5 Ways to Teach Kids About Sun Safety

When I first found out I was pregnant with my oldest, I was so excited and happy, but then I felt another emotion that I hadn’t expected: fear.

I was suddenly worried about eating, drinking, and doing anything that might harm my developing baby. My whole perspective on life started to change. It wasn’t about just me and my husband anymore, and our decisions and choices began to circle our growing family.

When I developed melanoma when I was pregnant with my son, it came with even more worries and fears than my first pregnancy, and my concern for his well-being was tenfold, especially because of my miscarriage the year before.

I was so terrified to lose him and couldn’t help but wonder if I could have done something more to prevent my melanoma.

Now that my cancer has returned, I have begun to look for ways that can help not only prevent myself from having another reoccurrence, but also ways to teach and to prevent my children from developing melanoma.

Talking about melanoma with kids is tricky. Depending on the kids age, you may not want to broach the big C word (cancer) and you don’t want to frighten them so much that they avoid the sun forever. I started to search for things that would help me discuss sun safety and the effects the sun can have in a kid friendly way, and I came up with the following list:

5 Ways to Teach Kids About Sun Safety

1. Lead by Example

Even though kids seem like they don’t hear you, especially when you actually want them to be listening, they are always learning from your actions. If you make sun safety a priority, then your kids will see the importance and mimic your actions!

Talk to them about the weather outside and how it helps you decide what kind of clothing to wear.

Have them help you apply your sunscreen. They may be more likely to let you apply it to them, or they may even want to start practicing applying their own.

You can also incorporate some sun safe activities to your family time together. View some amazing resources below:

• Sun Safe Activities

• Care In The Sun Curriculum

• NEEF Sunwise School Education program, funded by the EPA

2. Children’s Books

Everyone knows the correlation between reading to children and their future literacy, so why not kill two birds with one stone? Add some of the following sun safety books to your child’s library for bedtime reading:

• Block the Sun, Not the Fun by Ellen Feinman Moss. Unfortunately it is not printed anymore but, you can find it on Tumblebooks, an online application used by many School Districts, or I found my copy used online at Biblio.

• Sunny Goes to the Beach: A Children’s Book on Sun Safety by Katherine C. Troutman. You can get it on Amazon here.

• Max and Mila at the Beach: A Sun Safety Guide for Kids by Amalyn Persohn Martin. You can get it on Amazon here.

• Staying Safe in the Sun by Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books. You can get it from Target here.

• George the Sun Safe Superstar by Kathryn Clifford and Chantal Renn. This book is available for FREE in pdf form online here.

• Sunscreen Irene by Larry and Jenn Cheifetz. You can get it from Kidzgoo.com here.

3. Science Investigations

Sometimes the best way for children to make connections about concepts that are more abstract and not visible to their sight (like UV rays from the sun), is through science experiments. Check out the ones below:

• Summer Sunscreen Science

• Handprint Art with UV Rays

4. UV Accessories

My daughter loves having accessories, especially if she gets to pick them out or use them by herself. I have found an assortment of UV detecting accessories that will allow your kids to take ownership over tracking their time outdoors and UV exposure.

• Make a UV detection bracelet with UV Detection Beads

• Get a UV Detection Key Chain or Wrist band or Bracelet

• Color Changing UV Sunglasses

• Roll on Sunscreen or Fun Sunscreen Applicator

• Sunscreen Bracelet: instead of hand sanitizer, they can have sunscreen and reapply it every 2 hours!

• Timer: put your child in charge of setting the timer to remind you when it is time to reapply sunscreen!

5. UV Clothing

Finally, allowing your kids to choose their own UV protective clothing will increase the likelihood of them wearing them. If this becomes a practice and habit while young, they will continue it as they grow older.

• Decorate a Bucket Hat

• Companies with cute UV protective clothing for kids:

• Coolibar : An amazing selection of clothing for the whole family. They have clothes from everyday wear to swim wear.

• Tikihut Livin’: Thus company offers some amazing UV protective clothing options, including their signature, fashion forward sun hat!

• SwimZip: These swim suits are such an amazing alternative to the traditional rash guard. They are easy to get on and off and they have matching sets for parents and kids!

• Columbia UV Protective Clothing: we have been long users of the PFG line but they also offer a wide variety of outdoor UV protective gear.

• UV Skinz: they offer a lot of fun shirts and bathing suits and accessories for kids outdoors.

I hope that these tips can help you get the conversation started with your own kids about sun safety, and how you can make skin protection a priority, while still enjoying the things you love to do outside!