Cool Summer Babies

Enjoying the Summer with your baby is a wonderful time for parents, and keeping your little ones cool and safe is essential during these hot months. Even when it is not very hot, or even especially sunny, the UV rays from the light can still harm. It is important to remember that we need to protect our children and ourselves from the sun all year round, not just the hotter months. The following information is given in the hope that we can provide you with some helpful ideas and safe sun sense, allowing you and your babies to keep cool and less stressed in the heat this summer.

 

Babies cannot regulate their own body temperature so making some simple changes whilst around the home or out and about will help bub to avoid overheating, getting sunburnt or even developing heatstroke.

At home:-

• Make sure your baby or child is in the coolest part of the house.
• Remove unnecessary bedding from the cot to allow air to circulate.
• Try and dress your baby/child in 100% cotton, with the same amount of clothes as yourself, or even just a vest and nappy.
• Put on the air conditioning if you have it, or open windows in several rooms throughout the house to create a breeze.
• Fans are useful but do not direct them at your baby, and always turn the fan on before your baby's bedtime to allow the room time to cool down.
• Hang wet towels over chairs in front of fans or windows to cool the air. (The evaporating water causes cooling).
• Keep curtains and blinds closed during the day to prevent the sun from heating up the room/house.
• Give baby a tepid (just warm) bath before bed to cool them down.
• Provide extra breast feeds or bottles of cooled boiled water if baby is formula fed to ensure they stay hydrated.
• Keep a careful eye on baby and watch for a dry mouth, dry nappies or sleepiness. If your baby seems to sleep for longer stretches than usual, wake baby to breastfeed or offer cool boiled water.
• If using a highchair to feed an older baby, try placing a wet towel on the seat and remove baby's nappy.

Out and About:-

• Keep a watch on baby whilst asleep in the stroller as they can quickly become hot and airless.
• Avoid travelling in the car if possible, especially between 10am -3pm when the inside of the car is at its hottest, put a terry towel or window screen cover over car windows as babies can burn through the glass.
• Never leave your baby asleep in the car even with the windows open as temperatures inside a parked car can rise frighteningly quickly.
• Choose a hat with a broad brim to protect face, ears and neck, and try wetting baby’s hat as this will have an instant cooling effect.
• Cover as much skin as possible with loose fitting clothes or closely woven fabric wraps.
• Try to plan the day’s activities around 10am – 3pm to minimise the amount of sun exposure.
• Make use of available shade for baby in the stroller or play area and regularly check shade positioning, hat and clothing are providing maximum UV protection.
• Apply a Broad Spectrum water resistant sunscreen to any small areas unable to be covered by clothes such as ears, hands, feet, and face. Sunscreen needs to be applied 20 minutes prior to sun exposure then reapplied every 2 hours as it is worn or washed off.
• SUNSCREENS can be a worry to some parents that believe they may be harmful to babies’ health but there has been no evidence to suggest that sunscreen have harmed babies, it is still always best to protect your baby with hats and clothing as a first option. If your baby does react to sunscreen then talk to your doctor or try an alternative product such as a non chemical based sunscreen which is non-toxic and a safe option for babies and children.

BE A PREVENTATIVE PARENT

The Cancer Council Australia state that current evidence suggests childhood sun exposure makes an important contribution to the risk of skin cancer in adulthood. The cumulative nature of sun damage suggests that infants should be protected from UV radiation from the day they are born. Babies up to 12 months should not be deliberately exposed to the sun and when at all possible kept indoors. As we all know, some sunlight is beneficial in providing our bodies with the production of vitamin D, we are fortunate that the Australian climate provides generous amounts of sunshine so babies that are outdoors before the hours of 10am and after 4pm obtaining small amounts of sunshine will receive enough to maintain healthy vitamin D levels with the use of sun protection.

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