Magazine

Frustrated dad trying to apply mineral sunscreen stick to squirmy baby

A Dad's Messy Quest for the Best Sunscreen for Babies

It's exactly 78.4 degrees at Laurelhurst Park, and I'm currently holding a pressurized aluminum can of SPF 50 like it's a live grenade. My eleven-month-old son, Leo, is squirming on the picnic blanket like I'm trying to install a malicious...

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A mother holding a baby near a backyard swimming pool in the summer

The ugly truth about that cute baby pool float you just bought

My sister-in-law's backyard in Naperville smells intensely of expensive mineral sunscreen and chlorine. It's mid-July, the humidity is oppressive, and I'm standing at the edge of the water holding a thrashing nine-month-old. My mother-in-law is hovering nearby, aggressively trying to...

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Dad holding an 11-month-old baby wearing a wide-brimmed baby sun hat on a bright summer day.

The Firmware Update I Needed On Finding The Best Baby Sun Hat

We're standing in the middle of a park in southeast Portland, the wind's blowing cottonwood seeds right into my open mouth, and I'm desperately trying to tie a floppy piece of UPF fabric under my 11-month-old's chin while he thrashes...

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A toddler covered in thick white mineral baby sunscreen at the beach

How to Find the Best Baby Sunscreen Without Losing Your Sanity

I'm sitting on a blistering hot dock at the lake with my oldest pinned firmly between my knees, my middle kid is actively trying to eat a handful of wet sand, and I'm staring at a bottle of aerosol "sport"...

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Marcus trying to apply Coppertone baby mineral sunscreen to his squirming 11-month-old infant in Portland.

To My Past Self: Troubleshooting the Coppertone Baby Dilemma

It's currently 94 degrees in Portland, and I'm hiding under a nylon pop-up canopy at Laurelhurst Park, desperately tracking my son's core temperature while he aggressively tries to eat a handful of dry woodchips. I'm writing this to you, Marcus...

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Mom looking closely at red heat rash bumps on her sweating baby

The Truth About Baby Heat Rash (Even in the Middle of Winter)

It was Thanksgiving day, forty degrees outside here in Texas, and I was unpeeling my oldest son, Hunter, from his fleece bear suit like a sweaty little tamale. My mother-in-law had insisted he needed a long-sleeve onesie, a heavy sweater,...

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Sarah holding a pink baby bogg bag filled with kids toys in a messy car trunk

What I Wish I Knew Before Buying The Baby Bogg Bag Last Summer

Dear Sarah from last June. You're currently standing in the gravel parking lot of the municipal pool, wearing those distressed denim shorts you swore you were going to throw away in 2019, holding a soggy canvas tote that just aggressively...

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Sarah holding baby Maya at the beach trying to figure out infant SPF rules

The Huge Infant SPF Lie I Completely Fell For With My First Baby

It was July 2017, I was wearing these god-awful maternity jean shorts that I stubbornly refused to retire, and I was sitting on a sandy towel in Cape May, New Jersey, furiously painting my four-month-old daughter Maya with what can...

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Pale British father covered in zinc oxide chasing two toddlers with sun cream.

Raising a Sun Baby: A Pale British Father’s Guide to UV Survival

Maya is currently doing an impressive impression of an oiled piglet at a country fair, streaking across the scorched grass of Clapham Common while I trail a few paces behind her with a handful of thick, chalky white zinc cream....

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