Infants and children are more susceptible to UV damage because the lenses in their eyes are clearer.
Please take the following steps when taking your children outdoors:
Keep children younger than 6 months out of direct sunlight. Choose the shade, an umbrella, or a baby stroller when outside with a very young child or infant. Make sure the stroller has a shade for the sun.
To help ensure your children wear their sunglasses, allow them to select a style they like. Many manufacturers make frames with cartoon characters or multi-colored frames.
Make sure your child wears a wide-brimmed hat or a baseball cap, which provides some UV protection, if he/she will not tolerate sunglasses.
Try to keep children out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The sun's rays are the strongest at these hours.
Be sure to wear sunglasses or a hat outside yourself. Children often follow the example of their parents.
Remind children to wear their sunglasses or a hat even on cloudy days. Most of the sun's rays can come through the clouds on an overcast day.
Teach your children to never look directly or stare at the sun.
To learn more about children and UV eye safety, use the following resources:
The American Academy of Pediatrics (http//:www.aap.org)
Prevent Blindness America (http://www.preventblindness.org)
