When the sun comes out, you can hardly wait to go outside and swim, or jump rope, or ride your bike, or go for a picnic. The sun can be good for us in that it makes the plants grow and helps make vitamin D, which is good for your health. The sun also gives us light and keeps us warm. The sun can also be bad for us in that too much exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer. But the tendency to develop the type of cancer known as malignant melanoma has also been associated with individuals who received painful, blistering sunburns as children or teenagers.
Malignant melanoma is the most life-threatening type of skin cancer.
The best time to start a prevention program is as a child. If your shadow is shorter than you are, then you need to protect yourself from the sun's rays. Wear light colored clothes, like long sleeved shirts, and pants. Use sunglasses that provide UV protection. Some sunscreens need time to bind with skin oils before exposure to the sun.