The Sun & Heat

20 March 2008

Taking your children to a lovely hot and sunny country should be a fantastic time for everyone. However, we are not generally used to such soaring temperatures here in the UK, so it is important to protect your little ones ,as well as yourself, from the sun and the heat. Look at our advice on keeping everyone safe and well while you soak up the sun.

Some simple tips to follow are:

Protect their skin. Once skin is burned the damage has already been done. Get them to cover up with loose fitting clothes including legs and arms. Tightly woven fabrics will provide the best protection from the sun. Clothing providing total sun protection is best or a sun tent as seen below from Mothercare providing UV protection.
Try to keep them out of the sun between the hours of 11am and 3pm when the sun is at it’s strongest. If this unavoidable make sure they are covered up and have hats and sun glasses as well as some sun protection. Children should use lotion with a sun protection factor (SPF) of up to 40. The skin is damaged most by the sun before the age of 18.
Cover their entire body in sun protection lotion including face, hands, feet and neck.
Make sure you apply the sun lotion 30 minutes before you take them out in the sun and reapply at least every 2 hours.If they are in and out of the water you will need to reapply each time they get out of the water.
Ensure they have sun protection even when in the water as UVA and UVB rays can penetrate through a metre or so of water.
Even on cloudy days ensure they wear sun protection.
Always get them to wear a hat and sunglasses with UVA and UVB filters when in the sun.
Give them plenty of drinks.

If your child does get sun burnt or suffer from heat stroke, seek medical attention.

If your child does get sun burnt or suffer from heat stroke, seek medical attention.Look here for some sun cream from our shop.