Protecting your children from the harsh rays of the sun is very important, especially during summer. Take into consideration that your children spend more time outdoors during the summer, and that is coincidentally also the time when the sun is at its hottest. Keep a close eye on your kids, watch out for signs of a heatstroke, apart from sunburns, and you must ensure that your kids drink lots of water in order to prevent them getting dehydrated. Here are a few easy steps to ensure your kids stay safe:
While staying out of the sun would be the best way to avoid any problems, but that really is not even an option. Instead, invest in a really good sunscreen. Read the fine print and make sure that the sunscreen blocks UVB and UVA rays, and comes armed with a Sun Protection Factor or SPF of 30+ at least. Get your kids used to applying it around 30 minutes before they head outdoors, as they need this time for the sunscreen to be absorbed into their skin to ensure maximum protection from the sun. Once they are out and about in the sun, reapply the sunscreen every couple of hours, and even more often if they are swimming. When applying the sunscreen, apply it generously, and make sure you get every bit of exposed skin. In most cases, parents just do not apply enough.
Apart from the sunscreen, you should your children sun hats. Since they are available in a myriad of sizes, shapes and colours, you can let your children choose whichever ones they like. You just have to ensure that it covers their face, neck and ears.
If your children have skin that is very sensitive, then you might also want to buy them sun shirts, which are worn predominantly by surfers, and have an SPF of 150+.