California Skin Cancer Prevention Program

Pre-School/Early Childhood

CA Early Childhood Sun Safety Education Kit

Early Education Cover Letter

The Sun Safety Educational Kit is designed for use with children, three to five years of age. This kit includes:

• California Early Childhood Sun Protection Curriculum and Evaluation (PDF)
  
  
• Hot Shots DVD (order only) and Activity Packet (PDF)
  
  
• "Alex the Alligator" Poster (PDF)
  
  
• Guidelines for Outdoor Play Booklet (PDF)
  
  
• The ABCDEs of Melenoma Brochure (order only)
  
  
• For Parents: Fact Sheet (PDF)
  
  
• Stickers (order only)

Some of the kit materials are available for printing in the link above or you can order a copy of the kit by completing the  Sun Safety Materials Order Form.

If you have used the Sun Safety Educational Kit please take time to complete our online Sun Safety Early Education Kit Evaluation form.

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Guidelines for Outdoor Play - Sun Protection Tips for Child Care & Preschool Site Use (PDF)

Introduction

Skin cancer is now considered epidemic throughout the nation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over one million residents in the United States are expected to get skin cancer this year. That’s more people than the collective total of all who will get cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, and colon. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays in sunlight causes
90 percent of skin cancer cases. Risk for skin cancer can be greatly reduced when certain precautions are practiced.

Following are the basic strategies for preventing skin cancer. Secondly, the sun safety tips are translated into guidelines for outdoor play that child care staff are encouraged to incorporate into a sun protection policy they create for their site.

Basic Personal Strategies for Preventing Skin Cancer

1. Reduce exposure to sunlight from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the winter).
2. Seek shade when outside in the sun.
3. Cover up when outside in sunlight by wearing a wide-brimmed hat, long-sleeved shirt, and full-length pants (weather permitting).
4. Use sunglasses that state they protect from 100 percent of UVA and UVB (broad-spectrum). Most sunglasses now offer 100 percent protection. UV-protective coatings should be added to prescription glasses.
5. 30 minutes before going outside, apply broad-spectrum (UVA & UVB) sunscreen (SPF 15 or greater) to exposed skin.
6. Use lip balm that has a SPF rating of at least 15.

Suggested Guidelines for Outdoor Play

There may likely be some sun safety guideline statements presented here that contain elements that are not feasible for inclusion in the sun protection policy developed and adopted by your facility. Administrators are encouraged to include and integrate as many of the directives that prove practical (sometimes with modification) into the guidelines or policy they
create.

1. Whenever possible, outdoor activities will be scheduled before 10 a.m. and/or after 4 p.m. (from March through October). The availability of shade will be considered when planning such activities during these time frames.
   
   
2. For all outdoor activities occurring on sunny (non-rainy) days (especially between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), children and youth will be encouraged to:
   
   
   • Play in shaded areas
     
     
   • Wear full length clothing that includes:
     
     
   • four-inch or more wide-brimmed hats that, when worn, create a shadow that completely covers the head, face, nose, ears, and neck. (Flappy-jacks, patterened somewhat like a baseball hat with neck flaps, may prove a practical alternative).
   • long-sleeved shirts and full-length pants made of tightly woven fabric that is lightweight and light colored. (This strategy applies when temperatures are reasonable.)
     
     
   • Wear sunglasses that protect from 100 percent of UVA & UVB (broad-spectrum). UV-protective coatings should be added to prescription glasses.
     
     
   • Thirty minutes before going outside, apply a SPF-15 or greater broad-spectrum (UVA/UVB), water-resistant sunscreen to exposed skin.
     
     
   • Use lip balm that has a SPF rating of at least 15.
     
     
3. A grounds committee (or other appointed group) will develop and implement, according to an established time table (specify), a plan to place sufficient trees and/or construct shelters that provide shade sufficient for protecting people that engage in outdoor activities occurring at __________.
   (Note: In most cases, the preferred location for providing shade will be along the borders of recognized play areas or sports fields. This will allow children and staff to easily access shade when they are not actively engaged in a field sport or other activities.)
   
   
4. (Specify as needed...) A parent or guardian will provide the above described (choose...) hat, full-length clothing, dark glasses, and sunscreen. Additionally, the parent or guardian will be encouraged to sign and present to __________ the Parent’s/Guardian’s Permission to Apply Sunscreen to His or Her Child form (see Appendix Two in the California Early Childhood Sun Protection Curriculum) that permits agency staff to apply sunscreen to specified child (ren) as necessary.
   
   
5. Sun protection (skin cancer prevention) training and materials will be provided to staff and parents to assist in the introduction and implementation of these guidelines.
   
   
6. While on duty, staff are encouraged to practice sun safety principles/strategies to serve as good role models for children.
   
   
7. These guidelines will be communicated and reinforced to staff, students, and parents through notices, newsletters, and meetings, etc., and above all - institutional PRACTICE.
   
   
8. Site staff will conduct an annual review of the sun-safety guidelines and the degree to which staff and children practice skin cancer prevention behaviors, onsite.

 

 

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