Safety In The Sun

Summer is here and there is nothing more exciting than heading to the local park with your baby or tot in blissful sunshine or better yet, setting course for foreign climes to relax on the beach or by the pool.

No matter where you are though, you need to protect your baby soft, delicate skin from the damaging rays of the sun – and that counts even when you are home in Ireland.

Just one incidence of sunburn in childhood, can increase your child’s risk of developing skin cancer later in life.

That doesn’t mean you have to lock the kids inside or only let them out in a spacesuit. With P&Ps must-have summer guide, you can get all the fun out of summer without the harmful effects!

Play it safe

If your baby is under 12 months of age, the best thing you can do to protect her tender, young skin is to keep her out of the sun altogether.

• Make sure your baby is as covered up as possible whenever you go outside.
• Dress her in loose-fitting cotton clothes, a wide brimmed hat and make sure that any exposed skin, like the face or hands, is protected with sunscreen.
• If you are sitting outside, make sure your baby is in the shade. Timing is everything Try to make sure that the whole family is out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, when the suns rays are at their strongest. This is particularly important for babies and toddlers.
• Canopies and umbrellas will create a cool, safe environment

• Protective clothing should provide an extra safety net from dangerous rays. Slip, slop, slap Let’s face it, keeping toddlers and older kids inside during the summer months is going to be very difficult and absolutely impossible when you are on holidays, even in those danger afternoon hours. The solution? Total sunblock of at least SPF 20 (a cream that will block out both UVA and UVB radiation) applied to all exposed areas.
• Apply sunblock at least 30 minutes before you go out (even in Ireland and dull days) and subsequently every 2-3 hours. if applied thickly, so be liberal when applying it.
• Make sure you re-apply after swimming or lots of exercise and running about.
• Freckling or any degree of redness will indicate enough sun for one day.

Water world

Your baby can become dehydrated a lot quicker than an adult and will probably find it much more difficult to acclimatise to hotter weather. If you are taking your baby out and about for more than 30 minutes or are heading to the beach, make sure that you have plenty of water readily available.