MM Sun care
Sun care for
kids
Taking care in the sun is crucial for everyone, but especially so for children. Here are MM’s tips for keeping your kids protected
Whether you're in warmer climes or simply spending time in the garden, it's vitally important to remember that kids are more susceptible to getting their skin burnt - even if they're only out in the sun for a short period of time. The reason why kids have an increased
risk of damage is because their young skin is very delicate. Over the last few years, the number of skin cancer cases have continued to steadily increase in Ireland and there is growing evidence that excessive sun exposure – and particularly sunburn - experienced before the age of fifteen, is a major risk factor for skin cancer in later life. With alarming statistics such as this,
there’s even more emphasis on the importance of sun risk knowledge.
What causes the damage? Well, as you know, sunburn is caused by the sun’s rays of which there are two types: UVA rays cause early ageing of skin and allergies, while UVB rays cause sunburn. To counteract the damage caused by
the sun, sun lotions contain sun protection factor (SPF) to block out the harmful effects. The higher the number of the SPF, the greater the protection from the sun, so it’s generally advised to use sun lotion with a very high SPF for kids, ie, 25 or above.
40 Modernmum The good news though is that protecting
kids from the sun doesn’t have to be a rigorous, stressful process. With just a few simple rules, you can make sure they have the optimal protection. For a start, always ensure that kids who
go out to play during the day – particularly in the middle of the day – are well covered up. Try and avoid the outdoors when the sun’s rays are at their strongest, ie, between eleven in the morning and three in the afternoon. Encourage them to cover themselves up
well! In addition to clothing that’s cool, close-weave and a little baggy, hats, T- shirts and sunglasses are essential. Wide-brimmed hats offer lots of protection, as do wraparound-style sunglasses, which help protect the side of
the face, as well as the eyes. It can be a good idea to encourage kids
to stay out of the sun in, for example, an outdoor tent, but you could also suggest that they make use of shady areas under trees, canopies or umbrellas. In addition to being well covered up,
make sure they’re liberally covered with sun lotion. Ideally, the sunscreen should be applied about fifteen to 30 minutes before they head outside, although, with lively kids and short attention spans, it’s not always easy to achieve this! Always read the labels of sun care products as they’re not all suitable for kids under 18 months. Apply the sunscreen liberally and make
sure that all areas are covered. Pay particular attention to bare shoulders and necks, as these are the areas that are particularly prone to getting burned! Once the kids are out in the sun, reapply the lotion at regular intervals – just to be sure. If the kids are at the beach and running
in and out of the water, then remember to reapply sunscreen each time they come out of the sea. That’s because, on top of the fact that the water will naturally wash the lotion off their skin, wet clothing also loses up to half of its UV protection. Remember too that it’s not just the sun
that you need to worry about! Cloudy days can also be dangerous for kids’ skin, since a lot of UV rays can still get through cloud cover!
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