The summer safety checklist
Summer safety is mostly four decisions made once. Make them before the first hot week and the rest of the season takes care of itself.
- Items
- 13
- Time
- About an hour, once
- Budget
- Most families already own half of this
Start ticking things off
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Summer creates four risks at once: sun, insects, water and heat. Most families handle them by reacting to whichever shows up first. Working through the list once in late spring is far less effort than making the same decisions in July. If you already own half of it, this is a twenty-minute pass to check dates and fill gaps.
The sun rules, in one place
These are rules, not checkboxes. Sunscreen is one layer. FDA and the AAP both pair it with shade, clothing and limiting midday sun, and agree on the rest: broad spectrum, reapply every two hours, and more often after swimming or sweating. No sunscreen is waterproof (FDA). Sunscreen does not mean you can stay out longer, and you can burn on a cloudy day, since up to 80% of UV rays get through clouds (AAP).
Reapplying matters as much as the first coat. Missed spots: ears, nose, lips, the back of the neck, hands, tops of the feet, the hairline and the backs of the knees. Pool and beach days are where children get the most sun and the most water, so pair this list with the pool safety checklist before you go.
Sprays and flames
If you use a spray, FDA says to check the label for a flammability warning and, if you will be near a grill, candles or anyone smoking, choose a different product. It adds that burns can be worse in children. Spray onto your hands for the face. Our aerosol benzene explainer covers the recalls.
Where to go from here
Mineral vs chemical sunscreen for kids compares lotion, stick, spray, face and chemical types. The sunscreen hub has the label basics, and the cheat sheet has the shortlist.
Sun
The one category worth spending real attention on. Do these before the first hot week.
FDA says at least 15, and the AAP says 15 or 30 is fine for most people, up to 50. One bottle for the house and one that lives in the bag, so you never skip it for lack of one.
FDA says do not use sunscreen past its expiration date. If there is no date, treat it as expired three years after you bought it, and throw it out if you do not know how old it is.
Check: Check the bottle you already ownThe AAP suggests a hat with an all-around 3-inch brim, a tight weave (hold it to the light; the less shines through, the better), and sunglasses with at least 99% UV protection.
Find the tree, umbrella or stroller canopy, and plan outdoor time around the 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. window the AAP says UV is strongest (FDA lists 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
Reapply at least every two hours and after swimming, sweating or towelling off. Set the timer when you apply, since most people use too little and too seldom.
Schedule: Set a two-hour timer at the first beach or pool day- Optional
FDA says to wrap sunscreen in a towel or keep it in the shade while you are out in the heat for long periods.
FDA says sunscreen is not recommended before six months and to ask a doctor first. The AAP says shade and clothing first, and small areas like the face if those are not available.
Bugs
The right active ingredient depends on your child's age and where you live. This is the item most worth reading about before buying.
Behavior beats product here. A nightly check during tick season catches ticks a spray missed.
Schedule: Make it part of the bath routine
Water and heat
Pool toys and swim aids are not the same thing as an approved life jacket, and the packaging rarely makes that obvious.
Check: Look for the approval stamp inside the vestHydration is the least glamorous item on this list and the one that matters most on a genuinely hot day.
Worth a two-minute question at the next visit, so you know what to look for on a hot day. Offer water often and plan the rest, like shade and indoor breaks, in advance.
ReadPut something you need — a phone, a bag — in the back seat so checking is not something you have to remember to do.
Check
Skip these
- Spray sunscreen applied directly to the face — FDA says never apply spray sunscreen directly to the face. Spray it onto your hands and rub it on. Check the label for a flammability warning, and skip that product near a grill, fire pit or anyone smoking.
- Combination sunscreen-and-repellent products — Sunscreen is reapplied at least every two hours, per FDA. A repellent usually is not, so a combined product tends to force you to over-apply one or under-apply the other. Check each product's label for its own directions.
How we choose
Items here are chosen for the specific job summer creates, not for being the best in their category overall — the roundups linked from each line handle that.
- Addresses a named summer risk, not a general wellness mood
- Practical to actually use on a child every day
- Where a cheaper option works as well, we say so
Every claim traces to a listed trusted source.
Common questions
The cheat sheet for this
Part of the Sunscreen & Sun Safety hub— the rest of our coverage in this category.
Every sunscreenproduct we've reviewed— what we'd buy, what we'd skip, and where each one stands.
Every source we cite is checked against our criteria first — see how we check our sources.