Tots To Teens: New roll-on sunscreen is child’s play

Plus: workshops, painting and... school uniforms already?

Lidl Ireland launches its back-to-school range with Kathryn Thomas, Nathan Szasz and Jack Breeze. Picture: Andres Poveda

Tue, 04 Jul, 2023 - 02:00

Sharon Ní Chonchúir

Getting children to wear sunscreen can be a challenge. They squirm and squeal if you try to apply it and if you ask them to put it on themselves, they can end up in a sticky mess.

This inspired British mums Kelli Aspland and Laura Waters to come up with the world’s first child-friendly refillable sunscreen applicator. As featured on Dragon’s Den, Solar Buddies has been designed to be easy for children to use. All you do is unscrew the head, fill it with sunscreen, pop the lid back on and the kids can do the rest.

First, they shake the bottle. Then they roll the applicator along their body - a sponge ring will rub in the lotion as they do so, with no waste or mess.

Solar Buddies is available nationwide from €10.49

School uniforms

The school holidays may have just begun but savvy parents are already shopping for school uniforms.

Lidl ambassador Kathryn Thomas recently launched the supermarket’s uniform bundles, now available in-store. The bundles cost €6 and include the option of school trousers or skirts, a pack of two polo shirts and a school sweatshirt. They are available in black, white, grey, blue and red and in sizes ranging from four to 12 years old.

Marks & Spencer has a back-to-school offer too, with 20% off all school uniforms until July 11. Prices in the range start at €9.50 for a multipack of three cotton polo shirts. When the additional discount is applied, that drops to €7.60.

“School uniforms are an essential purchase for families,” says Kidswear director at M&S Alexandra Dimitriu. “We believe that a great price shouldn’t come at the expense of quality and by continuing to protect prices, we’re ensuring affordable school uniforms are accessible to all families this back-to-school season.”

Colour Club

Rachel Tyrrell is a mother of three, a designer and a yoga teacher. She also grew up with a severe vision impairment that led to her feeling isolated and bullied as a child.

She has brought all this to bear on The Colour Club, a creativity and wellness centre for kids and grownups in Arklow, Co Wicklow. She was inspired to set it up last year following her experience during the pandemic.

“The pandemic had a huge impact on our collective mental health and made us all realise that we need access to affordable activities that promote wellbeing and encourage good mental health habits from a young age,” says Tyrrell. “I wanted to bring colour and creativity into people’s everyday lives and that’s why I opened a visually exciting immersive space where adults and children can play, learn and explore arts, crafts, design, music and movement.”

The Colour Club offers classes, workshops, events and camps for all ages in person and online. These include yoga classes, mindfulness sessions, therapeutic play and creative classes.

Visit www.thecolourclub.ie for more details

Family workshop

Lismore Castle Gardens will be the setting for a special family workshop this Friday, July 7. Taking place from 11am to 12.30pm, families will be invited to create art inspired by the seasons.

They will be shown how to make coloured paper, experiment with nature drawings and design their giant leaf print as part of various activities suitable for toddlers to young teens. The price is €10 per child, with a sibling discount of €8. Parents and guardians go free.