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In early childhood services

Early childhood services have an important role to play in managing the UV exposure of young children and babies. At certain times of the year, UV will be high enough to cause skin and eye damage, which can lead to skin cancer. This is an important age group, as young children and babies are extremely sensitive to UV and can burn easily. Over exposure to UV radiation in the early years contributes to the risk of developing skin cancer in later life.

SunSmart recommends that all early childhood services have a SunSmart policy to ensure a healthy UV exposure balance.

A SunSmart policy:

encourages childen and staff to use a combination of sun protection measures whenever UV Index levels reach 3 and above
encourages safe UV exposure whenever UV Index levels are below 3
works towards a safe outdoor environment that provides shade for children and staff at appropriate times
assists children to be responsible for their own sun protection.

Over two-thirds of Victorian early childhood services are registered members of the SunSmart early childhood program. Is your service participating?

Membership includes:

advice on incorporating sun protection behaviour and staff role modelling into daily activities
support to implement your policy including the Outside bulletin
access to resources, activity ideas and a sample media release to help promote your SunSmart service status to the community
a SunSmart services sign and certificate.