Travelling with children Sun and water essentials

It's vital to protect your baby’s skin from the sun

When it comes to sun and water protection, it's essential to be prepared. Follow our checklist to make sure you pack the right gear.

Sun safety

It's vital that you protect your baby’s skin from the sun. Small babies need to be kept out of the sun completely. It's harder to do this with toddlers and babies on the move, so you need to be vigilant. Use the following:

Sun hat

With older babies or toddlers you'll probably have to wrestle with them to keep it on their head, so a hat with ties or an elasticated fit can help to resist determined little hands. ‘Legionnaire’ style sun hats with a flap at the back are very effective at protecting the whole head and neck.

Wide-brimmed hats are a good alternative. Other styles – for example, a straightforward baseball cap design – won't provide the necessary protection.

Sun-safe clothing

At its most basic, this means long-sleeves and trousers, not shorts. However, for periods of long exposure, this often isn't enough to protect a child’s skin from burning as clothing can still let through some harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.

If you want to be sure of maximum protection, you can buy special clothes that guarantee to let through only the tiniest amounts of UV rays. Look for clothes with the label ‘prevents sunburn’. Clothes with this claim will have reached British Standard EN 13758-2, which sets a strict sun protection standard for children’s clothes.

Sun cream

• Choose a cream with a sun protection factor (SPF) of between 15 and 30. Many sun creams aimed at children will have an SPF higher than 30, but they won't actually give your child much more protection in real terms. A 20-point increase in the SPF doesn't give a corresponding increase in protection - so don't be lulled into thinking that your child is safe to be out in the sun for longer if you use a higher factor cream.
• Avoid very cheap, little-known brand creams: tests by trading standards officers and Which? have found some of these to have far lower levels of sun protection than is claimed on the label. Stick to well-known brands (or, for good value for money for the same level of protection, own-label chain-store products).
• Buy before you travel: sun creams purchased abroad may not meet these demanding requirements and may be mis-labelled.

First aid

Take a first aid kit with you so that you know you have key items readily to hand.

Baby beach and swim accessories

There are a few other products that might make life better when you’ve got sand between your toes.

Swim nappies

Swim nappies are useful if you don’t want your child in normal nappies on the beach and don’t want to risk any ‘accidents’ in the water. Travel companies and hotels often insist that non-toilet-trained children wear swim nappies in swimming pools.

There are two types of swim nappies – reusable and disposable. Disposable nappies have an absorbent core like normal disposables, but it won't swell up in the water. They come in packs (available from most supermarkets) and each one is thrown away after use. However, they can work out expensive and a fairly bulky item to take away with you.

Reusable swim nappies are made from soft swim suit material, which allows water to escape but catches solids. If you're using reusable swim nappies it's best to buy two so one can dry while the other is in use. Whichever type of nappy you choose, look for ones with ties or side-snap fastenings as these will be easier to change than pull-on-and-off styles.

Covering up children in a wetsuit allows them to play longer

Baby wetsuits

These keep your baby warm and allow them to stay playing in the water for longer. They open at the bottom for easy changing.

Buoyancy aids

Older children can have armbands but babies needn’t miss out on the joys of floating in the water. You can buy baby swim floats, which have an integral shaped baby seat with leg holes. Your baby sits in the seat with his or her back and chest supported and can splash about and kick safely (with, of course, an adult keeping the child within arms’ reach).

Buoyancy aids come in different sizes and are suitable for babies from about three months. They are widely available.