Sun – that’s safe! New teaching materials provide information on UV protection

Sun burn and high exposure to UV rays during childhood increase the risk of developing skin cancer. New teaching materials issued by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) are intended to help boost prevention measures. Within the context of the UV information campaign "Sun – that’s safe!" BfS President Wolfram König and Eckhard Breitbart, deputy chairman of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Dermatologische Prävention (ADP) e.V., presented teaching materials produced jointly by the two organisations.

The teaching materials use a child-friendly and playful approach to show that protecting yourself against the sun doesn’t need to be uncool: with stylish sunglasses and cheeky pirate scarves it’s easy to convince the little ones of the importance of UV protection. For older children the focus is on the compatibility of UV protection with fun leisure activities and ideals of beauty.

"Many adults underestimate the risks inherent in the sun’s ultraviolet rays", asserts König. "Children are even less capable of recognising the danger. That’s why it is important that they learn the right approach to the sun in a fun way from an early age. After all sun protection shouldn’t be a chore: our aim is not to deprive anyone of fun in the sun on the beach."

"As adults we are responsible for ensuring our children learn a sensible approach to the sun. We must be their role models", explains Breitbart. "Sun protection is easy to fit into your everyday activities and is no trouble at all if you bring your kids up with it."

Kindergarten and school teachers, not to mention parents, can use the teaching materials to coach sun protection as a normal behaviour – importantly before puberty, when appearance and peer acceptance is often more important than good advice from parents and abstract risks, which may only emerge as skin cancer twenty years down the line.

The teaching materials are divided into three sets – for kindergartens, primary and middle schools. They feature posters, colouring activities and work sheets, as well as background information on the topic of UV protection. For parents there are appropriate information brochures to suit the age of their children. The teaching materials answer the following questions:

• What is UV radiation?
• What effect does UV radiation have on the skin?
• What causes skin cancer?
• Why is it so important to ensure children are properly protected?
• How can you best protect yourself and your children?
• What can sun creams do – and what not
• Why should children protect their eyes from the sun?

The materials can be obtained free of charge from the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, Postfach 10 01 49, 38201 Salzgitter. When ordering, please specify the number of copies you want to order respectively. Internet download link (in German only)

Background: The UV information campaign "Sun – that’s safe"

UV protection is a severely underrated aspect of radiation protection. Every year some 140,000 people in Germany develop skin cancer. Every year 2,000 to 3,000 people die from the consequences. One cause is heightened stress to the skin caused by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Children are particularly at danger, since their skin’s self-protection mechanisms have yet to develop fully. Because every instance of sunburn during childhood dramatically increases the risk of skin cancer, children and young people are this year’s focus of the information campaign "Sun – that’s safe!"