It's the middle of summer, and most of us have probably been slathering our kids with sunscreen for the past few months before we head out. There has been lots of recent news about sunscreen and the harsh chemicals it can contain . . . more on that later. But today, I wanted to put on my Captain Obvious hat and point out that the best natural sunscreen is:
COVERING UP
Now this is an easy one for boys. Most stores carry cute rash guards that cover their chests and arms, and it's not difficult to find below-the-knee trunks for our little guys. But what about our daughters? I've been more and more dismayed as I shop for full-coverage swimsuit options for my fair-skinned little girl. It seems like most retailers are sending the message that our daughters should have a majority of their skin bare and exposed to the elements. I got so fed up after a trip to a few store only carrying teeny bikini's that I finally broke down and bought my daughter a swim set from the boy's department at Old Navy. But why not offer this in pink?
Mama Manifesto wants to give a shout-out to the following stores for offering full-coverage swim options for both genders:

To check how safe your sunscreen is visit this site. We love ViveSana's natural sunscreen for our kids!

hm, that's weird, my Old Navy does have rash guard sets for girls, too. Here's a link to one on their website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?cid=39266&pid=555206&scid=555206012
Amen!
ReplyDeleteI went to Walmart and literally could not find a one piece bathing suit for my four year old. So disturbing!
Here's a good one: www.uvSkinz.com
ReplyDeleteThe woman that created the website and the clothing did so in honor of her husband, who lost the battle with skin cancer at a very young age (32!)
Her husband's story is here: http://blog.uvskinz.com/darrens-story
I just purchased 2 shirts for my husband, a hot pink shirt for me, and a long sleeved shirt and shorts for my baby girl. I also bought hats for all of us. (The sport hat has a pony tail hole!)
This was the only one Old Navy offered for toddler girls:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?pid=574670002&userSearchText=rashguard&searchCID=26519&vid=1
I felt it didn't offer much more coverage than a swimsuit. But the one Jenna linked looks great! Only a few sizes are left and on sale, too. I'm tempted to order some for when India is bigger.
I just got a couple sets of shorts and rashguards for my daughter from Eddie Bauer. They are on sale, too. Loved the uvskinz website. Reading about the statistics on sunburn in the first 15 years of life make me want to protect the kids even more.
Bianka, thanks so much for that link...so informative!
ReplyDeleteThe only bummer with these kinds of rash guard suits is how hard it is to get them on and off. Especially when wet!
I know some wonderful natural sunscreens that I have been using and they are vegan. I was so happy when I found them because I am extremely sensitve to chemicals and so is my daughter.
ReplyDeleteyou can find them here
Vegan Recipies
My daughter who is 7 has never wanted to wear anything but a rash guard and board shorts so this has been a challenge every summer! I used to buy the boy stuff at Old Navy as well and she was perfectly happy with it, however this summer I found some rash guards and board shorts that match! in a pink/brown combo and a blue/darker blue combo at Target! Each piece was more than what I like to spend but I didn't care! It was girly and it covered her up! I much prefer board shorts and rash guards to sunscreen!
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ReplyDeleteI love Lands End! They have 50 spf suits for boys and girls. They also offer board shorts and rash guards for girls. They have little stores within a store at our local Sears, so I didn't have to do mail order AND they are more likely to have sales there. The day I went (in May) girls rash guards and skirted bottoms (which can mix and match with their WONDERFUL tankinis) were only $10 each.
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