Living at the beach, we spend a lot of time out in the sun. I’ve been researching good, safe sunscreens for a while, but it’s hard to find exactly what I want when faced with so many options at the store! Environmental Working Group publishes a report each year of the best beach and sport sunscreens, and many are perfect for babies, toddlers and kids. Their yearly guide is out and you can check it out here.

The safe sunscreens are often pretty expensive at health food stores like Sprouts or Whole Foods, most over $15 for a small tube. I wrote about some of the best sunscreens for baby last year, and some of them are still on the list this year. We like the Aveeno Baby Sunblock Stick because it comes in stick form which is easy to apply to wiggly little people. I ALWAYS carry a sunscreen stick in my purse.

If you are in the market for a safe bug repellent/sunscreen for small children, the Summer Blend of California Baby has a non-invasive insect repellent built in. This is a must-have for beach camping with toddlers or hiking with the family.

When in doubt, read the back of the sunscreen bottle before you buy it. The two active ingredients should be titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide. These are physical barriers rather than chemical barriers (which have shown to disrupt hormones). I know it’s not always practical to use these more expensive sunscreens on the whole family, but we can try to protect our little kids for as long as possible. 🙂