This give away has now closed. The winner was Lioness Lady – “I have very fond memories of laying out on the banana lounges with my sisters slathered in coconut oil… not hat, shade or sunscreen in sight! Can you imagine doing that these days??!! My kids aren’t allowed out without hats, rashies and repeated lashings of sunscreen.”
This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.
This is me with my beautiful three sisters back in the very early 80’s. Can you guess which one is me? Yep, that’s me on the far right. And if you look closely you will see both my older sister and I have decent sets of freckles.
We grew up in Mildura, where the average annual temperature is 31.7 degrees Celsius. In summer we would play out side pretty much all day, playing under the sprinkler in our bathers, using the wading pool placed in the shade and taking part in long games of back yard cricket.
We didn’t wear hats, we didn’t apply sunscreen daily, nor wear rashies. We would even openly lay out in the sun!
With my complexion (totally and utterly fair) this took its toll, with numerous cases of sunburn each summer. While I can remember being conscious of not getting sunburnt because it hurt, I never thought past the peeling with regard to the damage it would do to my body.
This photo of our kids was taken about three years ago in summer. The older two may have had the odd freckle, but their little faces have never experienced sun burn and peeling like mine did.
And most importantly the kids are aware of the dangers the sun can bring. We have talked about sun safety at home – why they need to wear sunscreen, wear hats and cover up.
These messages are also reinforced at school. Like most schools, our kids school has a “no hat, no play” policy. If the kids forget their hat, they have to play in the undercover area of the playground (where no ball games are allowed, which is the definition of torture for my boys).
Sun safety is also incorporated into the curriculum. Just recently our daughter in year two was learning about UV rays – specifically UVA and UVB. It is important for the kids to understand about UV rays, so they know that sunscreen isn’t just for “sunny” days.
Sun safety is a part of our daily routine. We have the sunscreen on the bathroom bench right next to the toothbrushes. After the kids have brushed their teeth in the morning, those that are able apply sunscreen themselves.
During the school week in terms one and four, the kids need to apply sunscreen every day to their faces and arms. I find for kids to remember things like this, it needs to be part of a routine and a visual prompt, like having it right in front of them works best.
We have been trying the Hamilton family sunscreen. It is a broad spectrum UVA + UVB sunscreen, which everyone can use on their body and face. It provides four hours water resistance. The smell is subtle and it isn’t greasy which I like. It is easy enough to wash any excess of little hands too. (the toddler and preschooler can at times be a little heavy handed on how much they squeeze out of the bottle!)
Hamilton Sunscreen Give Away
You can win a Hamilton Sunscreen Pack as photographed above. It includes 1x Family, 1x Sensitive and 1x Toddler 125 mls bottles of sunscreen.
Full T&C’s are here. To enter all you need to do is:
- Leave a comment below letting me know about your experiences with sun safety as a kid.
- The giveaway is open to Australian residents only.
- You may only enter once.
- Entries close at 5pm 14th Dec 2011.
- Entries will be short listed. From this list of entries, Nuffnang will judge the winner.
- Good luck!