Sunscreen
The cream is cold, sticky and usually arrives just when the child wants to dash outside. The visual support below breaks the lotioning into clear moments, so the sensation gets a beginning, a middle and an end before the sun and the play take over.
♂Pumping sunscreen into a hand
A blue pump bottle with a happy sun symbol dispensing a swirl of white sunscreen into an open hand.
About this visual support
Sunscreen is not primarily a skin thing for the child, it is a sensory event. A cold dab in the palm, a sticky contact with the cheek, a brief stretch where everything feels strange before it passes. And it always happens when play readiness is at its peak and the sun is shining invitingly through the door.
Visual support helps by making those seconds predictable. When the picture shows a cold dab, then soft rubbing, then dry skin, the child knows the unpleasant part has an ending. It becomes easier to stand still for ten seconds if the body knows ten seconds is the whole deal, not an open-ended feeling without a clear stop.
A concrete tip that often works: warm the cream between your own hands first and name the body part that is coming next before you touch it. That way the child is not surprised by cold skin-on-skin contact. For children with sensory sensitivity, this small moment can be worth its own little routine. If you want to weave sunscreen into the morning before an outing, you can add it in the Routined app.