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. Your baby’s skin burns much more easily than adult skin, so taking care in the sun is important.
did you know
- Because of high exposure to UV radiation, Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world – a cancer that can spread rapidly around the body – in the world.
- You 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.
Sun protection
- Pick the right time of day: UV radiation is strongest between September and April, between 10 am and 3 pm. If you can, save trips to the playground, the park or the beach for early morning and late afternoon.
- Shade: shade provides some protection from UV radiation, but babies and 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. If you’re using a pram, cover it with a shade cloth and allow for ventilation. Alternatively, some prams have adjustable canopy tops that can move and offer shade as the sun’s position changes.
- Umbrella or sunshade: if you can’t find shade, create your own using an umbrella or sunshade. Make sure your shade protection creates a dark shadow to prevent the reflection of UV rays. Always keep window sunshades in your car to protect your child while you’re driving.
- Clothing: keeping your child’s skin covered with clothes made from tightly woven fabric such as t-shirt material will protect her 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 her cooler than clothes made from acrylic fibres. You can also get baby clothes that are specially designed to block the sun and that indicate how protective they are. Look for them at Cancer Council shops.
- Hats: a hat is a great way to protect your child from the sun. Look for a soft hat so he can still lie down comfortably while he’s 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 chin strap will help keep it on your baby’s head.
- Sunglasses: look for close-fitting, wrap-around sunglasses that meet the Australian Standard AS/NZS 1067. Wearing sunglasses in combination with an appropriate hat can reduce your child’s exposure to UV rays by 98%.
- Sunscreen: sunscreen combined with clothing and shade is the most effective way to keep your child safe from sun and 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.
