Your kids hate sunscreen or they are sensitive to the chemicals used in sunscreen. You know that too much sun is the primary cause of skin cancer later in life. In addition, overexposure to the sun causes painful sunburn and can cause permanent skin damage, resulting later in skin that is wrinkled and lacks elasticity.
How can you protect your child from the sun’s ultraviolet rays at the pool, the lake, or the beach, without confining them under an umbrella or making them wear hot cover-ups over their bathing suits?
The answer may be a UPF swim shirt, which is light weight and cool but provides protection from ultraviolet light up to SPF 50. Available at conventional clothing stores like Old Navy, at sporting goods stores like REI, and from a variety on-line merchants, these shirts come in a variety of sizes, fabrics, styles, and colors. Even the most girly-girl or dedicated tom-boy will find a shirt that suits her taste. Boys’ options range from sedate and traditional to bright and unconventional designs.
When shopping for a UPF swim shirt, make sure that the style provides adequate coverage of your child’s back, chest and arms. Remember that only the skin covered by the shirt is protected from the sun. Match the shirt’s SPF value to the value recommended for sunscreen for your child’s skin tones. The fairer the child’s skin, the higher the SPF value should be.
Some swim shirts also provide flotation inserts to provide the child with buoyancy. Note that the flotation inserts do not replace a life jacket and/or the supervision of a vigilant adult when a child is in or near water.
The shirt fabric is usually polyester, but other fibers such as Lycra(R) to add stretchiness may be mixed into the fabric. The polyester fabric is normally chlorine resistant, lightweight, and very sturdy. Colors are typically bright colors or intense dark colors. In areas where the sun is very strong, you’ll probably want to select lighter brighter colors, because they reflect rather than absorb the sun’s heat.
For swim shirts, a loose fit is acceptable unless the garment is so large that exposes too much of the child’s skin. Loose fit also assures that air can circulate around the child’s body in hot weather. Sizes are usually based on the child’s height (length) and weight or on standard sizes for children’s clothing, for example 3 to 6X for little girls. Swim shirts are available in infant sizes and extend to teen and adults sizes for both boys and girls.
One of the advantages of a swim shirt is that it allows a child to have a stylish swimsuit or bathing trunks, as well as protection from the sun. However, if style is not a big issue for your child, you may want to consider a swimsuit that provides ultraviolet protection. Resembling the one piece suits of the turn of the century 1900s, these suits do not appeal to everyone. Despite bright colors and appealing prints, these one piece suits may be too reminiscent of a one-piece long underwear (or union suit) for some style-minded kids.
Many of the shirts come with matching accessories, such as hats, sun glasses, and water shoes. A floppy hat to match the shirt will help protect your child’s face and eyes from the effects of the sun. Select a sun hat in a fabric that matches or compliments the colors in the shirt. Hats come in two styles—with large floppy brims all around, or with a long flap of fabric to protect the back of the neck and upper back. Choose the hat that gives your child the most coverage. For older children for whom style may be more important than function, you can select the style that they will willingly wear.
