Jana Kramer Explains Why She Doesn’t Always Use Sunscreen on Her Kids

Jana Kramer is defending her decision not to always put sunscreen on her three kids.

“Time out really fast. Let me just go back, because I’m gonna get a lot of hate on this. I am well aware that I should have worn sunscreen as a child. I am well aware,” Kramer, 41, said on the Monday, July 7, episode of iHeart Radio’s “Whine Down” podcast. “And I know my mom put on the Coppertone Baby, whatever SPF on me.”

She continued, “Having said that, my mother was the generation who used no sunscreen and used the baby oil, right? If my mother gave me anything more than an 8 SPF, I would be like, ‘I cannot get a tan with anything less than 8.’”

Kramer explained that she used a tanning oil with 8 SPF and stayed clear of sunburns until a One Tree Hill cast trip to Puerto Rico where she “burnt so bad.” She added, “My forehead completely peeled. I was two different colors for the episode. It was so bad.”

Kramer began wearing sunscreen in her 30s. When it comes to her kids, Kramer said she opts not to put it on them unless they are going to be outdoors for “hours” because she knows they “don’t burn.”

“There’s so much bad stuff in sunscreen that if we’re not going to be out there for more than a couple hours — listen, come at me. But I’m just not putting it on,” she alleged. “I will if we’re on the beach for hours and the reflection of all the things, like, I’ll put it on his neck, his ears — the baby — but like, the kids, I haven’t put any on them because I’m like, ‘They’re not getting burned.’ What’s worse, the burn or the suntan lotion?”

Kramer welcomed daughter Jolie and son Jace with ex-husband Mike Caussin in 2016 and 2018, respectively. She moved on with Alan Russell, whom she welcomed son Roman with in 2023. The pair tied the knot in Scotland the following year.

Experts have advised wearing sunscreen, even while inside. Dr. Dhaval G. Bhanusali, a celebrity board-certified dermatologist at Hudson Dermatology & Laser Surgery — whose clients include Hailey Bieber and Martha Stewart — told Us Weekly that “UV rays can penetrate through glass and are even present during the cloudy days when you expect it least.”

When it comes to choosing proper protection, Bhanusali recommends one with “at least an SPF of 30 or higher” and making sure “broad-spectrum” is on the packaging.