Don’t Forget Your Sunscreen

“Don’t get burned!”

This three word sentence, said very firmly with a stern face was a summer constant at my house. My mom is from the west of Ireland and my siblings and I all have fair skin and freckles. As kids, we spent lots of family time summering on the beaches of Nantasket and West Dennis. I remember a few bad sunburns and how upset my mom would be upon discovery. Never under her watch, though. She was vigilant.

Now it’s me, same face, same sentence, protecting my four littles each time they go out in the sun.

“Don’t get burned!”

“Wear your hat.”

“Reapply.”

Fortunately, I think the messaging is strong nowadays and my kids get it. They listen. The older ones even do a great job applying sunscreen themselves (even though I’m always there, tackling edges of suits, ears and necks.) Nana is still at them too, always reminding them, “Don’t get burned!”

Unfortunately, skin cancer is still a gigantic health problem in the United States despite how much we know about protecting ourselves. On average, about 350 Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer every hour and that, my friends, is NOT good. We need to make a change in this horrible statistic.

This year, Neutrogena is getting the word out on the importance of skin health with a new initiative called Mimic Mommy with Kristen Bell. Together, we can all rally moms around the globe to use sunscreen daily in front of our kids and talk to teach them how to adopt healthy sunscreen habits from a very early age. If they see us applying it daily, they’ll be way more likely to make it a part of their daily routine too. Let’s start everyone on safe sun behaviors while we can. Start applying sunscreen on yourself in front of your kids and have the talk – talk about the seriousness of skin health.

Be a good example for your kids and show them how you do it every morning. Remember to talk to them about the importance of hats, long sleeves, sunglasses, reapplying and moving into the shade.

Go ahead and share this video! For every video share, Neutrogena will donate $1 to the Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation – a non-profit educational organization committed to preventing skin cancer through comprehensive sun safety and melanoma awareness programs for families. So share this video on social – we can do this!

Show us how your kids #MimicMommy by uploading a photo to social and tagging @Neutrogena and #MimicMommy with a link to the video for a chance to WIN a MimicMommy Sunscreen Kit from Neutrogena!

Let’s celebrate #MimicMomy and this awesome campaign from Neutrogena with a giveaway, or three! Yes, that’s right – 3 readers here at Stowed Stuff are about to win A Neutrogena Sunscreen Kit! Enter below for a chance to win!