It’s Summertime – Protect those Baby Blues

We’re talking about protecting kids’ eyes from the UV rays of the sun.

According to Dr. Mark Borchert, a pediatric ophthalmologist and the director of The Vision Center at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, the lens of a child allows 70% more UV rays to reach the delicate retina than in an adult. Most parents are aware of the critical need to protect their children’s skin from UV exposure, yet few insist their children wear sunglasses.

“If it is bright enough outdoors for you to be wearing sunglasses, your child should also be wearing them,” he said.

This is BIG, and few of us mamas have the information we need to take it seriously. I’ll come clean here and tell you that none of my three wore sunglasses when they were small. It just wasn’t on my radar screen. We’re all busy protecting our kids from so many threats out there … who thinks about the sun in their eyes? But to help prevent cataracts and vision loss when they’re older adults, here are some things we can do.

First (and most important), wear sunglasses yourself. Small kids are imitators, and just as your toddlin’ daughter grabs those spike heels out of your closet, and your son pretends to shave in the mirror with his dad, those cool Ray Bans are coveted too.

Next, start early. And I mean early. If you put those suckers on before your baby can reach them to pull ‘em off, she’ll be comfortable with it before it occurs to her to protest. Make sure they’re not the ‘fashion shades’ designed to be cute, but the full spectrum protection she needs.

And don’t forget the hat. A decent brim can go a long way to block exposure to those damaging rays. The ‘start early’ rule applies here, too. Kids who wear hats from tiny infant days don’t know any different and aren’t inclined to pull them off. I can’t count how many really cute hats were tossed out of strollers by my gang when I wasn’t looking ’cause I started too late.

So shrink that burden of guilt and start protecting those little baby blues …or browns, or greens … today. You can never get enough of that feeling of mommy pride knowing you’re doing the right thing.