Sunlight is not a reliable source of vitamin D for a baby

Vitamin D supports healthy bones, and without enough of it a child can develop
rickets — weak bones — which is rare, and preventable. It comes from
diet, a supplement, or sunlight.

The sunlight route sounds free and is the least dependable of the three.

Two separate reasons

First, babies should not be in the sun. The American Academy of Pediatrics
recommends keeping babies under 6 months out of direct sunlight, and that
babies wear protective clothing and hats to reduce skin cancer risk.

**Second, even where sun exposure happens, it does not reliably produce
vitamin D.** Six things interfere:

• Living at high latitudes — nearer the poles, particularly in winter
• High levels of air pollution
• Dense cloud cover
• Clothing covering the skin
• Use of sunscreen
• Darker skin types

Read as a list, it describes an ordinary life. A child in a northern city in
February, dressed for the weather, is being advised to obtain a nutrient by a
route that is unavailable to them for months at a time — and the two pieces of
advice that protect them from skin cancer are on the list of things that block
it.

Talk to your child's doctor or nurse about making sure your child gets
enough.

The rest of early nutrition, briefly

**Young children need good nutrition for brain development and to grow healthy
and strong.**

**Exclusive breast milk is the recommended source of nutrition for most babies
for about the first 6 months.** After that, nutrient needs increase, and
solid foods alongside breast milk or formula are what meet them — solids
are an addition, not a replacement.

After a natural disaster

Feeding a small child in an emergency runs into **power outages, unhealthy
living spaces and unsafe water**.

The one instruction worth memorising before you need it: **always check with
local authorities on the status of the drinking water, and follow boil water
advisories.** Formula is made with water, and a boil water advisory applies to
it.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.