Get ready for summer travel, celebrity-style: Sun safety edition

Whether it’s by car, train, boat, or plane, your first trip withyour kids or your fifth, the preparation can be daunting. Unlikecelebrities, most of us don’t have an entourage of nannies and personalassistants to help us manage the process, or access to private jets,but we came up with some of our favorite travel tips to help you travellike a celebrity. So grab your huge sunglasses and check out our summer travel cheat sheet to minimize the stress.

Click Continue Reading for our tips for sun safety.

• If you can, avoid the sun at midday – that’s when its rays are at their strongest.
• If you have to buy new bathing suits, skip the traditional one-piece styles and get a swim/surf shirt to cover up more skin. Anya loves this onethat we got at Target for $13. There are similar versions for boys, butyou can also throw a swim shirt over any regular bathing suit. (We also like sun apparel from Snapper Rock, Sun Busters’ full coverage swim apparel, and MaxOUT Swimwear.) Pick up swim tops for the adults too.
• A hat they can wear in the water and/or sunglasses are a must too.
• Since you’re not supposed to use sunscreen on babies under 6 months old, protect their tender skin with an Eclipse Solarveil by Secure2Me($29). It’s also good for older kids, especially when napping in a stroller. It blocks 95% of UVA/UVB rays andattaches to your stroller or car seat with clips, but air flows throughboth ways.
• SUNSCREEN! If you’re using the lotion type, remember you’resupposed to apply a shot-glass worth each time. I prefer a spray-typebecause I don’t like the greasy feeling of the lotions, but also because it’s easier and faster to apply on kids.
  • We like Neutrogenawith helioplex because it protects agains UVB rays (those that burn)and UVA rays (which ages skin). Also, while UVA protection in mostsunscreens start to break down as soon as you expose it to the sun, thehelioplex stabilizes the ingredients that break down.
  • Though there’s no reason to buy separate sunscreen for kids and adults, we also like Coppertone Water Babies QuickCover Lotion Spray SPF 50 and Coppertone Kids Continuous Spray SPF 50, which are both waterproof, but you still need to reapply after you or your child has been in the water for 30+ minutes.
  • Missy likes Kiss My Face Face Factor SPF 30 because it doesn’t hurt her boys’ eyes if it smears.
  • Like most moms, I always have baby wipes on me, why not also carry Shady Day’s Daily Sun Protection Wipes (SPF 30)? (Make sure you check out our roundup of sunscreen you may not see at Target).

We spoke to Dr. Laura Jana, pediatrician, American Academy of Pediatrics spokesperson and Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention section member, author and mother of three, who offered these additional sun protection tips:

• Apply sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher) at least 30 minutes before going outside, even on cloudy days. Reapply sunscreen every two hours, or after swimming or sweating.
• It’s best to avoid combination sunscreen/insect repellent products if your child is going to spend more than a couple of hours outdoors, because while sunscreen needs to be reapplied every two hours, insect repellent should not be reapplied. It also helps to avoid perfumed and scented products, which can attract unwanted attention from insects.

Photos by SplashNewsOnline.com; Bauer Griffin

Do you have any tips or tricks for getting your kids to let you regularly apply sunscreen?