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| No | 49% | 103 votes | Total: 211 votes | |
| Yes | 51% | 108 votes |
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Add to FavoritesUnderstanding Vitamins and their usage in our bodies isn't always easy. Because of this, it is easy to get confused and even to worry if we are getting enough vitamins in our day to day lives. This concern is magnified when it comes to our children and their health. We want what's best for them and we want to make sure they have what they need to grow healthy, strong, and safe.
But worrying about a vitamin D deficiency isn't something we have to do in developed nations. There are several reasons for this and together they make sure that we get a fair amount of Vitamin D.
Vitamin D is fat soluble.
Vitamin D is fat soluble, meaning a little of it can last in the body for quite awhile. It takes time for it to leave the body and therefore it can be stored and used as needed for longer then a day or two. This means, what you body consumes and makes today can help to make up for not getting enough tomorrow.
Vitamin D is provided in many food sources.
While foods that are naturally high in vitamin d aren't consumed often enough to cover the needs of a child, there are many foods that children often consume that are fortified with Vitamin D. This includes 99% of the U.S. milk supply, many ready to eat cereals, and some cheeses. These fortified foods help increase our intake of Vitamin D. Foods that are sometimes eaten that contain Vitamin D include eggs, many types of fish, and liver (though I haven't met very many kids who where big on liver!). Most children get a significant intake of Vitamin D from the foods they eat.
Sunscreen use, only when in sun for long periods.
The body naturally makes vitamin d in the skin when it is exposed to UV rays. This happens less and less for kids these days because use of sunscreen has become more and more popular. As we understand the effects of the sun on aging skin, skin cancer, and other issues we work hard to protect ourselves and our children from issues.
While sunscreen use has become widespread, it isn't done for all occasions. In fact, it is usually only used when known, long periods, of sun exposure is going to occur. Often parents don't lather their kids up for car rides, quick walks, or for doing normal daily activities. It is during this time that the body can use the sun to make Vitamin D. It takes only 10-15 minutes for the body to absorb enough UV rays to make a days worth of Vitamin D.
We also don't apply sunscreen if we are going to be in the shade or it is cloudy out. However, shade blocks just 60% of UV rays and clouds only 50%. Even on a cloudy day or under a tree you are getting UV rays and the body is busy making Vitamin D.
Improper use of sunscreen.
Improper use of sunscreen also helps guarantee that our children are getting enough UV's to make Vitamin D. If you follow the sunscreen directions you will put it on 15-20 minutes before going out into the sun. Most of us lather up at the beach or the pool, not at home. This means that for 15-20 minutes we are getting unprotected sun exposure. This gives our children plenty of sun, and then the sunscreen protects them from a great deal of exposure.
Many of us also don't lather up enough. We forget to reapply. Our children get busy playing, enjoying the water, or running around and we forget to chase them down and make them put more sunscreen on. This means that after a certain time (usually four hours) the sunscreen isn't working any longer. This is even more true if our children are in and out of the water and rinsing off the sunscreen (even "waterproof" sunscreen has to be reapplied often).
Between the foods we eat and sun we get, even if we are avid sunscreen users, we don't have to fear Vitamin D deficiencies for ourselves or our children. Additionally a multi-vitamin is suggested for all children and this protects them even more. Healthy children with well balanced diets and regular out door times have very little chance of dealing with Vitamin D deficiency in developed countries.
Learn more about this author, Danelle Karth.
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Yes
I am neither a doctor, nor a scientist. I am, however, a woman who spent much of her childhood sunning and playing outside, at the pool and the beach, without any sunscreen. About a decade ago upon reading an article of two young redheaded women who died of skin cancer, I (also a bit of a redhead) swore sunlight would never touch me again. I religiously applied sunscreen everyday and covered as much as my body in clothing as possible. I was informed that in fact it is our childhood exposure which governs our chances of getting melanoma later in life; so my doom was apparently already sealed. However, I was also told that avoiding incremental exposure as an adult could help. I had several moles removed to be tested; all were benign. I usually always used SPF 45 on my face, neck, chest and hands everyday upon going outside.
I am now a mother of four young children. I remember my shock upon visiting the pediatrician with my first baby when he told me not to use SPF 45 on my baby. He of course advised the usage of protection, but at a lower SPF. Why? He said that their office did not support the higher SPFs as they contained higher quantities of certain chemicals. I had never even though of it. I immediately rather saw the light. We lather ourselves in some white cream to protect our skin, yet with absolutely no consideration given to exactly what is in this cream and how it itself could be harming us. The doctor seemed to take the position that the final verdict was not yet out on the safety of these chemicals; but it was simply wiser to practice moderation in the meantime. Also, he advised, simply avoid the hottest times of the day, sit and play in shade if possible and limit overall "sun time."
As I went on to have more children, I absolutely took these common sense guidelines to heart. I did not dress my children in those ridiculous full body bathing suits, nor did I slap on 45 every 15 minutes every time they went outside. Aside from my doctor's previous recommendation, my own instincts steered me away from the sunscreen craze. It simply could not be healthy to constantly hide your children from the sun. And no way supplements and diet could make up for the benefits of nature's number one source of Vitamin D. (Think sunlamps used on babies in Siberia!) Nevertheless, skin cancer was a concern and the ozone was no longer delivering us as much of its own protection as in the past. I, myself, noted that the sun seemed oddly stronger than in my childhood. And my children seemed to get little freckles much earlier than I had (and with much less sun time!)
So what to do? Well, I had my babies go outside to play early in the morning. The air was fresh, the sun mild, and it was a great way to start the day. If the children were playing mid-day in the yard, I would try to keep them in the shady areas; my play gym was purposely set in an area protected by trees. We only went to the pool in the afternoon when the trees on one side would block out the sun. During all these times, I would never use any sunscreen as they had limited direct exposure. Instead I favored no chemicals, no messy applications (and, no!, sprays are no better!), no tears and some healthy filtered daylight exposure. If they went to the beach, I avoided 11-3 visits. Alas, children are children, and the beach is a forever favorite. So if we found ourselves sitting right under the sun, this would be a time to slap on the 30 (and sometimes 45 depending on time and sun strength).
As with everything, moderation is key. The sun has been and continues to be an important element in life. Alas, humans have abused its glory seeking out that perfect tan or just simply being negligent; and other human factors have aided in the deterioration of nature's own protection (the ozone) from the sun's more harmful rays. So it is important to seek out some alternative considerations and more sensible sun practices. But going from one extreme to the other simply does not seem wise. Aside from the loss of the sun's still needed benefits, we seem to too easily forget the very well documented faults of science itself. Who knows what those in the next century will think of those "UV protector creams" used by people back when thinking they were being healthy and prolonging their life . . . . . the truth of the matter is, the verdict is still out. In the meantime, there are certain companies seeking alternative formulations for a healthier protection (or shall we say "filter") for the sun. After all, the sun is not our enemy. It is very much a friend we simply need to learn to re-communicate with.
Learn more about this author, Jevah.
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