Clothing That Helps Keep Kids Safe From the Sun

Sunlight is refreshing and helps add some color to your day. Too much sun exposure, however, can lead to nasty sunburns and even skin cancer down the road. Help protect your kids from harmful UV rays by choosing the appropriate sun protective clothing whenever they head out to play.

Wear a hat

Even if the day is overcast, there is the potential for overexposure if your child is out for more than an hour. Always encourage children to wear a hat. For boys, this protects shaved heads from the sun. For both genders, hats protect the sensitive skin of the face from harmful UV rays. A baseball-cap style hat is good, but a floppy sunhat is even better if you can get your child to wear one.

Sunglasses

This is one article of protective clothing that most kids are happy to wear. Sunglasses look cool and they protect the eyes! Choose ones that specifically state that they are "UV protective."

Long sleeves and pants

In the summer, you may find it tough to convince your little guy or girl to wear long sleeves and pants. However, you should encourage this when they are going outside for more than an hour or two. Of course, this is not as feasible on the beach, but for certain activities like hiking and fishing, it is easy to don a pair of jeans in place of shorts. If you cannot get them to wear long sleeves or pants, at least give them a generous coating of sunscreen as they leave the house.

Protecting your kids from the sunlight is crucial if you want to avoid sunburn and skin cancer. Follow these dressing tips and you can keep sun exposure in the acceptable and safe range.