Lets talk about skin-protection!

The kid wears UV-rashguards on the beach
during the mid-day hours 11am-2pm,
even when its cloudy. And he wears hats.

Keep your kid safe

I heard something very scary this morning when I dropped the kid off at preschool. I overheard two mothers talking next to me and one of them complimented the other about her daughter's gorgeous tan. And I'm trying hard not to judge other mothers - I feel like women get judge enough, especially in their role as parents these days - but the kid in question is barely two years old and should not be having a tan at all!

So today's topic will be protection. Not protection against the sun because sun is good, we love playing in the sun. No, we're talking about protection against the bad UVA and UVB rays that sadly come with it. No matter if your kid is fair skinned or has a darker complexion, he or she needs to be protected from the damage that UV-light can do to the skin. It's as basic as putting a helmet on your child's head when he or she is biking or strapping your kid into a car-seat when you drive.

Sun screen

We wear sunscreen in our family. Some say that one shouldn't over-consume sunscreen but we spend a lot of time outside and both me and the kid have fair, typically scandinavian, complexion which means that we burn easily. And sunburn is not a good thing. Its important to me that my kid can play freely and the minutes it takes to rub that sunscreen into his skin are minutes well spent. However; I choose our sunscreen wisely after careful research and we don't use products that contain parabens or unnecessary chemicals.

Right now we are mainly using:

• EVY's products, either SPF30 or the one made specially for kids (which is also SPF30) 
• Organic Childrens' SPF30 from GreenPeople.  
• Eco Cosmetics, made especially for babies (SPF50)

I normally don't buy the highest sun protection factor because SPF30 works just as well as SPF50 but is much easier to rub in. For example SPF30 protects up to 97% and SPF50 protects 98%, so the difference is only 1%. According to dermatologists the most important safety factor is the amount of sun protection you use. Apply just half the amount of SPF30 you would normally use and you actually decrease the efficiency to around SPF5 when the sun rays are at their strongest . 

UV-clothing and Rashguards/Skins

So with sunscreen on your kid is protected, right? Well, if your child is anything like mine then he runs around on the beach or in the park all day and doesn't care much for the shadow.The easiest way to keep him protected is therefor with clothes and hats.

And the market is literally exploding with fun UV-protective clothing. So many brands have rashguards or UV-onesies nowadays so its easy to find good looking stuff. On a day at the beach I usually bring at least three different shirts with SPF40 or 50 just in case.

Below are just a few out of this season's pretty line-up:

Top: 1. Beach & Bandits  2. Munsterkids  3. Sunuva
Bottom:  4. Soft Gallery  5. O'neill  6. Molo

Remember the head 

Last but not least, remember to cover your kid's head. If everything else fails - maybe you are out of sunblock or you have a tired kid that suddenly refuses to wear clothes - at least put a hat or a cap on your child. Not only does it protect the face from the UV-rays but it also protects from sunstroke.

Two of the kid's favorite hats this Spring come from Munsterkids and the third from Scotch & Soda. I like the Trucker hat model because the mesh keeps the head cool while still protected but the palmtrees on the fitted one just had me at hello.

Conclusion:

Have fun in the sun with your kids but stay safe and protected. All of the above applies to mommies and daddies as well.


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