Sun Hats on Children - Is it Worth the Battle?

Getting a child to wear a sun hat can be a real battle.

Some kids hate them and will thwart any attempts by concerned parents to cover their heads.

It can turn into a real summertime war.
So, does it really matter if your son or daughter goes bareheaded in summer at midday? The recent drive to get young people to cover their heads in the summer is part of a growing response to the awareness of the damage of UV rays. There has been substantial research into the effects of early exposure to solar radiation, and the consensus is that sun damage in youth is a cause of melanoma (skin cancer) later in life and that up to eighty percent of skin damage, due to UV exposure, is done before the age of 18.

People with melanoma are twice as likely to have suffered at least one bad sunburn during childhood.

The number of people in the UK developing melanoma has quadrupled since the 1970s; mirroring the growing up of the tan-worship generation.
Common sites of skin damage and skin cancer are the neck, ears, temples, lips, face and nose.

It is enough to make you reach for your panama. Certainly the government thinks the danger is real enough to fund the Sun Smart campaign, which launched in 2003 through Cancer Research UK and provides guidance to families and schools on UV protection. Included in this, is advice to Governors of UK schools to encourage pupils to wear wide brimmed or legionnaire style hats when outside.

So, if the battle to get your kids to wear a hat is worthwhile, how do you win the battle? You can take away their choice, as they do in Australia and New Zealand where culture dictates that kids cover their heads in the summertime.

'Downunder' you don't negotiate: the common rule is your son or daughter covers up or doesn't go out.

Most schools include hats as compulsory school uniform. Everyone wears one, it becomes habit, the battle is won.

Alternatively, you give them a choice. The Australian Cancer Council recommends three styles of head cover to offer optimum sun protection: legionnaire; broad brimmed or bucket, all of which provide good shade to the face (they don't recommend baseball caps, which don't cover ears or neck).

There is a huge variety of good quality sun hats in these styles available on the high street and from specialist websites. Let your child make the choice to choose and wear a style they like - The battle is won. Children get into the habit of flipping on a legionnaire or bucket cap in the summertime, it becomes part of their summer culture. And as a new generation of young people grow up with UV awareness as part of their lifestyle, we should, in time, see a drop in the numbers of adults suffering skin cancer.