How often should I reapply sunscreen to my almost 4 year old son during regular play?

Question

He doesn't sweat much, and he's not in water. It's SPF 45 UVA & UVB. The bottle says it last up to 80 minutes in the water. I need to know how often to reapply with regular play in direct sun.

He has fairly dark skin.
Is this site accurate?
http://www.mistupid.com/health/spf.htm

Answer 1

I have a 4 year old and have asked the doctor once before about this. He said if no water has come in contact then a reapply should be done every 2 to 3 hours depending on the sweat. In your case probably 3 hours.

Answer 2

The SPF 45 means that your child can stay in the sun 45x longer and not get burned than if he did not have it on. It will last longer not in water. How long would your son be outside at a stretch? Probably not longer than 2 hrs, but if he is, I'd reapply it.

Answer 3

I think that the companies that make the suntan lotion say to use it however much the number is..45..But I usually go with a general rule of an hour..Plus I get a chance to chat with my son for 2 minutes every hour while I'm reapplying :)

Answer 4

I found this on wikipedia. It says first application should be 15-30 minutes before skin exposure with a repeat application 15-30 minutes after sun exposure with reapplication within two hours needed only after heavy sweating, swimming, or rubbing. Otherwise, every two hours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunscreen

Answer 5

The "45" of SPF 45 tells you - every 45 minutes. It's also a good idea to make him keep shirt on & wear a hat & shades.

Answer 6

Every two hours is good, every hour is sweating or in the water. 45 is a little high though!
Remember to hydrate him if he's going to be in direct sun more than two hours.

Answer 7

about every 3 -4 hours

Answer 8

buy these things from Coppertone called Sunspots. they are little stickers you put on your child. They change color when the child has had enough sun.