As a parent, you’ll try to do whatever it takes, you can to protect your child. Keeping them safe from broken bones and illness is one part of your job but keeping them safe from the sun is just as important! Children spend a lot of time outdoors. In only 15 minutes of them being outside, their skin begins to be damaged by the sun. Sun safety for your child is easy and manageable with these preventive skills!
Play in the Shade
Encourage your children to play in a shaded area. Rather that’s under an umbrella, a tree, or another outdoor structure – anything that offers shade will do. Even if your child is playing in the shade, you’ll still need to follow the other tips for full sun protection.
Protective Gear
You don’t want your child to get too hot while they play outside, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t wear some extra protective gear. Sunglasses are an excellent option to protect the sensitive skin around the eyes and the eyes themselves. Hats are another fun way to block the sun from your child.
Take them shopping and let them pick out a hat and pair of sunglasses that they like to increase the likelihood that they’ll wear it. Dark clothing with tightly wound materials is also helpful in protecting their skin. Once clothes become wet, they’re protective abilities decrease dramatically.
Sunscreen
SPF is the best tool to protect your child against the sun. They make sunscreen specially formulated for the sensitive skin of babies and young children. Make sure the sunscreen has an SPF value of at least 15. Sunscreen should be applied to all exposed skin, and then reapplied once every 2 hours. If your child is swimming, it will need to be reapplied every time they get out of the water.
Teaching your child the importance of sunscreen at a very young age will encourage them to continue sun safety as they get older. Teach them about how quickly the sun can damage their skin and remind them that even on an overcast day, sun damage can occur.
You might not be able to protect your child against all the dangers in the world, but you can protect them against the sun! While you’re teaching your child the importance of protecting their skin, make sure you take the time to protect yours too. After all, they learn best by watching what their parents do!
