Sun Safety for the Kids
It’s that time of year again folks, the time we put away the shorts and pull out the sweaters and coats. However, many of us will take vacations to warmer locales in the next few months and its important to keep kids safe in the sun.
Kids Health gives some great tips for kids in the sun. Kids Health also recommends this for wearing sunscreen: Use a sunscreen with an SPF rating of 15 or higher. Put on sunscreen 15 to 20 minutes before going out in the sun. If you are fair skinned, you should use a sunscreen with a higher SPF rating such as SPF 30. The letters SPF stand for sun protection factor, and the number rating tells you how much longer you can stay in the sun without getting sunburned. So if you normally burn after 20 minutes and you put on a sunscreen with an SPF rating of 15, this sunscreen may give you 15 times the protection. That’s 15 times 20 minutes, or 300 minutes (5 hours).
The suns rays are the strongers between the hours of 10am and 4pm. Avoid direct exposure during those hours as much as possible. Hop into the shade as much as you can.
This EPA website provides some great options for protecting yourself in the sun, like wearing sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats.
More sun saftey tips from the Sun Safety Alliance
- Keep in mind the sun is strongest between 10 am and 4 pm.
- Wear clothing that’s dark and tightly woven.
- Wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
- Remember that UV rays bounce off sand, snow, concrete, and water.
- Do not use sun tanning beds.
- Keep very young children (6 months or less) out of the sun.
- Sunscreens need to be applied liberally and evenly over all exposed areas.
- Apply a sunscreen with a SPF of 15 or higher whenever you’re outdoors. To achieve adequate UV protection you should use products that provide broad spectrum protection, which means protection against both UVB and UVA rays. For broad spectrum protection, look for products that provide an SPF of at least 15 and contain ingredients like Avobenzone (Parsol 1789) or zinc oxide.
- For children, the SSA recommends sunscreen with an SPF 30 or higher.
- Apply sunscreen before going outdoors and reapply often.
- Reapply sunscreen after swimming, perspiring, and toweling off.
- Provide complete sunscreen coverage for your skin (including neck, ears and lips!).
- For people with thin or thinning hair, apply sunscreen to the scalp as well.
- And rememberstay in the shade whenever possible!
October 8th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Me and my hubby live near the beach but any time we go we pick the right sunblock for the baby we take a huge umbrella with us as well. It’s so important!
I actually got this huge suntan …actually a necklace tan of the diamond necklace my hubby bought me from http://www.idonowidont.com (btw, moms out there, tell your hubbies to pick you up something nice from here for you!)
So now I look like I’m wearing a necklace even when it’s not on dude to the insane tan I got !
We like to use Banana Boat lotion.
July 16th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I’m great about apllying sunblock when I’m first out in the sun buthorrible about reapplying it;)
November 11th, 2009 at 5:13 am
Hey… This is the second time I have visited your blog and I really enjoy your work. Please keep us updated! Thanks!