DAVID GOLDING | Cancer Council summer clothing takes the effort out of UV protection.
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Slip a sun suit on your kids this summer
David Golding
8 November, 2010
Slip! Slop! Slap!
It's been 30 years since Sid the Seagull started encouraging the use of a shirt, sunscreen, and a hat. Video: Cancer Council Victoria
Sunburnt childhoods, whether on the beach or in the backyard, could be a thing of the past if the promotion of summer clothing from Cancer Council Victoria is successful. SunSmart clothing is targeted at kids as young as three-months-old in an effort both to protect their delicate skin and to develop sun smart habits later in life.
The injunction to “Slip! Slop! Slap!” is embedded in the Australian psyche and has had great success in reducing rates of skin cancer. Yet while kids might enjoy a sing-along with Sid the Seagull, it is adults who have to follow his advice on their children’s behalf.
All parents know that three-year-olds may be small but they lack all inhibitions about fighting back when they’re being subjected to something they don’t understand and don’t like — such as being covered head-to-toe in sunscreen.
Penny Gordon, 33, a doctor and mother of two, says, “I always loved the beach as a kid and couldn’t wait to share it with my child. I looked for bathers and bought some and a rash top but everytime I picked him up it rode up and exposed half his body. When he crawled his shorts fell down! Even when he was ‘covered up’ I had to first cover him in sunscreen, a process that was not fun, let me tell you.”
This is why Cancer Council Victoria is selling the SunSmart range of summer clothing for infants and children. For sizes 00 to 3, there are long-sleeve, long-leg rash suits with matching legionnaire-style caps. For sizes 2 to 8, there are full-length stinger suits. All come in a variety of colours such as pink, blue, peach, and lime. And for children who wear nappies, lycra swim nappies are also available.
Covered up at the beach in a full-length stinger suit and cap.
“I was so pleased to find the all-in-one suits because they offer excellent sun protection and he couldn’t wriggle out of them,” says Penny. “It’s part of the beach routine now and he has learnt a lot about being sun smart and saved many sunscreen battles because it’s a lot easier to do face, hands, and feet than a whole wriggling body.”
Parents will also be happy to know that, unlike the regular clothing, the SunSmart clothes are durable, with the stinger suit using special chloresist fabric that is resistant to both sea water and chlorine. Long life is important if the suits are to develop the habit of covering as much skin as possible.
A spokesperson for Cancer Council Victoria said that national rate of skin cancer in the zero to nine age group was low, but the rates increase with each age group. Sun suits could help in three ways. First in directly protecting the skin of children, second in demonstrating to the children that their parents are interested in sun protection, and third, in being a prominent reminder for adults to cover their own skin.
Where to buy sun-protective clothing
SunSmart clothes can be bought online from the Cancer Council Victoria Shop or in person at the corner of Victoria and Rathdowne Streets, Carlton 3053.
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