A Baby’s Day Out: Baby Care On The Beach!

It’s a wonderful feeling when you take your baby to the beach for the very first time. The new sights, sounds and smells will excite your baby. The glees and the gurgles more than compensate for the pains you may have taken to prepare for your special outing. Caring for your baby out on the beach requires packing items to protect, feed and keep her happy.

Sunscreen Protection!

Ahh, a day at the beach with your baby! However, your main concern will focus on sun safety and UV protection for your infant. Although you may wish to suntan, young infants should never be tanning! Your child may not be able to tolerate the heat for more than 15 minutes, even on an overcast or cloudy day. Young, delicate skin burns very easily and needs to be protected from the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays. Most skin damage happens between birth and eighteen years of age, so get them into the practice now to avoid troubles down the road.

Make sure to use a “broad spectrum” sunscreen made for babies, and one that contains no artificial fragrance or color. The American Academy of Pediatrics has approved the use of these products, so you can be rest assured they’re safe, even for children younger than six months. Also, never mix insect repellent and sunscreen. The combination of the two is known to chemically react and be absorbed into the skin.

Sun safety begins with applying a test dose of sunscreen on a small patch of your child’s skin. This will ensure he isn’t allergic to any of the ingredients. If no reaction occurs, you then apply sunscreen to every single body part that will be exposed to the sun. Make sure you apply it at least 20 minutes before they head out into the sun. Reapply the sunscreen if your child strenuously plays in the water. Check on him regularly, as he can’t tell you if he's had too much fun in the sun until it's too late!

Some Safety Tips!

Exposed body parts such as the face, head or neck need to be protected with a broad-rimmed hat. Young children should not be exposed to direct sunlight, especially in the middle of the day between eleven AM and three PM. Their eyes also need to be protected from harmful UV rays with quality UVA/UVB sunglasses. They can enjoy playing while protected under a beach umbrella or while being wheeled around in a stroller and mounted sunshade. If you leave your infant in a pop-up tent, you need to constantly monitor the temperature. It can get very warm inside in a short period of time. Look for a tent with wide screen windows to let air circulate.

Useful Baby Gear For the Beach!

A twin baby stroller with ample sunshade is great for the beach. Just make sure that your stroller doesn’t have swivel front wheels. Such strollers don’t perform well on sand and tend to get stuck. Some beaches contain facilities where you can rent beach gear. You should check this before packing your baby stroller. Beach strollers usually come with an umbrella attachment and have very large, wide wheels that move easily on sand.

Travel items to pack include baby foods and liquids, disposable feeding bottles and battery operated food warmers. Other items include a floppy hat with fabric ties, baby lotion, sunscreen, soap, washcloths, wet wipes, towels, diapers and toys. These can all go into your diaper bag.

A beach outing provides wholesome fun for the entire family. Nurturing your baby need not stop you from having fun at the beach. If you pack all the necessary items, you can enjoy a memorable experience that you’ll cherish forever. <

Author Credit:  This article is provided by No-tan-lines.com, an information and resource site on tan through clothing, tanning safety tips and beach sportswear.  Great Baby Products provides information about and sells a variety of baby merchandise including baby rocking horses and baby monitors. We have published this article as a service to our visitors.

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