The summer sun has finally started to come out! So now, more than ever we have to be conscious about sun safety. Whether you and your kids are playing soccer in the park or spending an afternoon at the beach, proper sun protection including sunscreen is a must!

We recently spoke with Joanne Speight, CEO of Seasons UV, who gave us some important tips on staying safe in the summer sun!

What is the safest and most effective type of sunscreen?

Broad Spectrum: It handles both UVA & UVB rays.

How much sunscreen should you apply to your child and how often?

It all depends on their activities. It should be applied 20 minutes prior to going outside. When they are in and out of the water, it should be applied about every 1/2 hour. If they are just playing outside, then about every 1-2 hours.

What’s the best way to protect kids from UV rays?

POP = Put on Protection. Put on a hat, put on sunscreen, put on sunglasses and put on uv protected apparel. Abide by the rules of no sun between high peak periods.

How do we protect kids eyes from the sun? Sunglasses? Hats?

All sunglasses are not created equal; you need to make sure it is 100% UVA/UVB protection. See more info at RealKidsShades.com. Adding a sun hat also protects the eyes if they do not like wearing sunglasses.

Should we be applying sunscreen under our kids clothes that aren’t SPF protected?

A cotton T-shirt is only 5 UPF, which = a 5 SPF sunscreen, so it is not enough. You would have to apply sunscreen underneath the T-shirt. Seasons UV Apparel is 50UPF, which means it, is like a 50 SPF sunscreen, but does not wear off.

Seasons UV apparel also has images that change when there is any UVA/UVB rays. The stronger the rays, the darker the color. Kids think it’s magic and parents get visual reminders to reapply sunscreen on exposed areas.