Everyone loves summer, what with all the fun activities and food. It is a great time to go out as a family and enjoy the sun while it’s still warm enough outside. The season, however, comes with a higher risk of exposure to harmful sun rays that can have devastating effects on your baby’s skin. Here are a few things you need to know when purchasing a hat for your baby:

BABY HATS PROTECT BABY’S SKIN FROM UVB AND UVA SUN RAYS

This is not as technical as it may sound. Basically, there are two main types of sun rays; UVA and UVB.

UVA rays are mainly responsible for ageing and wrinkling of the skin. They have also been found to cause some kind of skin cancers, including melanoma. The ozone layer absorbs a substantial amount of these rays, but those that slip through are enough to cause devastating problems.

UVB rays, on the other hand, are responsible for immediate effects such as sunburns and cataracts. They also cause skin cancers.

While the obvious solution would seem to be sunscreen and sunblock, remember it is not advisable to use it on babies under six months. A hat would block these rays just fine.

THEY MAKE GREAT FASHION ACCESSORIES

Image by esudroff from Pixabay

Yeah, a cute hat can go well with anything. It’s almost as if children and kidswear items are all designed to look good with a hat. You can be a fashionable mum and make a good colour match of the hat and something else, like their shoes or shirt. If you have a baby boy, you can get them an outfit with a hat that looks almost the same as Daddy’s.

You have to admit that it’s an adorable sight when the baby is wearing their cute floppy hat and sticking their little pink tongue out for some more ice cream.

MORE WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR BABY FROM THE SUN

Unless you are going to the beach with a newborn, it is practically impossible to keep a toddler or crawling baby out of the sun. Here are some ways you can protect them from harmful rays when they are out there:

• Keep the child indoors when the sun is hottest. You can bring them out in the late afternoon or evening when it’s still warm.
• But some wrap-around sunglasses for your baby. These will protect their eyes when it’s too bright.
• Dress them in dark and tightly knit clothes that reduce the rays seeping to the skin.
• Get the baby a hat that covers not just their heads but also the neck, ears, and shades their face.

Conclusively, it is important to remember, even in the fun summer times, that a baby’s skin is delicate, and that cancer is real. Sunburns sustained at such a young age have been known to result in skin cancer in adulthood. Baby hats will save you a great deal, especially if you and your baby are fair skinned. Remember, prevention is better than cure.