Personal Sun Safety
Personal Sun Safety is just that. It is personal. You must take over the responsibility for the safety of yourself and your family.
Even with all we know about how dangerous the sun is to our skin, we still are reluctant to make real change.
While you can’t change the world, you can make your little spot in the world more aware of how to be sun safe and avoid skin cancer.
Staying safe from the sun is your personal responsibility. You have to teach your own family. Paying attention to the safer hours to be out, helping your older family member learn to protect themselves. Paying attention to needing a break in the shade. How to do this? Read On
Awareness
Now that you have a better idea about how dangerous the sun is for you and your family, you can take a moment to figure out how to be safe in the sun and enjoy the sun in the sun life you love.
Make a few changes that are not that hard, and build awareness for your family. You can’t always be in the right spot at the right time to protect them Begin to build your kid’s awareness of how to take care of themselves. Sun Dangers
Remember how it is with your family. You bribed your babies to feel good about trying that first step and trying again. You held out a favorite toy or lots of smiles and happy encouragement.
With your family learning to be aware of the dangers of too much sun, start with the small stuff. Find a really special shirt that meets all the criteria for sun blocking and make a big deal about the “new shirt.”
Make a big deal about how this special shirt reflects the sun and keeps him / her safer from sunburn. How much fun is it to play in the sun with his new shirt? You are the parent, you know how to do this. Dangers Of Sunburn For Your Kids
Dangerous Sun Hours 10 AM to 4 PM
When it gets hot enough for your child to want to take off his special new shirt, it is time to come in. You are in the hot time of the day when you need to be in the house, out of the sun.
At first, it seems “overprotective” especially if your children are a bit older to start trying to change the rules. It is simply changing. They can and will be OK. Your help in making the safer hours of being out in the sun a bit more fun will help.
Make lunch sandwiches more fun to eat at a table in the shade, or on a pallet in the shade. Being outside does not mean you have to stay in the sun, It can be fun to be in the shade as well.
However, if your child is determined to play without a shirt in the sun, make sure they are thoroughly coated in a mineral sunscreen. Don’t be absolutely unbendable. This is a fun time and is important. Your child wants to do what you want them to. Sometimes it takes a bit of compromise. However, you already know this.
Choose Battles Wisely
Your kids know how to distract and disregard the ground rules. However, they do and will respect them after a fashion. Remember this is the first year of really being aware.
You are all having new things to learn. It will be easy to forget sunscreen or “the” shirt. When that happens, it is important enough to stop and get whatever is needed. When you shift to this mode in dealing with forgetting the item, kids realize it is important.
Avoiding dangerous sunshine hours may be the easier way to keep your family safe. If this seems better for your family, try it for a while. As your kids get older, they will need to stay a few minutes in the unsafe time zones. Make sure they are fully protected.
If your kids will wear a sun hat and sun blocking shirt. If they have their sunglasses and sunscreen. They need to know that a few minutes in the shade will let them get back to playing soon.
Think about what will keep your family safer from the dangers of the sun. Have some ideas at hand to distract or offer a distraction to a child who needs to get into the shade for a while. It can be just a cool drink, or a towel spread on the grass under the umbrella. Nowadays, a few minutes on the Ipad usually get the attention of almost any age kid.
Don’t Be Me
I didn’t know how to protect my kids from the sun. When my older 2 were 3 and 4 we lived in Eastern NM in the sand dunes. That is where the gas and oil were found during that time, my friend.
There were 4 “company houses” making up a camp. We were in the field literally. With playmates on both sides of us, they were headed for the sandy places with their trucks and little sand buckets.
There were way too many hours of play in the direct sun. Especially for kids with blue or green eyes and blonde hair. Soon we had freckles. Did it dawn on me to keep them in the house? No, I am sorry to say it didn’t.
There were many ways they could have had fun playtime with a shade to break the sun. There could have been sand moved into a sandbox. Unfortunately, we never considered doing this. We had tons of sand just a few steps out of the yard. Why make a box in the yard?
Yes, times have changed, and better ideas for keeping ourselves safe are common. Be alert, and help your kids learn about being safe in the sun.
Your Personal Sun Safety
Decisions you make now can help your family make better fun in the sun habits. That is what good self-care is, a habit. It can become a habit to protect your skin.
Wearing a sun hat, sunglasses, a sun blocking shirt, and using sunscreen is not rocket science. Choosing better hours to be out in the sun can go a long way toward helping us grow to be old and not have skin cancer in the future.
Check this link for more suggestions for sun safety.
https://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-prevention/
Sami’s Take on Personal Sun Safety.
Most of all, just enjoy the benefits of the sun and avoid the dangers. By being aware of the more dangerous times of day to be out in the sun and avoiding those hours you will move a long way towards protecting yourself and your family from the sun.
It really isn’t that hard. Continue to read and educate yourself on the many options that are available to you. I am adding more sun block clothing to my family’s wardrobe.
However, unless you make sure to wear the sun blocking clothing, it won’t do you any good. You have to wear the protection and teach your family to do the same.
Thank you,
Sami