Tween’s involvement in outdoor sports means that they still need to be protected from the sun.
While you may think about sunscreen during the times you take them to the beach, their outdoor activities can also potentially lead to sunburns. Thus, it is important to ensure that they have the proper protection on during these times as well. Sunburns are still painful even in the Tween years. But the responsibility of putting it on shifts to your Tween.
It can be difficult to get your Tween to put it on. While carrying around an extra bottle is a good idea, you can also put some in a smaller bottle for them to carry around. Getting them into the habit of putting it on before they go outdoors will reduce the amount of reminding that you have to do later on. But they will still need to be reminded lots of times before it becomes a habit.
It is also at this time that you have to be careful of the products that you pick out for your Tween. Because their bodies are changing, their skin may become more sensitive to certain types of ingredients in sunscreen. This increased sensitivity can lead to breakouts. Depending on your Tween, you may have to stick with the baby products or the more natural products. Even though your Tween probably doesn’t want to be seen with a sunscreen bottle with a baby on it, you can solve this problem by putting it in a more neutral bottle.
Sunscreen is still important to apply even though they have grown up. Getting them to apply it can be a chore. Making sure that they can handle the product can also be challenging. But if it saves them one sunburn, it is worth it for both them and you.