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.
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.
