Toddler sunburn, will UPF clothing keep her safe? There are so many warnings out there, do you know how to keep your toddler safe?
Will I be able to avoid toddler sunburns, will UPF clothing keep her safe? We know how tender toddlers’ skin is, but what really happens when they get sunburned? Will there be serious skin injury because of one sunburn?
I am sorry to say that I worry when I see pictures of our kids with our grandkids out in the direct sun. I know they are careful.
They use UPF clothing for the kids. But sometimes I wish they would just stay in the shade. Or in the house! It really is a good thing that they are more moderate than I am. I just know how easily sunburn happens.
Yes, for some, just one sunburn can cause lasting damage. Especially young kids with such fragile skin. Our skin continues to mature until we are about 8 or so months old. Your skin maturation starts during embryogenesis layers. Barrier development increases with gestational age, and your skin maturation is complete by 34 weeks of age.
However, a youngster’s skin is much thinner than it will be after becoming an adult. This is why it is so dangerous for toddlers to have sunburn. And why products that shouldn’t be in our sunscreens can enter their bodies.
These things don’t affect adults so much. There are few tests done with younger kids. After all, who would allow testing on their younger kids? Would you? Many things that are considered safe for adults may not be so good for children. Sunscreen is just one of many.
So if we can use less and stay protected from the sun, bring on the UPF clothing. Using the two together is a much wiser choice.
Source The National Libriary Of Science
Just One Sunburn Can Cause Lasting Damage To Your Toddler’s Skin
All it takes is just one sunburn. That is enough for lasting damage.
If you make just one little error and your toddler has a red flushed-looking face, arms, and legs. My oldest got too much sun late morning while I was hanging my daughter’s diapers.
Yes, I am old enough that we still used some cloth diapers. At least part of the time.
I am not certain that he got actually sunburned, but it was so close. He was super sensitive to the sun and was very red throughout the rest of the day. The next morning, he seemed OK, so I promptly forgot what had happened. I just didn’t know the danger of the sun.
So, yes one sunburn really is that big of a deal. Those single sunburns add up to real damage.
“A sunburn is an injury to the skin,” says Elizabeth K. Hale, MD, is also asenior vice president at the Skin Cancer Foundation. One blistering sunburn doubles your risk of developing melanoma later in life, according to the Melanoma Research Foundation.
How Our Body Responses To Sun Damage
This explanation about what happens after just one burn is from Kenneth Mark, MD, a cosmetic dermatologist who specializes in the Mohs Technique with a Manhattan practice.
When you have damaged cells on the surface of your skin, they will send an SOS to your body, your immune system will begin an effort to repair DNA. The immune responds by sending inflammatory cells to the area.
The inflammation is what makes the skin uncomfortable, sometimes even very painful
Your skin responds by trying to ease the burn area. Blood vessels will dilate in an effort to get healthy blood with oxygen to the injured area.
This is what causes the redness of our toddler’s skin, or ours as well. The red and warm appearance of the skin is caused by the blood rushing to the distressed area. When you have damaged and inflamed skin, your healthy blood rushes to help the inflammation.
When blood vessels dilate in an effort to get that healthy blood to the distressed area, you are more aware of the area affected, because it turns redder and is warmer. Plus, when we have inflammation, it will cause your body’s defense system to send help and the help is in the fluid to the affected area.
If there is swelling in between individual skin cells, you may end up with blisters on the damaged skin.
A toddlers sunburn is to be taken seriously.
UPF Clothing Protects Your Toddlers
Now that you are aware of the dangers of sunburn for your toddlers, is it time to buy everything they sell in the UPF clothing store? What will actually work to protect their skin, and what will not prove so helpful?
Knowing that the best defense is a strong offense, having your toddler dressed is a start. Any clothing is better than no clothing. Kids skin should be protected when they are in the sunlight. The cute little sunsuit type of outfits are just that, cute. They don’t protect out kids skin.
They are to worn in the house, not outdoors. So it is time to step up and take control of the amount of sun that gets to your childs skin. If your child stays with his grandmother some, have a talk about the importance of covering your child’s skin.
Remember, the grandparents are probably from a generation where letting the kids out with out a lot of skin covered was common. The ozone layer is no longer there to protect us from some of the suns dangerous rays. Times are different for keeping skin healthy.
Start With Sunglasses and Sun Hat
It is important to protect your toddlers skin from the direct rays of the sun. Clothing does a better job than sunscreen, but you can’t actually cover your toddlers face. You may need some sunscreen to help.
A sun blocking hat made of UPF materials is a good starting place. A hat or sunglasses. Both are so important to you child’s sun safety. Their eyes are still maturing and they don’t have natural defenses. A sun hat with a three inch brim will protect their eyes some. This with sunglasses will give their head, neck, ears, forehead, cheeks, and chin some protection.
Think about it, when they are walking outside, the sun hits their head area first. While they are standing and running, even sitting playing, the sun goes to the head area first. So if you are starting with a limited budget, start with sunglasses and sun hat.
Sun Protection Shirts
The next in line after sun hat and sunglasses for your toddlers skin protection is a shirt. If your kids are playing outside in the direct sun, they need sun protection. The sun is dangerous if it shines on their bare skin for more than a few(5-10) minutes.
UPF shirts will protect your toddler all day. Unlike sunscreen that you have to keep reapplying, it does not wear off. However, if your toddler is like mine were, they will remove the shirt if it is hot. This is why you will need to have a comfy fit.
Shirts that protect the skin should be lightweight, long sleeve, and loose fitting. The fabric is the important part of UPF clothing. It is either woven, or dyed, or sealed with a protective coating. This is why it can keep the sun off the skin better than regular clothing from your closet.
However, don’t disregard your toddlers clothes that are already there in their wardrobe. A deep color will protect better than a pale one in regular clothing. If they wear purple or green,the colors will be better than pale blue. A deep gold is better than pale yellow.
A newer tee shirt is better than an old wash out one. As fabric gets older and more worn, it will have flaws in the surface and weave that will allow sun in or through the fabric.
However, we do have Rit’s Sun Guard.
Yes, You Can Safely Use Laundry Additives To Toddlers Clothing
One product that I have used is Rit Sun Guard. It is an additive to the laundry cycle. It treats the fibers of the fabrics and makes the threads fatter in the fabric. This makes the weave tighter, and the fabric able to block the sun.
If your family has more than one child, there may be hand-me-downs. This is surely a budget saver. However if these shirts are washed and worn, they may not keep the sun out. By washing them in a laundry additive you are treating the threads and making the shirt good for more wearings.
This product is explained in the link above about Rit Sun Guard.
The product will give your toddler 20 washings and with kids and changing clothes ofen, it may take a 2nd treatment before they outgrow the shirt.
The treatment is about $5- $6 per washer load. Even for our grown up old clothes, this lets several shirts and bottoms get treated, and offers much more reasonably priced UPF protection for our skin.
Does My Toddler Really Need UPF Clothing?
Your child needs to be protected from the sun. How will you do this? Will you keep them in out of the sun all the time? Will you watch to make sure they are out in limited amounts of time everyday? I was not that attentive as a mom. A few minutes often became an hour!
We actually thought that time playing in the sun without coming back in the house were signs of maturity and independence in out kids. They were growing up and no longer needed us every minute. When actually they were destroying more healthy skin cells with every day.
Few families live out in the country as we did when my family was young. We had different life styles that did not protect us from the sun.
If you are going to live like that, for sure your toddlers need UPF clothing. We now know that staying out of the sun from 10 AM till 4 PM in our part of the world is important. If you are out during this time, find shade. Or dress your toddler to stay safe in the sun.
If you live or play where there are few shade trees, make your own shade with umbrellas or sun blocking blankets or sheets or whatever offers shade.
Attention to sun safety when your kids are young sets them up for less problems related to too much sun. Problems like skin cancer, autoimmune disease that research is now pointing to excess sun exposure for the cause.
We didn’t know. You do, you have the chance to change lifestyles and give your children a better chance at healthy skin.
Simple Tip For Your UPF Clothing
When entering the UPF world to protect your toddlers skin, there is a big world out there. Many choices can be made. This is a sun protection that is tried and proven. Work clothes, swim ware, atholeasure wear, fishing clothes, there are so many places this kind of clothing really makes an impact.
Make sure to pay attention to the labels and hang tags on your garments. Not every garment can washed alike. You have paid good money for these items, make sure you get your monies worth but laundering correctly.
Some garments are not sun proof when wer. Some use cold water to wash. Others hang to dry. Know how to take care of these items and get your good protection that you are buying.
Lifestyles Do Make A Difference
Normally one sunburn does not guarantee that your toddler will have skin cancer. One sunburn does guarantee that your toddler has some leftover damage after they heal. You may not see it with the naked eye, but it is there. You can’t uncook cells that are cooked.
When people work out side or spend a good portion of their waking hours outside, your chances are higher for skin cancer than if you live more time out of the sun.
Protecting your toddlers skin is a better way. Avoid sunburn and sun related problems as an adult. Learning to wear clothes in the sun, to limit time in the more direct rays time of day will make a healthier life style.
Plan yout toddler’s playtime to be earlier in the day or later in the afternoon. Use sunscreen with the UPF clothing to protect your child from accidental sun exposure.
Don’t think that you can be careless just because your genes produce darker skin tones for your toddler. They still need to protect their skin from the sun. It may take longer for their skin to get sunburned, but it will happen. Protect their skin, and help them learn to keep themselves safe in the sun.
Sami’s Take On Toddler Sunburn Will UPF Clothing Help?
As I think about the many things you have to help protect your toddlers skin from the sun, I know that you have the tools to do this. Mainly you need to keep the idea of protecting your toddlers skin in mind. There are many ways to do this, the easiest being to cover up.
There is the information about skin cancers and other skin issues from too much sun. Your toddler is dependent on on you to make the right decisions to give her or him a way to keep their skin safe from the sun. They don’t know that protecting their skin is as simple as wearing a sun hat, sunglasses and a sun blocking shir.
You as the parent know what need to be done. Are you doing what you can to protect your child’s skin from the sun? Have you begun to limit outside play time to safer sun times>
Fall and winter are dangerous where your temperatures are mild as ours have been this fall. With the milder weather it is easier to sray out longer. Without the heat, you don’t get as tired.
However, we do have the sun, and yes it will cause sunburn in the fall just as it does in the summer. While it may take longer, you can find yourself in the sun longer than you realize in milder weather. Sunscreen on the face, sun hat and sunglasses and lightweight longsleeve shirts will protect you all day.
A few adjustments is all it takes. We can all have healthier skin without sunburn. A safe sun life is better for all.
How are you making changes? Please share with us what is working for you to keep your family safe from sun damage to your skin.