Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Teaching Your Kids Healthy Skin Habits

From the time they’re born, we’re charged with protecting our children’s skin. We make sure to use only the most gentle cleansers and lotions. We take pains to buy the softest clothing. We slather them with sunscreen every time we even think about leaving the house. Then, as they start to grow up and learn to take care of themselves, we need to stop doing the cleaning for them and teach them how to care for their skin on their own. Here are some tips to help you do that:

Face Washing

Every child goes through a phase where he or she hates getting his or her face wet. This is true whether we’re talking about swimming, playing in sprinklers, having water fights and even during bathing time. The problem is that dirt is not going to be respectful of your kids’ wishes and that dirt? Needs to be removed. To encourage even the most stubborn child to wash her face, the best thing to do is to teach her how to wash without having to actually put her face in the water. Show her how to get a washcloth wet and use that to moisten her face before she cleanses it.

It’s also a good idea, when they are still young and in this stage, to teach them how to cleanse around their eyes so that you don’t have to worry about them accidentally rubbing soap into their eyes when they get excited about being able to get clean without dousing their faces with water.
When they get over this phase, make face washing part of the regular bathing routine instead of a separate event that accompanies brushing the teeth. When it happens during bath time it becomes more ingrained. Then, when they’re older and switch to morning bathing, they’ll be so concerned about their skincare anyway that they’ll likely keep up the nightly cleansing on their own without prompting from you.

Acne

Hands off the face! Acne, in spite of what you might have read, is not caused by eating oily or fatty foods. It is mostly caused by hormones and by dirt and debris getting into a person’s pores. How does that dirt and debris get there? Sometimes it is simple environmental absorption. A lot of the time, however, it is by your own hands! Every time you touch your face, rest your face in your hands, etc, you are transferring oils and whatever your hands have touched that day into the pores on your face!
Make “hands off the face” a house rule along the same lines of “don’t bite your nails,” “don’t pick at scabs,” etc. You might not be able to totally prevent face touching, but you should be able to reduce it!

Skin Tags, Warts, etc.

Sometimes our skin just decides to spontaneously grow extra stuff. It is inconvenient but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world...though it will seem that way to your kids. A lot of these problems can and should be resolved naturally. For example, instead of just letting a skin tag hang linger, try using skin tag removal products to reduce the tag’s size and help it heal. With warts, instead of using ice or burning them off yourself, use an over the counter wart remover.

Obviously, if the problems are severe, you should take your son or daughter to the dermatologist to have the situation evaluated and the skin issue removed professionally. The same is true for acne.

Sunscreen

Kids do not like the feeling of sunscreen. This is a universal trait. The thickness of the sunscreen, combined with it’s strong smell can cause even the most mild tempered child to resort to a tantrum to avoid having it applied to his or her skin. To combat this, try using one of the sport sprays (make sure it is safe for young skin). Sprays feel better on the skin and offer more even coverage. Whatever you do, though, don’t skip it! If you skip the sunscreen now, you’ll have a harder time convincing them to keep up with it when they are older.
Once your kids are old enough to handle washing their own faces, they are old enough to start learning how to apply their own sunscreen. Make them start doing it themselves so they get into the habit of reaching for the bottle on their own.

Remember too, that with most kids, it is positive reinforcement that wins the day. Scaring them with pictures of skin that hasn’t been properly cared for won’t go very far. Praising them for caring about their skin’s health will have more of a lasting effect.


35 travelers' comments:

Masshole Mommy said...

The only thing on this list that my kids know about is sunblock. There is no need for face washing or acne treatment until they are older.

Jeannette said...

Sunscreen is so important! I'm trying to get my older son to do better about applying it himself but it's taking some time. Thanks for sharing these great skincare tips!

Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle said...

My kids are just getting into the acne phase. They grow up so fast!

Melissa said...

Great tips for teaching healthy skin habits early on. I wish someone explained to me when I was little that even though I didn't need acne products yet, washing my face correctly could have prevented future breakouts!

Christy Maurer said...

I have never heard of a skin tag removal. I'm gonna look that up! It is important to teach our kids good hygiene all of their lives!

Melissa Pezza said...

I am so grateful I don't have to worry about trying to calm down a teenage daughter with an acne breakout for a few years. I'm not looking forward to those days.

Sandy Segur said...

I have two teens still at home. Plus, I watch my 1 yr old grandson often. All these things apply in my life. Except, what is a skin tag?

Travel Quest said...

Summer is fun but not the sunburn :) I totally agree to you taking care of your skin is like another way to avoid aging. I guess the best remedy is to SMILE no matter what. Life is good !

Maria said...

Yes, I have finally managed to get the sunblock issue in check with my son. He used to despise putting sunblock on when he was younger.

Michele d said...

You have beautiful children Rose. Those are excellent examples for moms to follow. Sunblock is very important.

Kelly Hutchinson said...

I am really fair skinned and I cannot leave the house without sunscreen. My husband is dark skinned, so he thinks he doesn't need it!

Grace Hodgin said...

Sun block is very important and getting it to be a habit so they will carry on with in as they get older is important.

Liz Mays said...

You definitely can't go without the sunscreen. Keeping the hands off the face is a really good way to prevent unnecessary acne too.

Nova said...

agree with you, we have to start when they were little and help them to take care of their skin...

Nikki said...

I do not have daughter but for my sun i use sun block to preventing sun burn. you had a beautiful daughter i love your tips it will really helps to the moms thank you for sharing

papaleng said...

Eh, kung ganyan ba kakaganda ng kids mo, Then dapat lang you teach them to take care of their beauties.

Elizabeth O. said...

These are awesome tips. It is very important to teach kids about skin care at as soon as they can do it by themselves.

Annemarie LeBlanc said...

Great tips! You are 100% right in teaching your kids early about hygiene and the importance of using sunscreen. Lovely kids you have there!

Jessica Cassidy said...

Your kids are good looking kids,watch for boys and somebody gonna breaks someones heart. I LOVE the derma in your box. My kids gets easily rash and their skin is very sensitive. They only used Aveeno lotion.

ricci said...

These are great tips about teaching kids the importance of good skincare. Sunscreen is soooo important!!

DisneyBride2008 said...

My boys are very clued up about sunscreen even though we are in England - they saw me get burned a few weeks ago and have not stopped scalding me about it yet!

Lisa said...

Thanks for sharing these tips. It's definitely true that all kids go through a phase where they hate having their faces wet...haha!

Unknown said...

This is great advice! My best friend's father past away at a young age due to skin cancer because of over sun exposure due to his line of work. With those UV rays getting stronger each year, skin protection is so important for the future generations coming up.

mail4rosey said...

They are never too young to start teaching good habits. The earlier, the better.

Mykidsguide said...

It's very important to teach kids about taking care of their skin. I make sure they slather sunscreen before heading out the door.

Lynndee said...

I've taught our son about the importance of sunscreen. So whenever they have an outside activity in school or if he goes out swimming, he always brings it with him.

Ann B said...

I love subscription boxes. It is a great way to try new products. The Rosemary Mint hand soap would be the first thing i would try.

Mrs. Stephens said...

This is something that I had never thought about when I was a child but I make sure my kids are always covered when out in the sun.

Desirae Young said...

Sunscreen is always the number one thing that goes in our bags. You guys looked like you had a fabulous time :]

Aduke Schulist said...

Great tips for teaching skin care at an early age. Sunscreen is so important.

CourtneyLynne said...

My daughter is only 3 but I have been trying to teach her that it's important to wash her face! Unfortunately she doesn't care, but I still try to drill if in that it's important lol

Maria Teresa Figuerres said...

It's a good idea to teach kids to care for their skin and body at an early age. It teaches them to care for themselves and helps them become more responsible individuals.

Bree said...

Such a great idea! And it is definitely a great idea to instill these habits while the children are young.

Mimicutelips said...

My 3 year daughter has eczema so I've always had to take good care of her skin. My son is almost 11 and his skin is changing, I have to stress the importance of keeping his face clean and protecting it from the sun.

jared's mum said...

indeed, it is part of our duties as mums to teach the little ones to care for their skin. washing, eating healthy, and sunscreen seem to cover the basics. hopefully, it won't be too difficult to instill a good skin-care routine for our kiddos!

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