Developing practices that encourage or require toddlers and students to wear protective clothing, hats, and sunglasses to prevent excessive sun exposure can be difficult.
Sun protection should be employed during physical education classes, recess, field trips, outdoor sports or band events and camping.
- Image by mikebaird via Flickr
Some schools, especially in Australia, have a “no hat/no play” policy stating that students cannot play outdoors if they are not wearing hats.
Require the use of long sleeves and broad-brimmed hats on your children from infant and toddler age and it will be easier to promote the use of hats and sunglasses in later years.
Some schools might have policies that prohibit or discourage students and staff from wearing hats and sunglasses on school grounds (e.g., because they are associated with contraband or gang-related items). Possible transmission of head lice among younger children who share hats might also be a concern; however, policies can be implemented that address these concerns (e.g., prohibiting both sharing hats and wearing gang-related symbols).
Avoiding the Sun and Wearing Proper Sun Hats, Clothing and Sunglasses
- Image by StarMama via Flickr
Some forms of protection (e.g., avoiding the sun, seeking shade, and wearing sun-protective clothing) are the first approach toward preventing skin cancer.
One study has demonstrated that wearing sun-protective clothing can decrease the number of moles; another study demonstrated that the protective effect of clothing depends primarily on the construction of the fabric (a tighter weave permits less UV radiation to reach the skin).
Other important factors include fiber type (natural cotton or Lycra™ transmits less UV radiation than bleached cotton) and color (darker colors transmit less UV radiation); additional factors include whether the fabric is wet or stretched (transmission of UV radiation increases as the fabric becomes more wet and stretched).
Wide-brimmed sun hats (larger than a 3-inch brim) and Legionnaire hats (baseball type of hat with attached ear and neck flaps) provide the best protection for the head, ears, nose, and cheeks.
In 2001, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Safety Product Commission assisted in the development of voluntary industry standards in the United States for rating the UV protective value of different types of clothing and of shade structures. These standards should help the public make informed decisions concerning protection against UV radiation.
