Check this out; isn't it awful? For six years -- six years of hot summers, sunny days, outings to the beach, swimming pools -- we've been able to protect her lily-white skin. But because of one stupid oversight (read about it here on SV Moms Blog), she's got her first sunburn. That's one sunburn too many already. Bad, bad mommy!
More than anything, her sunburn was a wake-up call, reminding me that it's summer again and we need to be extra-vigilant about sun safety. So once again, I'm listing some of the precautions we take to keep our family safe in the sun (see a previous version of this post at SV Moms Blog).
1) Seek Shade. For this summer, I've bought more umbrella stands so we can use our two beach umbrellas in the back yard along with our patio umbrella. It looks really festive, and the kids can play outside even at mid-day when the sun is strongest.
2) Use sunscreen. I know, it's icky and sticky. But I have three words for you: spray-on sunscreen.
3) Wear a hat.
4) Cover Up. It's time for me to check out the SPF-rated clothing at stores like Sunday Afternoons, Lands End and Old Navy, and wash all our other clothes with Rit SunGuard.
5) Watch the UV index the same way you'd watch the weather report -- to see what protections you need to take.
Oh, and stay away from those tanning beds!
6 comments:
Have you seen this article? There's a Sun Survey linked there as well, which is a nice resource. (Sorry if you've noted any of this in the SV post, but I couldn't find the recent post!)
We spend a lot of time at the beach and I try and keep my girls from getting burned, but have missed a couple of times. I love the spray-on sunscreen and we use umbrellas, hats and t-shirts, too. We just got our oldest daughter a shorty wetsuit that covers most of her body, which'll let her play for hours in the water with no worrying about burns.
That is the very reason why I chose an indoor pool for my daughter's swimming lessons this summer. I don't want to see her all burned from the heat of the sun. I thought it wouldn't be as fun as when it's on an open pool but she's doing great so far and having a good time. :)
Many years ago my kids attended Zoo camp in Santa Barbara, which meant lots of outdoor time and a walk across the street for a day at the beach. On beach day I asked both counselors (since the boys were in two different groups) to touch up the sunscreen, for which I had purchased a bottle for each kid. When I arrived six hours later to pick them up from their day at camp, they both sported bright white capital letters (standing for the name of their group) on their backs. The idiot counselors had used the sunscreen to screen out the letter and let the kids fry everywhere else.
I'm sorry about her sunburn. Hope some ointments for sunburn relief can help alleviate the discomfort.
I always put on my facial sunblock when I go out even for short trips because of the terrible sun rays which becomes worse during summer. Like you I prefer spray-on sunscreen because it's more convenient to use.
ahh those umbrella stands are a good tip! I've been wracking my brains for a solution as my toddler keeps shouting "garden" when it's sunny but its midday.
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