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- Knowledgebase: Child Safety, Injury Prevention and Treatment
- Questions about child safety and injury prevention, as well as treatment for minor injuries.
- 19. Preventing Sunburns - Top
- Protect your child from the sun
It is never too early for parents to begin protecting their children from the sun's harmful rays.
The sun's rays damage the skin, causing visible and invisible damage. Visible damage, which appears a few hours after sun exposure, includes tanning and sunburn. Invisible damage, such as premature aging, wrinkles, sun spots and skin cancer, may develop years later.
Because most children are outdoors three times more than most adults, up to 80 percent of a person's lifetime exposure to the sun occurs before 18 years of age. It also can take 10 to 20 years for damage to skin, caused by childhood suntans and sunburns, to result in skin cancer or premature aging.
Artificial ultraviolet lights found in tanning beds and booths, which are frequented by teenagers and young adults, are as damaging as the sun.
With the proper protection and by learning good sun care habits early in life, people can reduce their risk of future skin damage. If children use a sunscreen regularly up to age 18, they can reduce the chance of getting some forms of skin cancer later in life by almost 50 percent.
Follow these tips to protect the skin from the sun's dangerous rays:
Use a good, reputable sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or greater.
Apply sunscreen about 15 to 20 minutes before going outdoors.
When swimming or sweating, reapply the sunscreen every 2 hours.
Keep infants under 6 months of age out of the sun.
Wear hats with a visor or adequate brim.
Avoid long periods of sun exposure. The sun's energy is greatest between 10 am and 2 pm.
Apply a moisturizer after sun exposure to combat the combined drying effects of the sun and wind.
Even in winter months, protect the skin from the sun.
- Updated: June 11, 2001
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- Knowledgebase: Child Safety, Injury Prevention and Treatment
James L Horwitz, MD
David C. Thomas, MD
Barbara Lindberg, PNP