When families with young children go off for their summer vacation, one of the biggest challenges which faces parents is how to keep their kids safe under the heat of the sun. The sun can cause many problems for children from burning their skin, leaving them dehydrated or causing headaches. This can be a fine balance for parents to strike as they do not want to stop their children from enjoying the sunshine, but at the same time, they must keep them safe. Let’s take a look at some of the ways in which parents keep their children protected from the damage which the sun can do.
Shading
Most parents will tell you that the midday sun is the worst for children and specifically during these times, they must look for shade for their children. Parents can do this with clothing options such as caps and longer trousers or t-shirts, alternatively they can look to keep their kids indoors during the hottest hours, something which is not too popular amongst the kids of course! When parents are on the beach during the day, a beach sun shade is a great tool to use to keep the kids out of the sun, but not away from the beach.
Hydration
Parents must always be vigilant of how hydrated their child is and constantly be checking that their children are taking enough liquid on board, and watching out for the signs of dehydration. The amount of water which kids must take on when they are exposed to warmed weather should be greatly increased from what they would normally drink at home. Mums and Dads also have to ensure that their kids stay away from fizzy drinks or drinks with large amounts of sugar as this will not hydrate them very well at all. Kids need to be constantly drinking water when the weather gets warm as dehydration can come on swiftly and cause great problems, far more so for kids than adults.
Air Conditioning
Within the hotel or villa bedrooms, air conditioning should be used in the right way to keep the kids cool. Leaving air conditioning on all night may keep the kids cool, but as any parent who has done this will tell you, it can very often give your child a cough and a sore throat. Kids shouldn’t be breathing in this kind of air throughout the night and so the best thing that parents can do is to turn the air con on about an hour before the kids go to bed. When the kids finally go to bed, a fan is a great idea to put in their room, to circfulate the air.
Sun Cream
Many parents know only too well just how often they need to apply sun cream on their children. Unlike adults, kid’s skin is highly sensitive and they can burn very easily. When the kids have been swimming or an hour goes by, it is time to apply some more of that high factor sun cream, to give the kids the best protection possible.
Kids are very high risk in hot weather and parents must do all that they can to reduce the risk.
