With summer upon us, parents are hot to ask me about sun protection for their children.

Let me see if I have any bright ideas on this topic.

First, it is important to remember that there is no such thing as a healthy suntan.

One blistering sunburn on a child’s sensitive skin will double their risk of getting skin cancer as an adult. Even getting a suntan that doesn’t burn will increase the risk of skin cancer if appropriate sun protection is not used.

The good news is that the use of sunscreens can reduce this skin damage and the risk of skin cancer by 80%.

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Best Practices

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¯ Infants under six months should never be in the sun due to their thin sensitive skin. If they are, they should be shielded from the sun’s ultraviolent light using a sunshade on strollers or an umbrella on the beach. Infant sunglasses are a must as well.

¯ Sunglasses for infants and children should be ones that block out the ultraviolet light to protect those eyes. It is now clear that the risk of danger to the retina from the sun’s rays is greatest in children less than 10 years of age, even though the consequences are not apparent until adulthood.

¯ Make sure your children know sunscreen is a requirement and not an option. Use waterproof or sweat-resistant sunscreen on all shades of skin, whether dark or light, with an SPF of at least 30 up to 50. There is no data that says there is any added advantage to having SPF over 50.

¯ Apply sunscreen generously to your child, meaning applying it every one and a half to two hours starting 30 minutes before going out into the sun, and reapplying every one and a half to two hours and more frequently than that after swimming or sweating a lot.

¯ Although sunscreens have recently been approved for infants for their exposed faces and backs of hands assuming they are otherwise clothed and in the shade, I still say infants should not be out in the sun rather than be exposed to it — even with sunscreen on.

¯ Plan your outdoor activities before 10:00am or after 4:00pm when the sun’s rays are not at their brightest.

¯ If a sunburn occurs, ease the pain with acetaminophen, cool compresses and aloe vera lotion or gel. This will reduce the redness and take the sting out of the burn. Remember, it is much easier to prevent a burn than to have to treat it.

Hopefully, tips like these will bring rays of hope to you and your child when it comes to shedding some light — just not sunlight — if you want to protect your child’s skin from the dangers of the sun.

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Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.