Gearing Kids Up (Safely) For Summer Heat

Summer heat poses potential dangers and threats to young children. Learn how to beat the heat and ENJOY your summer!

Our delighted expectancy of summer is carried over from childhood. It lingers with adults long after gray winter months spent in radiated classrooms, is a faded memory. Summer and all its’ possibilities loom before us. Parents and children relish the thought of sun kissed afternoons at the beach or on some exotic vacation playground. Sunny days are of what daydreams are made. However, a day in the sun can turn into a nightmare if your family is unprotected from the consequences of over exposure. There are a few things to remember as you plan days of fun in the sun.

Few people do not enjoy the feel of the sun on their skin. Nor are most people opposed to what they view as positive results from the sun. We like the look of tanned skin on a once winter pale body. What most of us do not stop to think about is; how the sun affects our skin in the future. The sun can, over time, age your skin as much as ten years. In other words, if you are 30 and fail to protect your skin for an extended period of time, by age 40, you will look 50. Ouch!
Ultraviolet light damages the elastin in your skin. Elastin is that part of your skin that ‘bounces back.’ A face overexposed to the sun will begin to sag. The skin becomes as if, it has no memory. Ultraviolet rays will damage the elastin fibers so that the skin will not spring back into place after being stretched. These changes are not recognizable when you are young. For this reason, in addition to protecting their own skin, moms must be proactive about protecting their children. Young, tender skin is easily damaged.

More importantly, than the sun’s aging affects on your skin, is the possibility of skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States and still people do not seem to take the risks seriously. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than fifty thousand people were diagnosed with skin cancer in 2006 (the latest year statistics were available). That same year, nearly 9000 people died from the disease; too many for a form of cancer which can be deterred.

Sun burned skin before the age of eighteen presents the most risk for skin cancer later in life. For this reason it is imperative that moms prepare themselves and their children before venturing out into the hot outdoors. The following tips will aid in the fight against skin cancer and help to prevent the penetrating ill affects of the ultra violet rays of the sun.

• Protect your child’s skin by applying sunscreen at least thirty minutes before going out in the sun. Choose a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. Don’t forget to apply the sunscreen to ears and lips. Reapply if you are going to be in the sun for an extended period of time or if your child is in and out of the water.
• Wear UV protected sunglasses. The sun is not only dangerous to your child’s skin but extended unprotected exposure can cause damage to their eyes as well.
• Keep your child hydrated during the warm summer months. Do not leave home without a water bottle. Keeping hydrated will protect against heat/sunstroke.
• A wide brimmed hat is a good idea to help protect your child’s eyes and to keep him cool during very hot days. Children have been known to get sunburned on their scalps.
• If you are fortunate enough to be going to the beach this summer, outfit the members of your family with pool shoes or flip flops. Sun baked sand is painful to tender feet and toes. Children can potentially receive harmful burns from the hot sand.
• If you have a baby who is less than a year old, talk to her pediatrician about sunscreen. Her physician may have specific directions concerning sunscreen and the baby’s sun exposure.