A Parent’s Guide to Sun Protection - Protecting your Family
(Adapted from The Sun Your Baby and You)
Children require maximum protection
Why are babies at risk?
Common sense tells us that babies have sensitive skin that can be damaged easily. This is especially true when it comes to the sun.
- Babies are not born with a developed skin protection system, so they burn more easily . Even children born to parents with deeply pigmented (dark) skin require maximum protection.
- Babies have more sensitive skin because the outermost layer of their skin is thinner.
- A young child has more skin, relative to his body mass, than an adult, so a sunburn would be more serious.
- A baby can’t tell you she’s too hot or the sun’s too bright. Your baby may begin to cry and you won’t know whether she’s tired, hungry or hot.
- Babies can’t physically move themselves out of the sunlight. A six-month old on a blanket is less mobile than a one-year old who can toddle into the shade.
Ways to protect baby's skin
Keep babies under one year out of direct sunlight to prevent skin damage and dehydration. Keep babies in the shade, under a tree, an umbrella or a stroller canopy.
Dress your child in protective clothing. Comfortable long pants, long-sleeved shirts and broad- brimmed hats offer excellent protection against the sun. Closely woven materials are best. If a fabric is sheer enough that you can see through it, then the sun’s rays will get through too. Wet T-shirts offer reduced protection.
Although it is better to use sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 than to have a sunburned child, natural protection, such as clothing, hat and shade, is better still.
Ways to protect toddlers, pre-schoolers and up
The sun’s UVB rays are stronger between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.. Unless children are protected, keep them out of the sun during those hours.
Use protective clothing and sunscreen anytime children are in direct sunlight. Take reflected light into account. Forty percent of the sun’s damaging UVB rays can bounce back from sand, or snow in the winter.
In strong sunlight, get kids used to wearing sunglasses, the kind that screen out ultraviolet rays and are CSA approved.
More Information ...
Why be Careful?
What is SPF?
Sun Fiction and Fact
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