Never before have I noticed so many crazed sunscreen slathering mammas than I have these past few years. And last summer I spyed record amounts of children wearing UV-suits instead of traditional swimwear. I don’t have anything against them. They’re cute. And hey, it’s a good option if your wee one burns easily and doesn’t like you to apply sunscreen.
The problem is when people overdo it.
I used to be one of those sunscreen slatherers. I was slave to sunscreen. When the girls were wee I’d nab them before they dressed in the morning, squeeze a couple of shots of SPF45 into the palm of my hand and coat them with it from their head to their tender toots. Every. Darn. Day.
Now I don’t.
In fact, I stopped doing it a couple of years ago.
Reasons:
a)Â I was never entirely happy with the stuff I was coating them with. The skin is our largest organ. And it’s a giant sponge. I wasn’t convinced that sunscreens are completely free of potential carcinogens. Given the amount that I was using on a daily basis, I thought I should be better informed about what I was putting on their little bodies.
b)Â They weren’t getting sunburns. Why bother if the exposure is going to be minimal?
To clarify: I do put sunscreen on my kids when we’re at the beach or swimming in the pool or playing in the hot beating sun for many hours in one go. But I will not put sunscreen on them after 3 p.m. If they’re just playing outside or going to and from school I will put a bit on their cheeks and nose, a bit on their shoulders (if they’re exposed) and that’s it.Â
I remember once we were all at an early-evening soccer practice. Some mom was vigorously layering sunscreen on her kid (um, the sun was setting) and then topped it off with a layer of bugspray (there were no bugs either!). Yeeuck.
It’s always been important to us that the girls get fresh air and unadulterated sunshine. After all, that’s how we evolved. Outside! Stalking animals and sleeping in caves! Outside, in the sun, is a natural place to be!
I previously had read that our body needs vitamin D, but I hadn’t realized exactly how much, and how important it is to our health. I’m sure you’ve heard by now, but if you haven’t you should read this Globe and Mail article.
“In June, U.S. researchers will announce the first direct link between cancer prevention and the sunshine vitamin. Their results are nothing short of astounding.
A four-year clinical trial involving 1,200 women found those taking the vitamin had about a 60-per-cent reduction in cancer incidence, compared with those who didn’t take it, a drop so large — twice the impact on cancer attributed to smoking — it almost looks like a typographical error.”
Only 10 – 15 minutes a day is necessary. The trick is to be reasonable about exposure to sun, as well as to sunscreen. There’s no point overdoing either of them.Â
But I am seeing the sun in a whole new light now. Aren’t you? I would love to hear your take on the sunscreen debate.
