Topic —  Parenting Solutions

Reasons to Stay Sun-Safe

May 16, 2011
Robyn Burnett

Pocket

Dear 16 Year-Old Me,

By the time you reach your 30s, you’ll find yourself using terms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on a regular basis. While these terms actually sound rather harmless, they’ll hold a lot of power and here’s why. You’ll be able to watch and share powerful messages with hundreds of people in an instant about different topics, including this recent one that has been on many peoples’ minds: melanoma.

I know you think the notion of skin cancer isn’t terribly relevant as a 16 year-old, but as the mother of a toddler, you’re soon going to discover just how important sun safety actually is for our kids and for ourselves. This five-minute video produced by the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund has been making the social media rounds because it addresses the scary realities of a cancer that is often overlooked. And considering how much time we (and our kids) spend in the sun, we really need to be thankful there are so many products out there now that will help us stay protected—from natural sunscreens, to UV protective clothing, sunglasses, swimsuits and more.

So take a moment to watch this video and share it with your kids—it might just lead to the end of sunscreen application complaints and to a lifelong (and lifesaving) habit.

PS - Printer paper with perforated holes will finally become irrelevant. So you can stop swearing now.