"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?

Can you not go out early (home by 11am) and then again after about 3pm so you miss the middle of the day when the sun is strongest? We just got back from the park and not a single child was wearing a hat - although quite a few were bundled up in coats still.

Are you in the UK?
This is the UV forecast: www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/uv-index-forecast/#?tab=map&map=MaxUVIndex&zoom=5&lon=-4.00&lat=55.71&fcTime=1618606800

It's fairly low at the moment and has been the last few days.

I'd just use a spray sun cream if he won't keep a hat on. My dad always uses one as his hair thinned as he got older and he's never once burnt using the,

Your ds is not yet 2y so it's not a battle you're likely to win whilst he can't fully understand the reasoning. Shoes are likely to be different as you can fasten them in and they're harder to remove. Mind you, I let Dd outside in bare feet too; I wasn't a worry of mine particularly.

One thing we did insist in at certain times was sunglasses to protect DD's eyes. We had success with the baby bandz sunglasses.

As a person with extreme freckles, sunscreen every single day even in winter!!!! My sun damage would be no where near as bad if I had worn sun screen every day.

No real advice OP except keep on keeping on, sun hats are so important and I would bribe with chocolate if required.

It's not that sunny in the UK. Nice and bright at the moment, yes, but hardly hot weather necessitating a sun hat. It's actually quite cold. Does he wear a jacket with a hood? That might be better.

Sunscreen rubbed on top of head should suffice.

I grew up with the spray on hair/scalp sunscreen though if the main concern is his scalp, then I'd let him wear the knit hat + appropriate sunscreen for the face if he's that fair or, at a real push to keep sanity, go out in the evening when the sun is less harsh (that's how my very pale spouse prefers to do it).

I wore a knit hat a couple days ago because it was really windy where I am, wasn't an issue temperature wise - I have some that are fine pretty much year round for wear. With my kids, the only ones that worked were the camping hats that are like baseball caps with additional cloth (which I think DS2 called his cape) over the neck and very rarely snug bucket hats, never the big floppy sunhat things -- for us the hats either need to not touch the ear or snuggle cover them, the over but not snug for me and a couple of mine is annoying and seems the perfect way for the wind to catch and carry them off.

I put sun cream all over my toddler’s head 🤷🏻‍♀️

Blimey! I'm in Lincolnshire and we've had frost, snow and hail this week...bits of patchy sunshine to be completely transparent, but temperatures haven't risen much above 12 degrees, so definitely no need of a hat 🧢🤣

It may not seem warm to some, but when the sun UV index is over 3 it can cause sunburn which can lead to skin cancer.

More info about why it’s important to use sunscreen and cover up from cancer research:

In the UK, the sun’s UV rays are the strongest when the sun is highest in the sky between 11am and 3pm, from mid-March to mid-October. If you have fair coloured skin or get sunburnt easily, protect your skin during these hours by seeking shade, covering up with clothing, a hat and sunglasses and using sunscreen on parts not covered with clothing.

Getting sunburn, just once every 2 years, can triple your risk of melanoma skin cancer. Get to know when to protect your skin to reduce your risk of sunburn. Tools such as the UV index and the shadow rule can tell you when the sun’s UV rays are strong, and when your risk of sunburn may be high.

The UV index is a useful tool that tells us how strong the sun’s UV rays are and when we might be at risk of burning. The higher the value, the greater the risk of sunburn and the less time it takes to damage your skin.

When the UV Index is 3 or more, the sun is strong enough to cause damage for some skin types so take care and protect your skin, especially if you burn easily.

www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/sun-uv-and-cancer/am-i-at-risk-of-sunburn

I totally get where you're coming from and I don't think it matters that you're in the UK - my DM, DS, DG and BF have all had skin cancer in the UK, mostly in Scotland. So yes, I can see why you want to "crack it".

Do you wear a hat? If not, why not give that a try? He puts your hat on your head and you put his on his head. That was the only way I could get tooth brushing to work until DS got the hang of it.

Or, you get him the same hat as his dad's and get him to put on his "daddy hat". DS went through a phase where the only hat he'd wear belonged to his DG! It was a bit big, but it was on!

I used to give DS my phone to hold while I put on his sun screen, otherwise he'd scream. He still hates it at 16 but now it's his choice to burn. He tried it once a couple of years ago (not on my watch) and decided that he didn't want to get burned ever again.

Years ago, gap and m&s both did sun hats with chin straps that made them harder to get off/fall off. DS2 used to spend ages pulling at it but failing to get it off.

And yes, I'm a hard ass about this stuff, but skin cancer isn't just an Aussie thing and I never wanted to have to look back with regret.

Mine never kept hats on. I just put sunscreen on their heads like everyone else just do that and take your son outside .

[quote Bythehairywartsonmywitchychin]It may not seem warm to some, but when the sun UV index is over 3 it can cause sunburn which can lead to skin cancer.

More info about why it’s important to use sunscreen and cover up from cancer research:

In the UK, the sun’s UV rays are the strongest when the sun is highest in the sky between 11am and 3pm, from mid-March to mid-October. If you have fair coloured skin or get sunburnt easily, protect your skin during these hours by seeking shade, covering up with clothing, a hat and sunglasses and using sunscreen on parts not covered with clothing.

Getting sunburn, just once every 2 years, can triple your risk of melanoma skin cancer. Get to know when to protect your skin to reduce your risk of sunburn. Tools such as the UV index and the shadow rule can tell you when the sun’s UV rays are strong, and when your risk of sunburn may be high.

The UV index is a useful tool that tells us how strong the sun’s UV rays are and when we might be at risk of burning. The higher the value, the greater the risk of sunburn and the less time it takes to damage your skin.

When the UV Index is 3 or more, the sun is strong enough to cause damage for some skin types so take care and protect your skin, especially if you burn easily.

www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/sun-uv-and-cancer/am-i-at-risk-of-sunburn[/quote]
I meant when the sun UV Index is 3 or more it can cause sunburn which could lead to skin cancer (not over 3).

@Abraxan

Are you in the UK? This is the UV forecast: www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/uv-index-forecast/#?tab=map&map=MaxUVIndex&zoom=5&lon=-4.00&lat=55.71&fcTime=1618606800

It's fairly low at the moment and has been the last few days.

I'd just use a spray sun cream if he won't keep a hat on. My dad always uses one as his hair thinned as he got older and he's never once burnt using the,

Your ds is not yet 2y so it's not a battle you're likely to win whilst he can't fully understand the reasoning. Shoes are likely to be different as you can fasten them in and they're harder to remove. Mind you, I let Dd outside in bare feet too; I wasn't a worry of mine particularly.

One thing we did insist in at certain times was sunglasses to protect DD's eyes. We had success with the baby bandz sunglasses.

The UV index is 3 in some places this can cause sunburn.

Do people not get the difference between uv index and temperature

@ineedaholidaynow

Do people not get the difference between uv index and temperature

It appears so by the comments from some posters.....

@YouAreYourBestThing

Blimey! I'm in Lincolnshire and we've had frost, snow and hail this week...bits of patchy sunshine to be completely transparent, but temperatures haven't risen much above 12 degrees, so definitely no need of a hat 🧢🤣

Temperature has nothing to do with whether you burn or not.

Even if you are very concerned about sun damage (which is bot unreasonable) there's no need to stay in all day everyday. There's plenty of daylight after 3pm or before 11am, when the sun is of no risk to anyone.

This is insane

I mean, of course you need to protect him from the sun (lucky you!) but allowing a 22 mo to dictate your arrangements for 4 days is madness.

You can:

• go out early, no need to worry about sun
• limit time out, so do a few trips out, sun cream if needed, then home & go again later
• look for shade, at least for part of the time, if it's that sunny.

There isn't a toddler alive who hasn't thrown off their sun hat or refused to wear it at some point.

And yes, like PP, where do you live that it's that sunny?!

I am quite fair, but I have dark blonde, nearly brown hair. I was putting planters together in my back yard in May a couple of years ago & didn't realise how sunny it was. Got sunburnt on my back. I had to sleep on my front as it was peeling sheets of skin for weeks, literally. Stupid mistake. I had the tan lines for a full year, this was from about 3 hours of exposure. Never been burnt before or since. I always wear a hat (because I'm worried about wrinkles) but it never occurred to me that I'd get burnt in early May!

Little children notoriously don’t want to wear or keep hats on. It really goes with the territory. It might help if he could pick his own hat. So that might be the first thing I’d try. Second thing would be short hair cut and spray sun protection.
I will say though that I was never a fan of taking my kids out in the middle of the day if I could help it and it’s a toss up between sun protection and adequate vitamin c levels. So early sun and afternoon sun in small quantities never got me too stressed.

*Vitamin d levels

Only mumsnet can make out your insane for wanting to try and prevent a very fair child from burning.

You’re not insane, you’re sensible. My son got mildly sunburnt in April when he was a baby (in the UK!). Obviously I felt terrible about that and became a lot more careful as a result. He is very fair-skinned and has thin, blonde hair so has to wear hats or put sun cream on his scalp.

Uk attitudes re skin damage from sun exposure are still way behind where they need to be.

‘The incidence of malignant melanoma in Britain has risen faster than any other common cancer. Over the last decade, the number of people diagnosed with melanoma in the UK has increased by almost half.’

www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/information-gps/gp-resources/skin-cancer/skin-cancer-incidence-and-risk-factors

My dad died from melanoma which started on his back and then spread extremely quickly to his brain. The sun damage which caused his melanoma is thought to have occurred when he was a child.

I was in the garden, for a couple of hours, two days ago, in the middle of greater Manchester and burned all my face.

I'd find as many daft hats as you can, put all the hats in a box and let him choose. Make it a game. My DSs favourite at two was a Carmen miranda job. Literal plastic fruit and get the skalp spray.

@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.

No one did this. No-one.

It was simply pointed out there was a small risk of burning in April. But even if you felt it was an issue, you had many many choices, all suggested here, other than sequestering yourself in the house for 4 days because your toddler won't do what you want.

That's the bit that's insane.

I spray suncream in mine’s hairline, he’s a blondie and hates hats