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Wear protective gear!

When in the sun you should think of your clothes as a barrier to protect you and your family from the sun.

You should start with a hat

Always carry your shade with you – wear a wide brimmed hat!
Often your face and head is the area of your body most exposed to the sun.A hat serves as an excellent shield against the damaging rays of the sun. The rim should be at least 4 inches (»10 cm) broad. This will keep approximately 70% of UV radiation away from your face and neck.

Little legionnaires’ caps are good for children, because they not only cover the head and face, but the back of the neck with lengthy flaps.

Baseball caps are not ideal, because they leave the back of the neck and ears exposed. It may be hard to convince a 10 year old to wear something else, so rub in the sun screen (make sure to get the back of the neck and ears). It may help to let the child help decide which hat is right for him or her, otherwise he or she might take it off when out of sight. As a parent you should insist on some kind of hat.

The problem with infants is that they love to take hats on and off in the process of learning how to use there hands and fingers. It is important that one stay calm and patient. Keep putting it back on and try to distract the child with something else and eventually the child should get used to it.

Wear pants and a long-sleeved shirt
The next thing you can do to protect yourself and your family from the sun is to wear a shirt and pants.

Unprotected shoulders and arms get burnt very easily and one way of preventing this is to wear protective clothing; a long sleeve shirt and pants may do the trick.

It is important that the clothing be tightly woven and of darker colors. This may not make sense in hot weather, but some light colored shirts let as much UV light through as bare skin (this effect is usually worse when they get wet).

If you can not bring yourself or your children to wear that kind of clothing in hot weather, try it with loose fitting (cotton) clothes. Another option is photoprotective clothing (made by specialized companies). Dressing to prevent skin damage does not mean you cannot enjoy your outdoor time.


Wear sunglasses
UV radiation can not only harm your skin it also has an impact on your eyes. Sun light can cause cataracts which can lead to blindness. So be aware and wear sunglasses.

If you are a parent, it is likely that your children will blame you for all sorts of things as young adults, do not let skin cancer and cataracts be one of them.



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