Kids Hats
Do you want your children to spend some time outside playing, but you’re worried about sun protection?
If so, you should check out the kids hats for sun . These hats let them have the carefree and fun childhood in the sun you want them to have, while protecting their delicate little features from harmful rays.
Ears and scalps can burn in just minutes on a really sunny day, so it’s important to protect those areas, and a hat is a quick and easy way to do it.
When Should Kids Start Wearing Sun Hats?
Sun hats are the great idea right from the very beginning. They make sun hats that you can strap under your baby’s chin, fastening with a snap or a drawstring so they stay put. A newborn’s skin is so delicate and unaccustomed to sunlight that they can burn easily. It can set them up for dehydration depending upon how long they’ve been out in the sun. In addition, the single severe sunburn as a baby or child can double their risk of someday developing melanoma.
Pro Tip: If you want to make sure your child misses the most harmful sun rays of the day, keep them out of the sun during the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.
You should keep using sun hats until your child no longer lets you as they get bigger. But you’ll be able to call the shots for years, which will give your child plenty of sun protection. While they’re young, teach them about sun safety so they’ll remember that lesson as they get older — you can use fun videos to help you.
5 Features To Look For
When your child is heading outside, you may think that any old hat is good enough to offer sun protection. And it’s definitely better to use a regular hat than nothing at all, but your best bet is to look for one specifically made for use in the sun.
Here are some features they should have:
A UPF Rating
Ultraviolet Protection Factor is as much like the Sun Protection Factor that is used for sunscreens. The only difference is that the UPF applies to clothing, not a lotion. A UPF rating is used to let consumers know how well a clothing article or hat can block ultraviolet radiation.
If an article of clothing or hat has a UPF of 25 that means that just 1/25th of the sun’s UV radiation will work its way through the fabric and onto a person’s skin . The highest UPF factor is 50 plus.
While you can buy hats that don’t have UPF ratings, you may not be getting great protection from the sun. Still, if you don’t have a hat with a UPF rating with you and your child is about to get some sun exposure, a regular hat is better than using nothing at all.
A Back Flap
Back flaps are the good idea for sun hats because they help protect your child’s back of the neck from sunburn.
If you have a daughter with long hair, it’s not as much of an issue — their hair will help protect their neck. But if you have a son or a daughter with short hair, you should consider getting a hat with a back flap.
On some of the hats, the neck flap also goes down over the ears and onto the side of the neck.
That’s particularly useful because ears are often one of the most exposed and sun damaged spots on men. As such, it’s one of the prime areas for skin cancer to strike.
A Wide Brim
The brim should be wide enough and long enough to provide enough shade for your child’s face. That will give their nose a additional protection from the sun.
You can get that the added protection with bucket style hats that have the same length of the brim all the way around. Or you can opt for a trucker style hat with a wide front brim.
A Chin Strap
Chin straps on hats are good for more than just babies. They also are a great idea for the older kids, particularly ones who like to wear their hats but are in windy areas, like beaches.
For toddlers who can’t stand having a tight chin strap against their skin, you can opt to use a drawstring cord instead. It’ll stop the hat from blowing away in windy conditions.
If you use a drawstring cord type of strap that does hug snugly to the chin, it’s best if it is a breakaway chin strap to prevent a choking or suffocation hazard.
A Moisture Wicking Barrier
When your child is outside in the summer, they’re going to become a sweaty mess in record time. Part of this is because it’s hot out, and part of it will be because they’re kids and they naturally are going to be very active.
You might be content sitting in the shade, sipping on an ice-cold beverage while you watch them, but they’re going to be running around like they’ve just gotten a Get Out of Jail Free card.
Because they’ll be so sweaty, it will be good if there is a headband or sweatband built into the hat to absorb all the moisture from their foreheads.