March 17, 2016

Skin is especially sensitive when traveling from extreme winter to a summer location. Summer sun is bright and strong somewhere in the world at any given time of the year. Whether you\’re traveling to the sun or it\’s coming to your neck of the woods, it\’s a good time to be concerned and prepared for sun and skin – especially skin cancer. April is Skin Cancer Awareness month but it\’s a serious issue any time of the year. I\’m the #BrainyFitnessTMOM so my focus is on the brain and travel but here is some brainy workout fun which could save part or all of your kids skin. As a concerned #TravelingMom myself, travel is fun, skin cancer is not.   Jumpstart your creativity with cream Sunscreen comes in all textures in pump, spray or tube. (Spray doesn\’t work as well for this Brainy Fitness fun). Give each child a hug first and say the words, \”I love you and I want to protect you.\” Now the \”creative part” begins. Make a game of slathering it on your kids skin. Slather it on and then draw lightly to etch lines and shapes into the sunscreen – my favorites are stripes and swirls and smiley faces although squiggles are easy and fun to do as well. They are creamy tatts! Kids love tattoos of all colors, shapes and characters. Add this to their body decor. Kids enjoy being creative whatever the medium so keep the play going as you protect your loved ones and pass on a lifelong and potentially lifesaving tradition. Brimming with protection Choose hats using a few criteria: –Hats that shield your face by color. Light colors reflect the sun away and dark colors absorb potentially harmful rays. Have them count by category the hats others are wearing throughout the day for some brain stimulation. (Let\’s count how many baseball caps, how many WHITE base caps, etc) –Brim shape and size. The bigger the brim, the better the protection. Here\’s a case where size matters! ;D! –Don\’t forget the brim in the back counts for extra protection points! –Choose kid friendly and easy maintenance materials. Nylon and synthetic materials wear well, can be squished into a beach bag and come up looking none the worse for wear while all the sunscreen gels and creams which can discolor cotton easily wash out. There are some pretty wild lighter colors to choose from when sticking with synthetics. Lime green and fluorescent yellow are two of my favorites. You can discuss colors to bring in some Brain Fitness fun. Don\’t forget the feet! Summer is a time for sandals, which exposes those tootsies and tender tops of feet. Use white cotton socks for that touristy look or slather on some cream – whichever works best for your crowd. Small exposed surfaces can cause big problems Be aware of those small slivers of skin – make sure to cover the tops and lobes of ears, under the chin is a must to protect from reflection off the water and don\’t forget the tops of hands including fingers and of course, the nose!   The Brainy Fitness opportunities never stop Discuss the amount and shape of sunscreen you are using to bring on the Brain Fitness benefit during this process. Are you using a dab, a dot, a large vs small blob of sunscreen? Get kids to be aware of ounces (the total tube is 4 oz., and we used how much to protect you/the family? Money can be brought in for some brainy life lessons to jumpstart their lifelong love of calculation: The entire bottle cost $10.00 and if we used 10% or one tenth of it, we would be using a dollar\’s worth — and then absolutely say \”the protection of your body is well worth every penny!\” which also helps build self-esteem in a loving way. Remember… It\’s much better to hear the groans and complaints when you make your kids wear a tee shirt in the water or grousing about the cream they have to endure putting on regularly than the crying and mewling sounds in their sleep from the pain of too much sun while having fun. They will thank you decades from now for the tradition of protection you started as people around them are dealing with skin cancer. Summer travel with kids can be easier by following: Tips for Less Stressful Summer Travel. See and article by TMOM @KimOrlando HERE and # Summer Travel Ideas for Toddlers By #TMOM @AmandaTopinka HERE. Note: As I was writing and researching for this article and Melanoma Month (which is May), I came across #TMOM Desiree Miller and her personal blog which Traveling Mom was kind enough to post HERE and is a good reminder of the scary reasons we should protect our kids while having fun in the sun. I personally like to use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF70. Stay safe as you play hard!