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Preventing Sunburns:

It has been said that it only takes a few severe sunburns as a child to end up with skin cancer as an adult. This fact is a very strong reason to try your hardest to prevent your child from getting sunburned. Even if the sunburn never causes such drastic problems, the immediate suffering that a sunburned person has to go through is not something that any child should have to experience. But, children don't know about the damage the sun can cause, so parents have to be the ones to enforce rules when it comes to playing outside. Here are the best rules to follow to keep your child from ever having to experience this pain:

• Always apply sunblock (this includes on cloudy days and for any time that your child will be in the sun for longer than 20-30 minutes).

• Keep as much skin as possible covered (sun hats are great for this).

• Keep your child in the shade as much as possible.

• Avoid peak sun hours—between 10 AM and 3 PM tends to be the strongest time of day for the sun, so if you avoid taking your child out for long during this time, you reduce their risk of being burned.

Applying sunblock is an easy enough task, but there are a few tips to remember that can help you utilize sublock to its fullest, therefore reducing your child's sunburn risk even more:

• Choose a high SPF—the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) provides a guide to know how much of the sun's harmful rays are blocked. The higher the SPF, the more protection your child is getting. The best one to use (and is available in many baby, children, or adult kinds) is SPF 50.

• Choose a sweat-proof, water-proof kind—just because a sunblock says that it is water-proof, doesn't mean all moisture. Often, a sunblock that is water-proof can still be washed away by sweat, so make sure that it says it is sweat-proof as well.

• Apply 30 minutes before going out—many people mistakenly believe that once you apply the sunblock, it is in effect. How many times have you seen people arrive poolside or beachside, and then apply sunblock? Many people do this, but it's not the smartest thing to do. What many people don't know is that sunblock takes 30 minutes before it really starts working, so the safest thing to do is to apply the sunblock 30 minutes before going out.

• Reapply every ½-1 hour—Most sunblocks say to do this, but not a lot of people follow this rule. You can still feel the sunblock on your skin, and you can still smell it, so you tend to feel like it's still working. But, even sweat-proof sunblock needs to be reapplied often, just to be sure. This is especially true if the child is swimming or sweating a lot.

• Don't forget the ears—when people apply sunblock, they almost always apply it to the face and arms, but there are certain parts of the body that are very susceptible to burning, and these parts tend to get overlooked quite often. This includes areas such as the ears, the tops of the feet, and the scalp (especially true on boys with short hair or kids with thin hair).

• Go colored—one excellent product for parents is colored sunblock. This product works wonderfully for two reasons:

1) Kids get to have fun with it, whether you put it on them or they put it on themselves, it is always neat to be painted a bright color.

2) You get to see exactly what skin has been covered and what hasn't, which is excellent. This is also helpful since many kids want to put the sunblock on themselves. With this kind, the parent can double-check to make sure all parts are covered.

You may not always be able to prevent your child from getting slightly burned, but if you always follow these guidelines, you will have a much better chance of them never having to experience that pain.

Copyright 2010. All educational materials are the sole property of Kid First Internet and are available for the benefit of our parents. Duplication or use of any material requires the express consent of Kids First Internet.

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