"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?

Make sure you are wearing a sunhat. They like to copy. Then give choices - do you want to wear the red hat or paw patrol hat?

As it gets hotter your child will be feeling the heat more themselves and also be growing in understanding.

As an aside, dont be too quick with sun protection, children need vitamin D too. See when its safe for them to be in the sun for a while too.

If you said it you have to keep to it, good for you to keep going this long! Could try negotiation?

Suncream in hair/on head.

Failing that, chocolate bribes are very effective in our house

I get your worry op

Dip his woolly hat in a sink of cold water before you give it to him to wear. It’ll keep him cool. Yes his hair will get wet, water will drip onto his face, but he’ll survive. Finally, don’t discuss the hat, if he takes it off and you’re stressing, just sit under a tree until the sun passes. You need to get past this sharpish, for your own mental health as well as his

@AccidentallyOnPurpose tied up of course!!!!!

Use this it similar www.superdrug.com/Skin/Sun-Care/Head-%26-Hair-Sun-Protection/Malibu-SPF30-Scalp-Protector-50ml/p/752752?gclid=Cj0KCQjwse-DBhC7ARIsAI8YcWJDpDPnA6hISNiet55dGLU5DHfcFkHC4s50JCgBN3KGzMEOvD32_DMaAjAnEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Why not just uses parasol on the buggy with suntan lotion on the skin. The riskiest time is when they are sat in the pram/ buggy.

Suggestions:

Spray suncream that goes in his hair
Wearing similar hats yourselves
Hats that tie on
One of those caps made out of swimming costume material - dd is obsessed with that texture

You could get one of these from Next - (I managed to read the first 200 posts so I'll read on to see what else has been suggested).
www.next.co.uk/style/st471531/699304#699304

There is bound to be something that grabs his attention on this list:
www.next.co.uk/search?w=toddler%20hat&isort=score&af=#1_0

Have you tried wearing a hat at the same time? If you wear one it will seem like a more normal thing to do. Toddlers like copying, if he sees you wearing one it might encourage him to wear one too.

Seriously ? You’ve kept your child indoors during this beautiful weather over this ? You’ve turned the situation into a battle, just let it go, it’s bloody April.

I'm super, super fair and would have burned today without sunblock and a hat. I had a major burning incident when I was a child because a friend's parents took me out and wouldn't listen to me asking for shade - they just didn't understand someone with a different skin type from theirs. I'm absolutely no hat no outside myself and can't believe everyone above making OP feel weird for insisting on this.

Suncream , play in the shade put a umbrella up / gazebo anything . Staying indoors because he won’t put a hat on , hats come off anyway when playing .
Go any get some high factor cream and buy a big sun shade for your garden and stop stressing.

I bought DH knitted cotton beanies on Amazon. They are marketed for chemo patients but are ideal for all sorts of people and purposes. You could sew a pompom on it!

I have a very strong-willed toddler OP, and though it is quite fashionable among some to 'break' their will in an attempt to improve compliance, I have actually found encouraging independence to be a bit more successful. Positive reinforcement really helps here.

Can you focus on explaining the routine for leaving the house, i.e. shoes, jumper, suncream, hat, in buggy, out door etc. Repeat verbally, repeat, repeat repeat and offer some kind of reward for each step? Sticker or smartie or something. Make a really big deal if he does something like fetches his own shoes or jumper, or gets into the buggy without prompting.

I found breaking down the steps helpful i.e. you want him to put his hat on, but he won't. You need to break that down into smaller steps and celebrate them when they are achieved.

For anyone else who may want to protect their kids from the sun:

This is Australian, but great for younger kids.

Superglue! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
sorry, kidding obviously

Over the last decade, melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have increased by almost two-fifths (38%) in the UK.

This thread demonstrates why, sadly.

@SelfBuild

He's so fair, I don't want him to get his scalp burned and soon enough it'll be hotter and we need to crack it. It's been sunny enough to burn easily these last 2 days especially.

Mine 2 are the same! One white blonde and very fair, other is ginger. I made mine wear hats today and my ginger still burnt her cheeks.

With my blonde boy I used to put factor 50 all through his hair. It looked horrid and greasy but at least he didn't burn his scalp 🤷‍♀️ he now wears a hat because he hated baths every night.

Jesus Christ, I think prospective parents should be vetted before having kids. Never heard anything like it. You some common sense FGS.

Smother him in high factor sunscreen and crack on. Mine grew up in South Africa in beating heat with factor 99% and a hat when we could get him to wear one. He's 22 now now and does not have melanomas.
I think you need to let this go to the 'things that are not going to be fatal bin'.
We are Northern hemisphere, your child is not going to die from lack of sun hat.

@Octodog the reason it’s gone up is because of stupid tanning salons and people baking themselves on holiday.

A toddler running around for a couple of hours in April is not MM country!

I wish it were easier to get the Australian style wide brim hat. The bucket style we see so often here isn't as good.

No wonder incidences of vitamin D deficiency are increasing!

@Bunnyfuller actually it's all about education into the dangers of a sun. And the toddler will be running around outside for multiple hours, not just a couple (unless you only let your children out for two hours during their entire childhood).

That toddler will grow up with sun sense.

@FrankChurchillsHaircut we bring them back now - thankfully it's looking like schools here are starting to introduce "no hat, no play" policies as well.