beach tips Archives - Mother 2 Mother Blog

Thinking Beyond Sunscreen: 3 Ways to Protect Your Skin at the Beach

The 2018 summer season is expected to be hotter than normal in most parts of the country. As a result, families will be finding ways to cool down and seek some relief from the scorching heat. One way to do this is to go to the beach. Not only do kids have fun playing in the sand and surf, but adults get to relax and work on their tan. Additionally, they may take a dip every now and then to cool off. However, while you’re having fun in the sun, it’s important to protect your skin. Especially, if you’ll be staying all day at the beach.

While most adults take active measures to protect their skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays, there are other things that you can do to care for your skin and keep it healthy while you’re outdoors. You’ll need more than a bottle of sunscreen to protect our skin though. So, here are the 3 things to bring to the beach to care for your and your children’s skin.

A Sweat-Proof Sunscreen Stick

Getting excited children to sit still while you reapply sunscreen can be a challenge. As a result, stashing one or two sweat-proof sunscreen sticks in your tote bag is a must before heading to the beach. With just a few swipes, you can get the entire face protected. Furthermore, it stays on longer than conventional sunscreens. This is ideal way to protect your skin if you’re going to play watersports or beach volleyball.

Apart from helping to avoid getting sunburn, applying a good coat of sweat-proof sunscreen also prevents you from getting Actinic Keratosis. Actinic Keratosis is a pre-cancerous condition that appears as small, red, and flaky patches on the skin. If you’ve been spending lots of days in the sun and see this type of spots, you can get professional treatment to restore the health of your skin. Skin care is important throughout the year, but when the sun’s out, the risks increase.

All-Natural Aloe Vera Gel

Aloe Vera has long been used as a natural way to soothe sunburned skin. But, it can be difficult to bring to the beach. The good news is that there are lots of readily-available Aloe Vera gels available on the market. And, most of them cost less than $5 for a small tub or tube. However, check the ingredients list first to see if what you’re buying is the real deal. Make sure that Aloe Vera is the very first thing that’s listed. Also, keep in mind that the first thing on the list is the most potent ingredient.

If you truly want pure aloe gel, you can make your own by pureeing the flesh of several aloe leaves in a blender. Add a teaspoon of Vitamin E if you want your gel to have additional moisturizing properties. Pour into a clean plastic container with a screw top lid and place in the refrigerator—the watery mixture will turn into a gel after a few hours.

A Lip Balm with SPF

That cherry-flavored lip balm might taste good, but you and your kids may be better off choosing a formula with SPF. Especially, if you’re spending a day at the beach. However, you don’t have to pick a plain variant. A balm formulated with mint will feel soothing on the lips. Also, a lip balm with a hint of tint makes you look healthy and naturally beautiful too. Each member of the family should have their own lip balm as any product that touches the lips can be a source of infections such as the herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores.

Keeping the entire family’s skin protected at the beach is a cinch. So, make sure you have the right products on hand. It’s imperative that you bring all three of these suncare staples to the beach to protect your skin properly. You can have fun times under the sun without risking your skin health.

Kids often get excited and need reminders on beach safety. Being safe in and around the water is a must. Although my granddaughter doesn’t like the ocean, she heads toward the water to fill her bucket for sand castles. As a result, we need to have somebody watching the water and somebody watching her on the beach. My grandson on the other hand will stay in the water until he shrivels up. We need someone to stay in the water with him until it’s time to take a break. Today, we are sharing parenting tips on beach safety.

beach safety, children's beach safety tips

I’ve put together a few rules that we use for beach safety. Our beach safety tips will help keep your child out of harm’s way in and out of the water. As parents it is our responsibility to keep our children safe:

Never enter the water alone – Make sure children understand that they should only enter the water with an adult or older child.
Set limits – Provide an area that they are not to wade past while in the ocean.
Observe your surroundings – Teach them to look for family or landmarks when they want to come out of the water.
Train your children to listen – Teach them to listen for the lifeguard’s whistle when they’re in the water and to follow instructions from the lifeguard and family.
Stay Hydrated – They should understand the importance of taking a break from the water to rest and drink plenty of fluids. Offer water, fruit flavored waters or Gatorade instead of soda or sugary fruit drinks.
Apply Sunscreen – Make sure everyone is adequately covered in sunscreen. My dermatologist recommended Neutrogena. A beach hat is a good idea too.
Explain Signs – Make sure kids understand safety signs posted around the beach.
Provide Adult Supervision – Make sure an adult is always present to oversee the children in the water and on the beach.
Re-enforce Stranger Danger – The beach is full of people, so go over the rules of interacting with strangers, especially adults.
Provide a Shaded Area – Set up an umbrella so everyone can rest in the shade and allow the body to cool down and refuel.