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Here Comes The Sun...with apologies to The Beatles!
Today I asked my friend Jen to share her sun story with all of you. I think you will find it all too familiar. As a mother of three little ones, Jen has much to share in the way of personal experience. You will be seeing a lot of her!
Here Comes the Sun...
My own mother is hard-pressed to find any clothing my sister and I wore as small children, and she saves EVERYTHING. The thing is, we never wore anything but diapers. Growing up in Hawaii you didn't need anything else claims my mother. We were as brown as little bears and spent the better part of most days on the beach. Even when we got to school we were forbidden to wear shoes and had to leave them in the car as we enjoyed our barefooted days.
I suppose we were lucky that we were both fairly dark-skinned but when I go to the dermatologist (as I do once a year) I can still see that "grew up in Hawaii" figures prominently on my chart. That early exposure is often the trigger for adult cancer, a kind of cancer that will affect one in five Americans over a lifetime. Scary.
Our three kids all got my husbands skin, which initially made me think there must have been a mix-up at the hospital. They are fair and pink and frankly just too ghostly looking for anyone to think it might be okay to leave them in the sun for any amount of time. However, even African-Americans need to be wary of exposure, no skin type is immune.
When my first was smaller I was absolutely insane about her exposure. I maneuvered the sunshade on her car seat constantly as I went about my errands. I lathered her up with sunscreen when appropriate (after they turn 6 months, though the AAP now says it is okay for younger babies but you should check with your pediatrician) and kept her inside between 10 and 4 on the sunniest summer days. This worked out great, until she started camp at age 3 at the beach. I lathered her up, bought her a huge hat, sunglasses and dressed her in long sleeves and pants. She looked like an old man while her buddies cavorted around in sundresses, shorts or (gasp!) tank tops.
When we took our yearly trip to the shore she was usually content to stay in the house as she wasn't crazy about sand. At 3 1/2 she discovered that she loved the sand, the water and the beach in general. I could no longer keep her sequestered under the umbrella, she loathed hats. I continued to lather her up and try to get her interested in an indoor activity during the most brutal heat of the day but there was no denying that someday not too far away she would actually have a tan line from her suit no matter what I did.
I loosened up a bit and when our little ones came I realized that you could only do your best with the sun protection because these little creatures also need fresh air and the ability to move around without 10 layers of clothing. I still put sun block on in the morning if she is headed to camp and before we get in the car for the beach. The spray kinds seem to work well and evoke the least amount of complaints from her. I use a stick on her face to avoid getting sunscreen in her eyes. I try to remember that the ears and neck are super important spots to cover up as they are common cancer sites. I also make plans for outdoor activities for 3:30 or later so we can enjoy ourselves with a minimum of sun stress.
My daughter knows that the sun isn't scary but like everything we enjoy (food, tv) too much isn't good for us. She loves the beach and playing outside with her friends but if she's going to sit and do something quietly she opts for a shady spot. We can't protect them from everything, nor should we want too, but if we teach them now we can try to protect them from the worst things.
Posted by Jen of Safety4Kids
Here Comes the Sun...
My own mother is hard-pressed to find any clothing my sister and I wore as small children, and she saves EVERYTHING. The thing is, we never wore anything but diapers. Growing up in Hawaii you didn't need anything else claims my mother. We were as brown as little bears and spent the better part of most days on the beach. Even when we got to school we were forbidden to wear shoes and had to leave them in the car as we enjoyed our barefooted days.
I suppose we were lucky that we were both fairly dark-skinned but when I go to the dermatologist (as I do once a year) I can still see that "grew up in Hawaii" figures prominently on my chart. That early exposure is often the trigger for adult cancer, a kind of cancer that will affect one in five Americans over a lifetime. Scary.
Our three kids all got my husbands skin, which initially made me think there must have been a mix-up at the hospital. They are fair and pink and frankly just too ghostly looking for anyone to think it might be okay to leave them in the sun for any amount of time. However, even African-Americans need to be wary of exposure, no skin type is immune.
When my first was smaller I was absolutely insane about her exposure. I maneuvered the sunshade on her car seat constantly as I went about my errands. I lathered her up with sunscreen when appropriate (after they turn 6 months, though the AAP now says it is okay for younger babies but you should check with your pediatrician) and kept her inside between 10 and 4 on the sunniest summer days. This worked out great, until she started camp at age 3 at the beach. I lathered her up, bought her a huge hat, sunglasses and dressed her in long sleeves and pants. She looked like an old man while her buddies cavorted around in sundresses, shorts or (gasp!) tank tops.
When we took our yearly trip to the shore she was usually content to stay in the house as she wasn't crazy about sand. At 3 1/2 she discovered that she loved the sand, the water and the beach in general. I could no longer keep her sequestered under the umbrella, she loathed hats. I continued to lather her up and try to get her interested in an indoor activity during the most brutal heat of the day but there was no denying that someday not too far away she would actually have a tan line from her suit no matter what I did.
I loosened up a bit and when our little ones came I realized that you could only do your best with the sun protection because these little creatures also need fresh air and the ability to move around without 10 layers of clothing. I still put sun block on in the morning if she is headed to camp and before we get in the car for the beach. The spray kinds seem to work well and evoke the least amount of complaints from her. I use a stick on her face to avoid getting sunscreen in her eyes. I try to remember that the ears and neck are super important spots to cover up as they are common cancer sites. I also make plans for outdoor activities for 3:30 or later so we can enjoy ourselves with a minimum of sun stress.
My daughter knows that the sun isn't scary but like everything we enjoy (food, tv) too much isn't good for us. She loves the beach and playing outside with her friends but if she's going to sit and do something quietly she opts for a shady spot. We can't protect them from everything, nor should we want too, but if we teach them now we can try to protect them from the worst things.
Posted by Jen of Safety4Kids
