Baby Sun Safety
The Holiday season has now arrived and many of you may be enjoying the summer sun. Australia has some of the most beautiful beaches and holiday spots. However Australia also has one of the highest incidences of skin cancer in the world. BUBS would like your holidays to be safe and protected that is why we have compiled this useful information on Baby Sun Safety.
For healthy development, your child needs to have a small amount of exposure to the sun. This can be as little as 10-15 minutes per day. Baby skin burns much more easily than adult skin, so taking care in the sun is important. Did you knowyou don’t have to sit in the sun to be exposed to UV radiation? You can get burned on a cloudy or cool day, or if there’s sun reflecting on to you from buildings, water, sand or snow.
UV radiation is strongest between September and April, between 10am and 3pm. If possible save, trips to the playground, the park or the beach for early morning or late afternoon.
Sunscreen combined with clothing and shade is the most effective way to keep your child safe from the sun and its reflection from water, sand, snow and buildings.
Baby Sun Protection
Shade: Shade provides some protection from UV radiation, but babies an
Clothing: Keeping your child’s skin covered with clothes made from tightly woven fabric such as t-shirt material, will help protect them from the sun. If you hold the fabric up to the light you can see how much sun will get through it. Cotton clothes with long sleeves and cotton leggings will keep them cooler than clothes made from acrylic fibres.
Hats: A hat is a great way to protect your child from the sun. Look for a soft hat so they can still lie down comfortably while they are wearing it. A full crown hat with a full brim or a neck flap is better than a baseball
cap because it provides more shade; a chinstrap will help keep it on your baby's head.
Sunscreen: Sunscreen combined with clothing and shade is the most effective way to
keep your child safe from the sun and it’s reflection. Use a SPF 30+ sunscreen on the face, hands and any other parts of your child that aren’t covered by clothes. It will work better if you put it on 20 minutes before you go outside and reapply it every two hours. Sunscreens labelled ‘for babies’ or ‘for infants’ are less likely to cause skin irritation. A lotion is better than a heavy cream – you can also look for sunscreens that are free of PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) and non-alcoholic. Sunscreen with reflective particles like zinc or titanium dioxide provides the most protection and is less likely to irritate skin. Sunscreen stops working a couple of years after it is made, so look for a use-by date on any sunscreen you are buying.
Recently, researchers have been looking at whether sunscreens harm babies younger than a year (most
authorities don’t recommend sunscreen under the age of 6 months). They have studied whether a baby's thin skin can absorb chemicals from sunscreen, which might damage the baby’s organs. They have concluded that if you use only small amounts of sunscreen on uncovered areas such as the face and hands (that is, rely on clothing to cover most of the body, rather than slathering your baby’s legs, arms and body in sunscreen) the tiny amount of sunscreen which may be absorbed shouldn’t be enough to harm your baby.
d small children can still be burned by reflected sunshine. Even if you’re sitting in the shade, cover your child with clothes to stop burning, and use sunscreen on any exposed skin. Cover the pram with a shade while allowing for ventilation.
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polycarbonate Baby Banz are safe and durable
Banz Flap hats
(Ultraviolet Protection Factor) rating of 50+