As we’re approaching the warmer months of the year, it’s important to remember that wherever you live, keeping yourself protected from the sun is a must. And when it comes to your children, their skin is even more important because it’s not yet built up the protection and hardness that adult skin has because it’s still growing. Protecting your children when out in the sun is essential, so here are some tips that are going to help keep them protected but still able to have fun during the warmer parts of the year.
Dress Them Appropriately
Firstly, it’s good to look at their current wardrobe situation as you might be in the position where you need to transition their clothing into more suitable picks. Dressing them appropriately is where you’re giving them enough courage but not going to the point where it makes them feel uncomfortable, or it ends up affecting their well being when they’re out playing and having fun. When selecting outfits, think of the activity that they are doing for the day and whether it’s a level of activeness that needs a lot of flexibility or not so much. During the spring and summer, the best clothing tends to be shorts and linen t-shirts. For those cooler days, try to get a lighter coat on them that’s easy to wear but also keeps them dry in case of rainfall. Shoes need to be comfortable, but they also need to be durable. Not every occasion will call for sandals, and it’s important they don’t cause themselves any injury by wearing something that will trip them up or get ruined by what they’re doing. Try to take each day as it comes and dress accordingly to what they’re doing and what the weather looks like. Remember though that covering their skin and head is important when it’s sunny, so always have a hat of some description on hand.
Keep A Timer On Sunscreen Application
Sunscreen is very important when it comes to keeping your children’s skin protected. UV rays can be very harmful for your children’s skin, and so it’s important to use a safe sunscreen that’s going to protect them fully for a reasonable amount of time. The SPF can come in different levels depending on the heat levels and the amount of sun exposure. A good way of making, sure enough, sunscreen is being applied throughout the day is to keep a timer on. That way, you can effectively apply the sunscreen as and when it’s needed. It can be very easy to forget to apply sunscreen at the best of times, but when it comes to your children’s skin, it’s something that you need to be on the ball with at all times, especially on those really hot days where there’s no cloud coverage for the sun. Keep a bottle of sunscreen in your bag when on days out so that you have easy access some if you’ve got parts of the body exposed, and you hadn’t realized that it was going to be a sunny day.
Find A Shaded Spot Where Possible
When out and about, it can be easy to get sunburn because there might not be a huge amount of shaded spots, especially when you’re out walking. Think about finding some shaded spots, particularly if you’re spending the day in a park or on the beach. It can be really helpful because not everyone in your family or group is going to enjoy being exposed to the sun constantly. When your children want to rest or lie down to watch some television or play some games on their phones, it’s good to have a shaded spot that you can put them under. That way, you won’t need to worry so much about having to apply the sunscreen if they’re under a sheltered spot for the rest of the afternoon.
Get A Pair Of Sunglasses
Sunglasses are necessary for children because they’ll be fascinated by all things that are dangerous for them. For example, when you were young, your parents probably told you to never look at the sun directly, but then most children would live dangerously and do it for a second or two. However, to help prevent eye damage to your children in general, get a pair of sunglasses that your child can wear when you’re out, and there’s a lot of sun exposure. It can help keep the eyes protected, even if they’re not necessarily looking in the direction of the sun. The sun’s rays can be quite harsh to be under, so it’s a good way of keeping them protected.
Keep Them Hydrated
Hydration is an important element when it comes to the sun and keeping them protected. When the sun is shining, their bodies are going to be burning through as much water as your own body will. It’s important to keep an extra eye on how much you and your children are consuming when it comes to water intake over the sunnier months. Try to keep a big bottle of water on you at all times and be sure that your children are getting plenty of water throughout the day. This is especially so when they’ve been playing and burning all that energy up. Their water levels need maintaining as much as possible.
Teach Them The Damages Of Sunburn
Sunburn is something that we all experience at some point because unfortunately, we’re not always careful when it comes to the sun. However, it’s important as a parent to teach them the damages that come from spending too long out in the sunshine and not having enough sunscreen applied. It’s sometimes good to scare them a little, but it’s important that they know that these scary truths are, in fact, very accurate and something that will benefit them knowing.
Protecting your children when out in the sun is beneficial, so try and be active with everything you do when the sun is shining. Even more so when it’s partially exposed because that can often be the point where we let down our guard.
I wish my mom would’ve paid more attention to sun damage when I was a child haha. I grew up and ended up with a lot of dark spots from playing out in the sun with no protection as a child. But now I’m super conscious about wearing sun protection. Great post!