News Releases

May 16, 2006
PARENTS SPECIAL: SUN SAFETY AND KIDS
-Parents Editors Available for Interviews-

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT HIGH SPF SUNSCREEN
Special Parents Magazine Report, Created With the American Academy of Dermatology, Presents Comprehensive Safety Guide From the Nation’s Leading Experts

NEW YORK – Many of us are simply too lax when it comes to sun safety.

For example: in a poll of more than 3,700 Parents readers, only 38 percent of those surveyed said that they put sunscreen on their children every day in the summer – and only 7 percent do so year-round, as experts recommend.

Created in partnership with the American Academy of Dermatology, the special Parents Magazine Report, “Get Serious About Sun Safety,” provides a comprehensive guide to sun safety including all the steps families can take now to save their children’s lives. It’s estimated that a child will get more than half of his lifetime sun exposure before age 18, says Parents. But sun smart protection throughout childhood can decrease his skin-cancer risk by 80 percent.

Wearing high SPF products have lulled some into a false sense of security, and in fact sunscreen is just one aspect of skin-cancer prevention. Equally essential: limiting time in the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., seeking shade, putting on a hat and wearing protective clothing.

“Wearing sunscreen doesn’t make it safe for you to stay out in the sun all day, just like wearing a seat belt doesn’t make it safe for you to drive 100 miles per hour,” says expert Andrea Cambio, M.D., a pediatric and adult dermatologist in New York City.

“Get Serious About Sun Safety” includes:

Eight Ways Doctors Protect Their Own Kids: Smart ways to stay safe, including:
• Fill a basket by your front door with sunglasses, hats and sunscreen
• Keep sunscreen in all your bags
• Put tubes of SPF 30 lip balm in the pockets of frequently worn coats, backpacks, and purses
• Explain to your kids that too much sun is bad for their skin (Page 122)

Lessons from the Land Down Under: With the highest skin-cancer rates in the world, Australians have made sun prevention a public-health priority. It’s too early to tell the full impact of this campaign, but the country’s skin-cancer rate has started to decline. A brief look at how the country has dealt with skin protection from programs in the schools to the launch of sun-protective clothing lines. (Page 130)

The Vitamin D Debate: There is one known health benefit of sunlight: It triggers the production of vitamin D. Parents magazine reports that some pediatricians are concerned that kids aren’t getting enough of this bone-building nutrient because there’s been a small increase in rickets in the U.S. Could sunscreen be to blame? (Page 130)

Plus:
• Everything you need to know to apply sunscreen properly so that you get the maximum protection
• The two most important things to look for on a label while shopping for sunscreen
• How to avoid a daily struggle over sunscreen application with your child

Editors from Parents are available to discuss these and other tips from the June 2006 issue.

Parents, America’s #1 family magazine, delivers information from the perspective of a trusted and sympathetic friend to more than 14 million readers.


CONTACT:
Susan Soriano
Susan.Soriano@meredith.com
212.499.1627