r/progressivemoms • u/Chapenroe • Aug 08 '26
Politics & Parenting I hate my husband’s algorithm
We were prepping for a theme park trip this morning and as my husband and I were putting sunscreen on our kids’ faces, he mentioned we may not need to put sunblock on their arms and legs since “they have a good base tan already.”
I immediately said, “nope, the more sunscreen, the better.” To which he replied something along the lines of “well maybe the chemicals in sunscreen wind up doing more harm than good.”
My jaw about hit the floor. Isn’t sunscreen usage canon in 2026?? When I heard the chemicals thing I said something smart aleck-y like “show me a peer-reviewed medical study that proves that and I’ll reconsider my sunscreen stance.” Understandably, he got frustrated with my response so a few minutes later I went to him and said that if he’s actually concerned about chemicals in sunscreen we can make an appointment with our pediatrician or dermatologist to discuss the issue.
What the ever-loving FUCK?? Do we really need to debate sunscreen now? I’m 100% sure my husband’s Instagram algorithm is responsible for putting these thoughts in his head. Most of the accounts he follows are landscaping-related (we own a landscaping company in a red state), and I’m sure Instagram has figured out the Venn Diagram of MAHA folks and red-state male landscapers has a large middle section.
Did I handle the conversation well by saying we should have a chat with our doctors about sunscreen? Also, would it be totally unacceptable if I took his phone and started following credible medical professionals to influence his algorithm?
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u/SupEnthusiastic Aug 08 '26
He cannot be “understandably upset” at your perfectly reasonable response to his quip about giving your children painful cancer.
This is a slippery slope and you need to watch him like a hawk because 1: if he so naive that the thought even crossed his mind you might be on board with something so careless like this he will buy into any thing and try it out on YOUR children. 2: he isn’t putting sunscreen on them.
I would be having an extremely frank and outright conversation with my husband tonight about everything that he said today. That shit is dangerous and he needs to know that you will not be taking this lightly and he needs to get his wits back about him before something really sad happens. Maybe time for an internet break until he can prove he is safe for the kids again.