High Maintenance Mom

It's finally sunscreen time here in the east coast. Temps soared to almost 90 degrees out of nowhere and caught a lot people of guard. I went through my cabinets looking for all of our sunscreen and luckily had plenty on hand. Now is a good time to bone up on your sunscreen knowledge. Some web sites worthy of review are www.cosmeticsdatabase.com (type in sunscreen in the 'search for product" area and see the many topics on the right of the screen) and www.aad.org and www.skincancer.org. All these web sites have great articles on how sunscreen works, how the sun's rays effect our skin and what to look for in a sunscreen..... I tried several sunscreens last summer on my then 7 month old and 2 year old. They had great ratings on the cosmetics data base web site and all worked well. They had to stand up to lots of water, sensitive skin and long days in the sun. Some easy tips to keep with you as you apply sunscreen to you and your kids; keep infants out of the sun, apply sunscreen on your kids before you go out in the sun, use an SPF of 30 or more, have your kids use hats and sunglasses and make them fun so they will wear them when you aren't around. Ask your child's school and/or camp about their sunscreen policy. My daughter's school has all parents sign a waiver asking the parents to apply sunscreen before school, supply sunscreen to the school and will allow the school to reapply after water use or a long period of play. I think this is a good policy. Also, make sure there is a shaded area in the playground and access to fresh water. Avoid outdoor play in the height of the sun's strength 10am - 4pm. My family has a quiet time from 1-3 anyway so that works for us. In all, get aboard the sunscreen bandwagon now, do some research and protect your family from the harmful damage the sun can cause. I lather up my kids first thing in the morning before they dress and reapply often. Enjoy the sun!