How to Help Your Kids Have Healthy Skin

From the time they are born until they are old enough to decide they hate everyone for breathing (aka when puberty hits), keeping a child’s skin healthy is a parent’s responsibility. This seems like it should be a fairly straightforward task, right? Just keep your kids clean and everything will be a-okay! The truth is that there is more to children’s skin care than you might think. Here are some tips to help you care for your child’s skin while helping them develop good skincare habits.

Natural Products Only

No harsh chemicals should touch your little ones’ skin! Choose mild and natural soaps and shampoos instead. This is true even for problems like skin tags. Try natural skin tag removal products before trying something harsher or allowing a doctor to remove them surgically.

Age Appropriate Only

Don’t use soap, shampoo, etc., meant for adults on babies or young children. Baby and children’s cleansers are designed to be gentle and not harmful on the eyes or if a little bit gets in baby’s mouth. Adult bath products are much stronger and can do a lot of damage if they get in your eyes or if you swallow them.

Lotion is Important

It seems a little silly, putting lotion on babies and toddlers, but it really is good for them. Baby lotion helps keep your little ones’ skin soft and supple and healthy. It is especially important in dry environments and during the colder winter months when there isn’t a lot of moisture in the air. Lather on the moisturizer (creams and ointments are best for babies; you can move on to lotion when they get a little older) right after bath time to ensure that it gets absorbed right into your son or daughter’s skin.

Keep the Sun Away

When your child is a baby this is pretty easy. Hats, strollers with hoods, light blankets and such can all be used to physically block the sun from reaching your baby’s skin. And, really, there’s not much they can do to fight back if they don’t like the feeling of sunscreen when you put it on them. When they get a little older, though, finding a good sunscreen and keeping your kids covered up is going to be more difficult. A good idea is to use a sports sunscreen that is made for kids. Sports sunscreens are usually waterproof and last longer than regular sunblock, which needs to be reapplied every couple of hours. Make sure you apply it before you head outside, too. Most sunscreens and sunblocks take about fifteen minutes to be properly absorbed.

Getting into a Routine

When your children are a little older, like when they’re leaving toddlerhood and starting school, have them start learning how to take over their skin care rituals. This will get them into the habit of a good skin care routine early enough that it will really get ingrained, which will be helpful during puberty. A good way to do this is to start by having them hang out with you while you go through your own skin care routine while they are still small. Then, as they get older, you can let them lather on their own facial cleansers (meant for kids of course) and moisturizers and lotions. When they get a little older, say 4th grade or so, you can have them take over the whole routine themselves. They’ve probably been taking baths by themselves for a few years now so you can trust them not to accidentally eat the soap and to rinse properly if a little gets in their eyes.

Keeping your child’s skin healthy is an important part of parenting. Our skin, after all, is our first line of defense against illness and injury and the first thing people see when they look at us. Helping your kids develop good skin care habits from an early age is one of the best things you will ever do for them.