7 Tips For “Sun Blocking Clothing” For Kids will give you some help with figuring out what your kid needs.
Establishing and following safe-sun practices offer us as parents, and grandparents the best ways to protect our kids.
In our efforts to protect them from developing skin cancer later in life, safe sun habits are important.
# 1 Protecting Little Ones In The Sun
Skin cancer normally takes time to develop. This automatically makes skin cancer rare in kids. However, there are risks. This is why most pediatricians suggest keeping a child under 6 months old out of the sun. Yes, completely out of the sun.
UPF clothing will protect your infant. So will lightweight clothing that is tightly woven. Keeping your infant in the shade and dress them in lightweight clothing will combine steps to keep your infant safe from the sun.
Clothing and shade are the basics of protection for your younger kids.
Yes, UPF clothing will protect your little one’s skin from the sun. Even so, allow only moderate exposure to the sun for the youngest. When very young kids are exposed to the sun, they are increasing the risk of skin cancer much earlier in life.
UPF clothing is helpful because it comes in the special weave needed for blocking the sun. Usually, UPF clothing is cooler than a fabric that is not specially woven. Manufacturers have done a great job of designing clothing from their special woven fabrics that protect your infants’ skin, from head to toe.
Until the infant is at least 6 months old, children’s skin Drs say ‘no sunscreen.’ So a layer of lightweight clothing, then a shaded area to have the infant in is important as well.
Your infant will need a sun hat and sunglasses if they are going to be outside. Unless you have your infant shaded from the sun while in their stroller or prams, you are running a significant risk of too much sun.
How much is too much? Any direct sun before 6 months of age is too much sun. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of trees in the park, umbrellas or pop-up shades of some sort.
# 2 How To Keep A 1-Year-Old Safe In The Sun?
Is your 1-year-old child at higher risk too?
Yes, your 1-year-old is at risk. At the age of one, pediatricians seem OK with sunscreen use. However, just like with adults, how do you know when you get enough on to keep from burning?
Do you remember to reapply after swimming or sweating? Or pay attention just because directions say every 2 hours?
However, keeping a 1-year-old out of the sun gets more difficult because they move so much. Here is where the sun blockinclothing comes in to protect your kids.
Basic rules: Any clothes are better than no clothes when in the sun.
When determining the ability of a shirt or pants to keep the sun off your youngster’s skin when they are in the sun, consider the fabric. Can you see through it? So can the sun. Is it tightly woven?
A newer knit shirt made of polyester/cotton blend is better than all cotton.
Your child may have clothing that will protect them some, and that is surely better than no clothing when in the sun. Allowing kids out even as toddlers with no shirt on is leaving lots of body area exposed to the sun.
A few short years ago this was accepted practice for kids to be playing out in the sun Now we know better. This can quickly allow too much sun on the trunks of the kid’s body. If they sunburn, that is a large part of their body to heal.
Sunglasses may not have been important to you when you were young. I didn’t know how important they were for protecting my kid’s eyes. I really considered my sunglasses more of a fashion accessory when I was younger. Did you? Now they come sized for infants on up and are considered important to our eye health.
# 3 What Are We Protecting Kids’ Skin From?
Skin cancer is usually found in older people, not kids. But kids can have it, about 1% of skin cancer cases are kids. Now, this is not a very high risk you may think.
However, what if your child is the one? We do have to be more defensive. Skin cancer cases are increasing, and it is one cancer that can be slowed down or prevented. Remember to cover the trunk of your child’s body with clothing. A sun hat and sunglasses are important as well.
Skin cancer grows in the cells of your child’s skin. It can spread to and damage nearby tissue. Skin Cancer is uncontrolled cell growth.
As a result, this changed cell will replace itself with a defective cell. Soon, the healthy patch in your skin can be replaced with dry, itchy damaged cells. It is little at first, not noticeable.
As time goes by and if there are other over-exposures, the small spot gets larger. It is like having a weak stitch in a garment. Your skin is like a big body bag. It holds everything in place. But now you have a weak spot!
Besides a weak spot, you have cells that don’t replace themselves as they were programmed to do. If this happens before your child is a teen, he isn’t through growing and maturing his skin. This makes for a double threat.
Now you have immature skin with a weak place. This weak place continues to get too much sun. Now we are headed for some serious issues.
When there is too much sun exposure, the skin cells lose their DNA and can no longer heal properly. The controlling part of the DNA is gone, and can no longer guide your skin cells to reproduce correctly.
Moles on the skin are where many new skin cancers are found in kids.
# 4 Why Toddlers Need Skin-Protecting Clothing
Has there been overexposure to the sun in your child’s history? It only takes a couple of sunburns to raise your child’s risk factor. Toddlers are on the move and often will be out in the yard doing what toddlers do, having fun.
Dressing them in loose-fitting long-sleeve shirts with their sun hats and sunglasses has them more protected for a time in the sun.
Adding sunscreen to their face where the reflections from the sun can get to their skin will offer 90 to 120 minutes of protection from the sun. Remember their hands, and legs if wearing shorts.
The best times for them to be out are before 10 AM and after 4 PM in our part of the world here in central Texas. Your youngsters will be subject to many hours of sunshine in their lifetime. Help them have safe sun habits. Help them learn to choose good sun blocking clothing from their own closet.
Oversized long-sleeve tee shirts of a polyester/cotton blend in a deeper color will offer more sun protection, according to skincancer.com. A newer shirt that isn’t so faded and worn is better than an old favorite that has been washed too many times.
Does your child have allergies? If so, they will probably have a higher sensitivity to the sun. Their skin will not heal as quickly and not be as healthy when it does. Do they take meds for their allergy? There will be a higher risk when kids take even over-the-counter medications for allergies.
# 5 Sun Blocking Clothing Works By Covering The Kids’ Skin
Pediatric melanoma is the most serious skin cancer. Melanoma in children represents only about one percent of all new melanoma cases diagnosed in the United States each year.
However, although still rare, malignant melanoma is the most common skin cancer in children and teens.
The reason it is most important is that melanoma is the most deadly skin cancer.
When the sun hits your skin, the skin reacts by alerting the melanoma producers in your skin level that there is sun on your skin. You need protection and the melamine kicks in gear. These levels in your skin are also where malenoma cancer tumors are produced.
If there is anything to upset the normal actions of these melamine procedures, a tumor can be the result. What upsets the normal call to make your body tan? That is not known yet. It is just what happens to some of us.
It increased by about two percent annually from the 1970s through 2009, primarily in teens. These numbers make us know that kids are getting too much sun.
Newer numbers indicate a slight increase but were not finalized at this time.
It is important that parents and grandparents become aware so they can help their kids protect themselves from all forms of skin cancer. How can you keep the sun off your skin? Sun blocking clothing is the easiest way for you as a parent to protect your kids.
Keeping sunscreen on at regular intervals and making sure you put enough on them to protect them is a tricky event. Kids never want to come in and get the needed reapplications. Clothes don’t quit working during playtime. They are in place and keep your kids protected.
A sun hat, sunglasses, and sun blocking clothing are the secrets to keeping the kids safe in the sun.
# 6 Making Sun Blocking Clothing Work Better
Put all the bits and pieces of working with sun blocking clothing to work for you and your family. The kind of fabric the clothing is made from, and the fit are the important parts of the sun blocking success.
The way a garment fits is important. Loose and easy fit. Not too tight. If your child gets hand-me-downs from an older brother or sister or cousin, make sure the fit is correct. If the shirt is too tight and pulls across the shoulders it will stretch the fabric and allow the sun to shine through the weave holes.
This can result in sun damage to the trunk of their bodies. Again, some clothing is better than no clothing.
Now let’s talk about the other secret in the sun blocking clothing industry. That secret is Rit Sun Guard. A laundry additive, this product can increase your sun safety rating to as much as 30. This is a very safe level of sun protection.
With awareness of the dangers of too much sun for our kid’s skin, it may seem that there is little we can do but move to a cave and keep the kids in the dark! Of course, this is not good either. Finding a middle-of-the-ground approach to keep your kids’ skin protected will take some adjustments, but is something you can do.
To the rescue is sun blocking clothing. Simply cover their skin with clothing.
Making sure your kids have clothing and very few minutes in the direct sun are two ways to give them access to a skin cancer-free life.
# 7 Sun Safe Life Styles
Are you aware of the safer times to be out in the sun for your child? Have you made any effort to see that they are not in the direct sun at the hottest times of the day? The most direct sun times?
The sun’s rays are harshest between 10 AM and 4 PM from mid-May till the last of Sept. in my part of the world, here in Central Texas. Do you know the most dangerous times for your home?
This is when children should avoid the sun completely. Even protected with sun blocking clothing, they don’t need endless hours of sun exposure. Limiting their time in the sun is important.
Kids can have play dates and parties in the cooler hours of early morning or later afternoon. Having kids out in the bright sun for hours is not safe or wise for their skin health.
Your child should also wear sunglasses and a sun hat.
Help your child to remember to wear a sun hat with wide a brim. Wearing clothing will also block out those UV rays when on the beach. Or in the backyard.
After a short time in the sun, your child needs a sun blocking loose-fitting long-sleeve shirt. Apply sunscreen where your child isn’t covered by sun blocking clothing. Don’t allow all day in the sun days. Help the kids by talking to them about how they can help keep their skin healthy.
Yes, this is different from what most people consider enough skin protection. We are learning how important early protection is to our overall health.
It will be easier to keep your kids safe if you remember the safer hours for being outside. This may mean some lifestyle changes for you and your family. It is an important change.
The manufacturers of sun blocking clothing have done a great job of providing good sun blocking clothing for everyone, from babies to grandparents. We all must learn to be more careful of the sun.
Extra Tips For Using Clothing To Protect From The Sun
Clothes can provide different levels of UV protection :
- For your regular clothes, the weave of the fabric and the fabric content determine the protection rules. You also consider how worn your regular clothing is.
- Tightly woven fabrics and darker colors will protect you better.
- Long-sleeve shirts, long pants, or long skirts cover more of your skin. This gives you more protection.
While your regular clothing can provide some protection for your skin, some are better than nothing.
The newer fabrics with SPF ratings and the ability to protect your skin are worth the money as they are so comfortable.
Staying covered while out on hotter days will be harder due to the heat.
You have to wear the clothing to stay protected around the pool, at the beach, or where ever you will be exposed to the sun.
Having the comfortable and fun styles in the UPF clothing lines
will make protecting yourself for fun in the sun easier.
Just a quick word about what fabric is best for sun protection when choosing from your regular clothing.
Fabrics that are best at blocking out the sun include:
- Polyester
- Nylon
- Wool
Good blocking comes from:
- Cotton
- Rayon
- Flax
- Hemp
5 Things You Can Wear To Protect Yourself From The Sun
What are the 5 things you can wear to protect yourself from the sun?
To help protect your skin from the sun, dermatologists recommend wearing the following items:
- Lightweight and long-sleeved shirts and pants. It’s important to cover up as much of your skin as possible when spending time outdoors.
- Sunglasses with UV protection. The sun damage starts adding up early for our eyes. Getting your kids into regular sunglasses wear can delay problems related to the sun.
- A wide-brimmed hat. As the sun hits you first on the head, it makes sense that a hat is one of the early and most important defenses that we need.
- Kids need to learn to wear their hats to protect them while young.
- Sunscreen
- Shoes that cover your feet. I know this makes one too many hints, but it is important, especially with little kids as they blister their feet easily.
Sami’s Take On 7 Tips For “Sun Blocking Clothing” For Kids
Sun blocking clothing for kids is vital for their skin protection. As the Ozone continues to disappear, there will be less protection for our skin.
Protecting our kid’s skin from the sun should start early in life. Skin cancer keeps increasing and our kids will find themselves in the risky category of the sun.
Staying safe in the sun will require some lifestyle changes for most of us. We can do a better job of keeping our young kids safe.
Wearing our sun blocking clothing will give us a chance to have fewer problems with our skin. Your kids can get in the habit while young of taking a few protective steps and having healthier skin.
Wearing their sunglasses and sun hats. Adding a long sleeve loose-fitting shirt, and pants, with sunscreen all add up to make it safer to have fun in the sun.