We’ve been blogging about the long-term health risks that you and your children can face after being exposed to the harmful rays of the sun without the proper protection, like sunglasses and sunscreen. A new campaign spearheaded by Mollie’s Fund strives to make those risks more obvious with a new campaign that offers a more human perspective.
The first video in the new advertising campaign starts off showing a young woman dying of cancer. Then it follows her story in reverse, and shows her going through the side effects of cancer treatment, with her hair falling out in her hand. Then it shows her visiting her doctor’s office, getting the bad news that her cancer is malignant melanoma. The last scene in the short film shows the young girl lying on the beach without sunscreen, singing the children’s song “Mr. Sun.”
Mollie’s Fund is an organization that is dedicated to increasing awareness and education about melanoma, a skin cancer that claims the lives of more than 10,000 people in the U.S. each year, according to Today. Melanoma, cancer of the skin, is one of the most common forms of cancer in young adults. The worst part is: many of these cases of melanoma that occur annually could have been avoided with the proper sun protection.
The Mollie’s Fund video is hoping to spread a message that is a little shocking: just five blistering sunburns increases a child’s risk for developing melanoma later in life by 80 percent. Think about all the days you spend playing outside as a child: are five sunburns really that many?
Sun protection has never been more important. As parents, we need to make sure that our kids are protected from this deadly disease and the harmful rays of the sun. You can take a few steps today to prevent your kids from getting sunburn:
• Make sure they are covered head to toe in sunscreen when they play outside
• Use hats and sunglasses to protect their eyes and the skin on their face
• Make sure that they avoid too much sun whenever possible
• Take frequent breaks to play in the shade
• Get regular checkups at the dermatologist and optometrist
Skin cancer may not seem like it should be on the radar when thinking about young children, but taking proactive steps to protect them when they are young and most at risk can be the difference between watching your healthy child grow up strong and having a sick person battling skin cancer later in life. For more information on Mollie’s Fund, check out the organization’s website.
At Real Kids Shades, we take protection seriously and offer all of our glasses with full UVA and UVB protection to keep your children’s eyes safe. Order a pair of Flex-Fit glasses or our Fashion glasses for the stylish child today and keep your son or daughter’s eyes protected in the sun.