Tips for Protecting Your Children From Skin Cancer

We have all enjoyed the recent sunshine, but as the number of people affected by skin cancer increases we need to be more aware of the dangers of too much exposure to the sun. Most people think about sunburn as something that happens in hot, sunny places, but most cases happen here in the UK. You may be in the park with the kids, doing the gardening or just having a picnic lunch outside.

On line retailer The Beach Factory's tips for keeping safe in the sun this summer.

• Keep in the shade between 11-3pm, use trees, umbrellas, gazebos, cover small babies in pushchairs with a Snoozeshade for additional protection.
• Wear sunglasses and a hat; wraparound sunglasses are excellent and wide brimmed hats keeps faces shaded from the sun. Legionnaire hats with flaps at the back are really good for small children as they keep necks protected.
• Apply a high factor sunscreen generously and regularly. Apply to areas that cannot be protected by clothing, such as the face, ears, feet and backs of hands.
• Sun Protection Swimwear. Keep kids covered up at home, even if just playing in the paddling pool in the garden with sun protection swim shirts or a UV sun suit.

Since babies and younger children have thinner skins and less of the protective melanin pigment, they are at a higher risk of incurring skin damage from the sun and it is vitally important that they are not allowed to burn. Whenever possible, but especially at the hottest times of the day (11am to 3pm), children should wear sun protective clothing including coverage around the neck and, ideally, a wide brimmed hat. A high factor broad-spectrum sun cream (Sun Protection Factor 15 as a minimum) should be used on any skin that is not protected by clothing.

Normal clothing offers some sun protection, but this varies according to the type and colour of the material. A fabric's composition, its weight and tightness of weave all help to determine its Ultraviolet Protection Factor ("UPF") rating, but unless the fabric has been tested, you cannot know what standard of protection is being provided. Wet clothing permits more UV light to reach your skin - for example, the level of protection offered by a normal T-shirt can be halved when wet.

Sun protective clothing with a tested UPF of 50+ (the maximum rating for fabrics) will block around 98% of the sun's ultraviolet radiation when new and the great thing is the sun protection doesn't wash off when in the water."

Please visit The Beach Factory for all fashionable and functional UV swimwear for children and holiday products throughout the year for Adults, teens and young children.

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