While adult skincare is mainstream, with most men and women harboring a shelf full of skincare products, skincare for kids is rarely discussed. 

Healthy skin is a result of healthy habits, a balanced diet, and good hygiene. The skincare habits you establish as a child last well into your teenage and adult years, whether consciously or unconsciously. Teaching your child good skincare is an investment in their future that is bound to prove fruitful as they grow into adults and gain full autonomy over their skincare regimen.

The Importance of Maintaining Healthy Skin

Any guesses on what your largest organ is? 

That’s right. Your skin is your largest organ and serves a handful of extremely crucial bodily functions. Your skin prevents your internal organs from hanging around all loosey-goosey and protects them from external threats like germs, bacteria, and threats related to touch like pain or extreme temperatures. Your skin also regulates your body temperature, prevents body dehydration, and converts sunlight to vitamin d so your body can better absorb calcium. 

Let’s just agree that the skin is a massively important (and somewhat magical) organ that deserves royal treatment. Maintaining healthy skin not only looks good and feels good, but it keeps the rest of your body healthy and disease-free. 

5 Tips for Maintaining a Kids Healthy Skin

It is never too early to establish healthy skincare habits. Proper skincare for children is simple, though it may take time and education  to stress the importance and create a fruitful foundation. 

The following tips are tried-and-true ways to help your child establish healthy skincare habits now and into the future.

Tip #1: SPFFirst, SPF Always

Regular sun exposure can provide your child’s  body with healthy doses of vitamin D that are imperative for bone development. Too much sun exposure, or exposure to sun without the protection offered by broad spectrum sunscreen can cause serious damage, particularly to youthful skin. 

Apply a generous amount of SPFto your child’s skin 30 minutes before sun exposure and re-apply every 2 hours or after swimming or sweating. 

Tip #2: Less Baths, Better Skin

Did you know that neither you nor your mini need daily baths or showers? Frequent showering, especially hot showers, strip the skin of the essential oils necessary for a healthy skin barrier. 

Bathing every other day or even 3 times per week will suffice. If bathtime is part of your nightly routine, not a problem! Keep baths warm, not hot, and skip the soap every other day to avoid drying out your child’s skin. 

Tip #3: Good Ol’ H20

Water makes up between 53% and 63% of your child’s body and serves as a massive contributor to healthy skin. But, water is not only important for your skin. Sufficient hydration is also important for practically every bodily function and helps guide your child through their mental and physical development well into their teenage years.

According to CHOC data, children should drink the number of 8oz cups of water equal to their age. If your toddler is 3, they should drink 3 8oz cups of water. If your babe is 5, they should drink 5 8oz cups of water, and so on.

Whether you need a fun cup for incentive, or if you need to add a little lemon juice for flavor, sufficient water intake is incredibly important for your child’s skin function. 

Tip #4: Diet Matters

You know that old phrase: “You are what you eat”? Why that may not be literally true, what you and your child put in your body will determine the efficiency of your bodily functions and your overall health. 

There are plenty of yummy foods that are also great for skin health! Here are a few of the best foods for clear, healthy skin:

• Olive Oil
• Nuts - walnuts, sunflower seeds (great oatmeal toppings!)
• Tomatoes
• Oatmeal 
• Kale (blend in a fruit smoothie)
• Almond milk (use in smoothie above)
• Yellow bell pepper 
• Kiwi
• Eggs
• Carrots

Whether your kiddo eats these foods on their own, or prefers them blended into a smoothie, there are plenty of ways to incorporate nutritious ingredients into your child’s diet. 

Tip #5: Use a Humidifier

Dry skin happens. Rashes happen. Even if you regularly apply sunscreen, keep your little’s baths at a minimum, drink sufficient water, and eat a perfect skincare diet, bouts of dry skin are inevitable. 

Home humidity levels are often far lower than the optimal range of 40% to 60%. When humidity levels drop closer to 30% or lower during the fall and winter months, the forced hot air in your home can quite literally suck the moisture right from your skin. The same goes for AC. If your AC is running, your humidifier should be too. 

Indoor air quality should be a top priority, regardless of season.

Using a humidifier like Canopy in your child’s room can prevent dehydrated skin by adding moisture to the air. Increased moisture in the air helps the skin to retain water, preventing dry patches or rashes triggered from skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis. 

How Can a Humidifier Help a Child?

Year round use of a cool mist humidifier can improve your child’s overall health and comfortability. Dry, dehydrated air can lead to dry skin or scalp, exacerbate cold and flu symptoms, trigger eczema and psoriasis outbreaks, and more. 

Placing a humidifier in your little one’s room can provide the following health benefits:

• Rehydrate dry, itchy or irritated skin 
• Rehydrate dry, itchy or flaky scalp
• Improve congestion
• Improve breathing 
• Reduce irritation from a dry throat or painful cough
• Expedite recovery from the common cold
• Reduce the chances of catching an airborne virus

Dry skin, congestion, and cold symptoms are exceptionally common with young children and babies; their sensitive skin and newly developed immune systems are quite fragile. Using a humidifier to keep home humidity levels within optimal range is guaranteed to help your kid stay healthy, happy, and full of that youthful energy that makes childhood so beautiful.

Portable humidifiers are the most common and easily identifiable humidifiers on the market. You plug the device into your outlet and watch as humidity levels increase in a particular room of your house. Portable humidifiers are great for your bedside table, children’s room, or nursery.

But, what if you need to increase the humidity levels of your entire home? 

In this blog we examine whole house humidifiers including their function, how exactly they work, and how much maintenance is required to keep your device in tip-top shape. 

What is a Whole House Humidifier?

A whole house humidifier is a unit that attaches to your HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system and elevates the moisture levels throughout your home. 

Whole house humidifiers can humidify spaces with 1,000 square feet or higher depending on the device output. Comparatively, a portable humidifier generally humidifies spaces between 300 and 600 square feet.  

How Does a Whole House Humidifier Work?

A whole house humidifier seems like a complex device, but the process is really quite simple. The whole house humidifier is attached directly to your HVAC system and connected to your water supply. When your humidifier is on, the air drawn into the HVAC system flows into the humidifier passing through a foam pad moistened by the water supply. The moistened air is then pushed through the furnace and dispersed into your home through the ventilation system. 

Types of Whole House Humidifiers

There are three primary categories of whole house humidifiers: bypass humidifiers, fan humidifiers, and vaporizers. Each of these humidifiers effectively increases the level of humidity in your home, though the method by which they humidify is slightly different. 

Bypass Humidifiers

Bypass humidifiers work by drawing warm air from inside the home, passing it through a moistened delivery system (a tray or a pad) and distributing this hydrated air through the furnace. 

Fan Humidifiers

A whole house fan humidifier operates exactly like a bypass humidifier with one difference: a fan humidifier uses a fan to accelerate the evaporation process. The additional evaporation from a fan humidifier creates higher levels of humidity compared to a bypass humidifier. 

Vaporizer

A vaporizer is the most efficient way to humidify your whole home. Steam vaporizers boil water and push the resulting vapor through the ventilation system.  

How much maintenance does a whole house humidifier need? 

A whole house humidifier is a low maintenance home appliance. Once you install your whole home humidifier, you can virtually forget about the device between scheduled cleaning. 

When you switch your whole house humidifier off, the water is drained from the device so you need not worry about sitting water developing mold and bacteria. When caring for your whole house humidifier, you need to replace the tray or pad yearly to ensure a safely operated machine. You may also want to deep clean your device with a water and distilled white vinegar solution once per year to keep your machine running smoothly. 

Watching your babe wriggle and wiggle around uncomfortably with a mild case of  congestion can take a toll on both you and your baby. If you notice your sweet baby is sniffling, coughing, has a runny nose (with a color other than clear), or is breathing noisily while they sleep, they are probably experiencing congestion. 

Have no fear! There are plenty of natural and supplemental ways to cure congestion in babies. These remedies are tried-and-true, curated from countless parents who experienced the same anxieties you are currently experiencing. 

Let’s talk about congestion!

Tips for Curing Congestion in Babies

The most effective ways to cure congestion in babies are: regular use of a humidifier, a steamy shower (not what you think),saline drops, and a handy nasal aspirator. Use one or use all, whatever gets your little bean to breathe easy. 

Tip #1: Use a Humidifier

A humidifier is a very helpful tool to keep in your child’s nursery. To ease congestion during your infant’s slumber, turn the humidifier on and place it adjacent to their crib. The humidifier will replace the moisture in the air and ensure a restful sleep.

Tip #2: A Steamy Shower

Steam is a miraculous tool for congestion. 

Turn on the shower in your bathroom to the highest setting. Close the bathroom door and sit down with your lovebug directly next to the shower for 10 to 20 minutes. The steam from the shower will lubricate your munchkin’s nasal passage and release any trapped mucus. 

Tip #3: A Few Drops of Saline

Saline drops can help to loosen dried up mucus in your baby’s nose and create a clear pathway for easy breathing. Make sure to consult your pediatrician for saline product recommendations; it is always best to get doctor approval before introducing any medicated solutions to your child. 

A natural alternative to saline drops is, surprisingly, breast milk. If you are nursing, you can put a few drops of breast milk in your infant’s nose. This will help to loosen mucus in a similar fashion as the saline drops. 

Tip #4: Try a Nasal Aspirator

A nasal aspirator is an important tool to keep in your first aid kit. You can use a traditional suction bulb (you usually get one of these in your “Good Luck” bag from the hospital) or you can explore updated versions of this device. Either way, they both execute the far from glamorous task of removing snot and build up from your babies nose.Whether you choose the old school bulb or the new age aspirator, make sure to read the instructions carefully before using your device. 

How Humidifiers Help Congestion in Babies

The cognitive development of infants during their first year of life is astonishing. From holding their head up to sitting up, crawling, walking, grabbing objects, and so many more incredible milestones... The first year is very busy for both baby and parents!

What we don’t think about as often is how much internal development babies experience in their first year. Newborns and young infants start their life with a brand-spanking new respiratory system; their nasal passages are tiny and very sensitive to the surrounding environment. Dry air or common household allergens that rarely impact our finely-tuned, adult airways can wreak havoc on your infant’s body. 

Babies can, and often will, develop congestion frequently in their early life. A humidifier can help your mini cope with inevitable congestion helping both you, and your baby rest a little easier. 

Humidifiers add moisture to the air. The hydrated air enters the nose and throat as your little one breathes. The added moisture helps to lubricate their airways, which increases comfort and improves breathing. 

What is the Best Humidifier for Your Baby?

A humidifier can improve congestion in babies from dry indoor air year round,and reduce the severity of cold or flu symptoms if your sweet pea gets sick. 

There are three major factors to consider when finding the best humidifier for your baby: cool mist vs. warm mist, ease of maintenance, and noise levels.  

Cool Mist

Cool mist humidifiers are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for use in your baby’s nursery. While warm mist is healthy if your humidifier is cleaned properly,, vaporizers or warm mist humidifiers pose a burn risk. Curious hands tend to pull on any object in sight; a gentle tug on a running vaporizer can spill extremely hot water directly on your child’s hands or face. 

The safest humidifier for your child is a cool-mist, evaporative humidifier such as Canopy. Canopy’s anti-microbial filter catches bacteria and metals and uses a no-mist technology to produce invisible, clean moisture.

Simple Maintenance

Properly caring for and cleaning your humidifier will prevent your device from growing mold or harboring harmful bacteria. Your humidifier will require proper cleaning and daily wipe-down to operate safely and efficiently.

Finding a humidifier with simple maintenance requirements is essential. Being a parent is a job in itself, and let’s be real; who has time to spend hours cleaning their baby's humidifier?  Canopy is not only easy to break down but is even easier to clean (have you ever heard “easy to clean” and humidifier in the same sentence)? Simply toss Canopy’s parts in the dishwasher and you’re ready for continued hassle-free hydration.

Soothing Sound

A humidifier can be an incredibly soothing or disruptive tool. Some humidifier devices have a calm “shushing” sound that can lull your lovebug into a restful sleep. Other devices are obnoxiously loud and may interfere with your baby’s sleep cycles. 

As any new or seasoned parent can attest, messing with sleep is a major “no-no.” 

When choosing the best humidifier for your infant or toddler, you should find a device like Canopy that sounds like a white noise machine or one that emits a calming “sh” sound. If you are purchasing a humidifier online, make sure to read through the product reviews for a better understanding of the noise level of your desired device.