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Ah, summer, when the livin’ is easy and the sun is hot – and dangerous, especially to children’s sensitive skin. Thankfully, there are now kids beach towels that not only soak up water; they protect youngsters from the effects of the sun’s radiation. Surprisingly, most young people get from 50 to 80 percent of their lifetime sun exposure before age 18, especially those who live in sunny locations. This makes it especially important for parents to teach their youngsters how to have safe fun in the sun.
Keep Youngsters Sun-Safe With Kids Beach Towels
Fortunately, parents can teach kids from an early age to take the right precautions against UVA and UVB rays that cause the most skin damage. After all, the American Cancer Society says that the most dangerous kind of skin cancer, melanoma, is now thought to be associated with severe sunburns from UVB radiation that occur before age 20. Unprotected exposure to the sun is most dangerous for kids with skin moles, very fair skin and hair or a family medical history involving skin cancer, especially melanoma.
Today chemically treated fabrics can enhance UV protection and that includes kids’ beach towels. In fact, the best beach towels for kids are those with a minimum Ultraviolet Protection Factor of 30, with a UPF of 50 being an excellent choice. In addition, the Skin Cancer Foundation recommends towels in darker colors rather than lighter ones that reflect more of the sun’s rays onto children’s skin. Thicker materials with a tighter weave also are highly recommended, since these are less likely to allow sunlight to come through the fabric when the little ones are wrapped up in their towels.
Of course, little of this matters to young sun worshippers, as long as their beach towels are comfortable and have cool designs.
Some of best kids beach towels found in online searches were those from reputed American clothing manufacturer, Lands End. The towels typically come in generous 32″ W by 64 ” L sizes that can wrap up most of children’s exposed skin and all have a UPF 50 rating. The woven cotton construction is thick enough to cushion against a beach chair or rough sand, and the towels’ durable hems withstand even the toughest kid use. Among Lands End’s offerings are Kids’ Ombre Beach Towel in blue, pink, and aqua, Kids’ Velour Beach Towel printed with huge marlin; Kids’ Stripe Velour Beach Towel in bright leaf green and classic navy. The most unusual Lands End offer was the Kids’ Surfboard Beach Towel, surfboard-shaped towel that lets youngsters pretend they’re riding the waves even on shore. The towel measures 66″ long, 28 1/2″ at the widest part and comes in Capri Aqua Floral, Bright Leaf Large Floral and Silver Frost Large Floral.
Pottery Barn features something for the small fry with its Kids Shark Mini Beach Towel. This playfully designed towel is 25″ W x 50″ L of pure cut cotton velour and has been Oeko-tex certified, the mark of quality that indicates products health for kids and the environment. For those who’d like to try out kids’ beach towels before they buy, their neighborhood Target stores offers a variety of 100 percent cotton terry towels in whimsical patterns. Most measure 34″ W by 63″ L for ample coverage. These towels include Circo’s Frog Beach Towel in green, Fish Beach Towel in blue, Butterfly Beach Towel in pink and multicolor Seahorse Beach Towel with sea stars and shells.
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