A Big Sunny No-No

Families increasingly concerned about babies’ sun safety

By Blair Koch
Times-News correspondent

With a rainstorm finally blown through Magic Valley, Tuesday’s clear sky and beautiful day brought an opportunity for sisters Olivia Alvarez and Isabel Flores to take their children for a walk through historic downtown Twin Falls.

Both had baby girls tucked comfortably in strollers and other children skipping beside them. The older kids had been covered with sunscreen prior to the outing, and the infants were under canopies – safer from the sun’s rays in the shade.

“I’ve got the sunscreen right here,” Flores said, pulling a tube out of a diaper bag. “For later.”

Flores said she would have put sunscreen on her 5-month-old daughter, Madison, along with her other kids but recently learned the chemicals aren’t safe for her.

“I have a hat here but didn’t put it on her since the canopy is over her and that should keep her safe,” Flores said. “If she comes out of the stroller, the hat will go on.”

The sisters would make Susie Beem proud. As comprehensive cancer program coordinator with South Central Public Health District, Beem is educating other parents to do just what Alvarez and Flores are doing to keeping their babies sun-safe.

“Studies are showing that even just a couple sunburns early in life increases the possibility of getting skin cancer later on,” Beem said. “That’s why we’re engaged in our ‘No Sun For Baby’ campaign.”

The program highlights the importance of sun protection for children of all ages and educates parents not to use sunscreen on babies younger than 6 months.

Sunscreen’s chemical makeup impairs a baby’s natural cooling response through perspiration. Proportionally, infants have more skin than adults and can have a hard time keeping cool.

Not to worry: There are many ways to keep baby sun-safe without sunscreen, Beem said.

“You should seek shade whenever possible and limit time in the sun,” she said.

The sun’s rays are the strongest between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., so try to keep baby indoors for those six hours. When outside, Beem said, make sure baby is covered with a shirt and a wide-brimmed hat that shields the ears.

To get parents on the right track, the district is giving away more than 600 wide-brimmed hats for infants under 6 months and passing out sunscreen to parents with older children. The items are given to parents, like Flores, participating in the district’s Women, Infants and Children program.

“Some parents do know the risks of sun exposure, and others aren’t aware of the need to keep baby sun-free,” said WIC clinical assistant Ofelia Escobedo. “We hope this campaign helps spread the message.”

In the private sector, the sun-free message has been gaining ground and parents are seeking protection that is both useful and fashionable.

Erin Gray, co-owner of the Twin Falls all-baby store 9 Months Later, said wide-brimmed hats and other sun-protection gear are hot sellers this season.

As part of an outdoorsy family and a new mother herself, Gray understands the concern. “We’re outside a lot in the summer and this entire area is full of recreational people �- when we go outdoors the children come along.”

She said parents are becoming more aware about the need to protect baby from the rays. Companies are gearing items to those informed parents: sun-resistant clothing, take-along canopies and sun-shield strollers.

Protective sunglasses are also hot sellers, and many are styled with straps that wrap around baby’s head and Velcro into place.

Start when they’re young, Gray said, “so when they’re older it will be second nature to put on the sunscreen.”

Meanwhile, her son Camden Gray looks darn cute in wide-brimmed hats – an accessory his mom says will be worn even though he’s old enough to be lathered in sunscreen.