"No hat, no outside" not working. Been trapped inside with toddler for 4 days.

[SelfBuild]

Toddler (22 months) will not wear a sun hat, only a wooly bobble hat, we've tried 5 different sun hats with his favourite things on. Just not working. Went out last week and it was hot and he'd only put a bobble hat on and he was sodden with sweat afterwards.

So I toughened up, put the bobble hat out of sat and have lined up a selection of sun hats next to his shoes by the door. Everytime for the last 4 days he's asked to go in the garden, for a walk or to the park we've had the "no hat, no play/no go outside" argument. He will not back down and just tears it off so we haven't left the house. It's so sunny and nice and I'm just stuck indoors with a cranky toddler who hasn't had a proper run around in days but neither of us will back down.

What do I do?

@UhtredRagnarson

You could try wearing his sunhat and telling him he can’t have it.

That’ll do it!

My kids are very fair and have never worn hats. so I use this... toddlebornwild.com/shop/sun-and-wind-balm/
It’s a mineral sun cream and spf 50+ they never burnt and I just put it on in the morning.

30 minutes outside even if fair haired is fine without any protection and important for vit D after 30 minutes you'd be looking at coming inside, though temperatures have not been over 15 degrees in uk this week - have they?

get a sun canopy for the garden - a big sail style canopy

sun screen on body, hair will protect head to some extent

tbh im very fair and rarely burnt as played in shade, wore clothing to protect skin - this was 3 decades and more ago

@SunIsComing

We are in U.K. ffs.....

I got burnt on Thursday in greater Manchester.

It was cold, I was wearing a jumper.

Let him wear the woolly hat.
You will not win against a 2yr old. He doesn't care you're stuck inside.

The UV index forecast shows levels going as high as 6 in some parts of the UK in the next week
www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/uv-index-forecast/

My 23 month old doesn’t wear a sun hat, will wear his bobble hat if cold. It’s April and no way I would be staying in for 4 days because of a hat, pick your battles. I bought him the obligatory sun hat for nursery next week for summer and I wish them well trying to get it on his head . I will apply sun cream when needed but that is it, life’s too short. None of my other 3 dc kept sun hats on either.

You can get scalp spray in high factor. I also didn't worry enough about sun exposure when mine were young and now I know more the hard way i wish I'd been more like you.

To all those, saying it's April and the UK, DD16 got a sunburn last week.

It's April, why does he need a hat? I live in a hot country and my kids only wear a hat if we are out for prolonged periods in the middle of the day. I cannot see why a toddler in England needs a hat in April.

@UhtredRagnarson

OP put his sunhat on your head and tell him he can’t have it. Tell him it’s your hat now.

This always works with two dc and the eldest pretends to want what we want the 3.5 year old to have / wear

Seriously just take him out without a hat, put suncream on his head and bring some out with you to reapply. 4 days is a long time without going outside. If I was in for 4 days with my toddler we'd both be climbing the walls and complete miserable

Maybe an idea but maybe take him shopping and let him pick one himself? My local Asda had a fair few this morning. Not uncommon though. My 2 were nightmares for wearing hats at that age. Dd grown to like them but DS hasn’t really worn them much. He has a big mop of hair and we don’t stay out for too long. He will wear one at school when required as he ‘has to’. Don’t fret too much. You can get sunscreen for hair I believe.

Sun cream. Yes in his hair, it washes out. Mine are v fair and I've always done this, because they'd put a hat on and more often than not end up losing it. Ps where do you live because I'm having the 'yes you do need your big coat for the park' argument here 😂

Try walking in woods.

I don't think you can really 'crack it', they go through phases of looking hard or not liking them.

Sorry I have not read the full thread, just your posts, OP. Do you wear a hat? With shoes, everyone wears them but not so with hats, so he is deciding for himself! Sounds like he knows his own mind!

@SelfBuild

Only mumsnet can make out your insane for wanting to try and prevent a very fair child from burning. I'm off, thanks anyway.

@SelfBuild My 14 year old is fair, I've been protecting him since he was tiny, he went out independently yesterday and wasn't even out long and he burnt. In April in the north of England! You're being sensible, you've had some good advice here, I hope it helps.

Just buy hair and scalp spf. But it's April in the UK, not going to get burned in this!

Suncream on his hair! That’s what I did!

Hat on , outside having great fun. When he takes the hat off, back inside and be boring. Rinse and repeat. Sorry, but this is the start of many battles, good luck.

user1492809438

I think this what op has done hence not going out for 4 days. I presume she doesn’t get as far as the door before he takes it off.

I always let my children just get on with it. Pick your battles otherwise you are going to have a really hard time and when it does matter then you have lost your ability to distinguish between important stuff and irrelevant stuff

Why are you trying to out stubborn a toddler? No sun hat for me would mean one of the following options:

1. Going out early or late when the uv is low
2. Sun cream on scalp
3. Staying in the shade

Stop being stubborn and get outside, no one is winning here!

I'm arguing in another window with 19yo DD about coffee vouchers... this is relevant because she is fair enough to get sunburnt before end of March, in England, in both 2020 & 2021. So I've had fair toddlers -- heck, I've taken them to sunny Spain in summer.

He's too young to really understand OP. Chocolate stars might help, though, is used wisely. April is too early to worry about it. Heck, there will be plenty of days in mid July or June that aren't sunny enough to worry about it.

@GoodbyePorpoiseSpit

This seems bonkers to me.

Yes.