Skin Care for Kids - Slather and Scrub

As the body's largest organ, the role of your skin is to protect your organs on the inside, to keep you warm when you are cold, to cool you off when you are hot, and to keep infections out of your body. It's a big job, thus our skin is worth taking care of.

It's especially important for parents to follow a skin care regimen for kids to protect them from the sun and bugs, as well as to ensure they are properly cleaning and moisturizing their skin. Following are tips on skin care for kids:

Sun Care
Apply sunscreen daily to all children 6 months of age or older. Keep infants out of the sun.

Use a sunscreen designed for kids - one that contains a sun blocker such as titanium oxide or zinc oxide.

Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen for older kids - one that protects against both UVA and UVB rays - with an SPF of 15 or higher.

Apply sunscreen 30 minutes prior to exposure, then re-apply every 2 hours.

Lead by example and be a role model for your kids by applying sunscreen to yourself to teach healthy habits.

Bug Protection
Apply insect repellent to all children 6 months of age or older.

Use an insect repellent with a child-approved dose of DEET.

If you live in an area with a high concentration of mosquitoes or are planning on visiting such an area, dress or pack appropriately. The best protection is from clothes, like long sleeves, pants, a hat and sunglasses. Extra clothing can also help protect against poison ivy and poison oak.

Bath Time
Use a fragrance-free, hypo-allergenic, soapless cleanser (available at most grocery stores).

Limit your usage of bubble baths and bath products with fragrances and colors as these tend to dry out children's skin.

Avoid scrubs and cleansers with exfoliants. These tend to dry and irritate children's skin.

Apply a hypo-allergenic, fragrance-free moisturizer to your child after every bath or shower.

Use these skin care tips for kids to keep their skin healthy. With the proper protection from sun and bugs and a proper cleansing regimen, their skin will be around to protect them when you're not.

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