I'll never forget the first time I saw photos of Australian school playgrounds:
It was during my research phase when I was neck-deep in melanoma statistics, UV exposure data, and basically any information I could find about childhood sun protection. And there they were: Australian schoolchildren, all wearing these adorable 3 inch wide-brim hats. Not for "hat day." Every. Single. Day. Meanwhile, I was looking at my own kids' school playground full sun, zero shade structures, no kids in a hat, even a baseball cap and thinking: We are doing this completely wrong. Let me show you what I mean.
A Tale of Two Recesses:
Picture this: Australian Kids at Recess: Required to wear wide-brim hats (minimum 3 inches) "No hat, no play" policy enforced by teachers, Shade structures built over playgrounds and sports areas Sun safety taught in curriculum starting at age 5 is the standard, not the exception. Parents get notes home if kids forget hats and reminders about the value in daily sunscreen use.
American Kids at Recess: No hats because at many schools no hats not even Baseball caps are allowed. No sun protection requirements at most schools Playing on blacktop in full midday sun, virtually zero shade structures. Sun protection? Never heard of it. No reminders, no enforcement, no culture around it. Think back, have you ever once been educated on sun safety from your child’s school? 
And here's the kicker: Both countries rank Skin Cancer as the most common cancer in their country. Both countries have high UV indices. Both have lots of outdoor time. Both have kids who need protection. So why does one country treat sun protection like it's as normal as handwashing, while the other treats it like it's optional?
The Results Don't Lie:
Let's talk numbers for a second. Australia: Has DECREASED melanoma rates among young people over the last 20 years. Childhood sun protection campaigns started in the 1980s, the current generation showing significantly lower skin cancer rates. There is a cultural shift happening within ONE generation.
America: Melanoma rates in young people are going UP We're seeing more cases in people under 30 than ever before. Utah (where I live and where Daily Shade is founded) has one of the highest melanoma rates in the country. Kids are getting MORE sun damage, not less. Same sun. Different outcomes. Why? Culture. In Australia, sun protection is as automatic as brushing your teeth. In America, we think about sunscreen for beach day, pool parties, vacation if we’re lucky... and that's basically it. We don't think about: The Tuesday morning drop-off The 20-minute recess The walk to the car after school The backyard playtime The weekend soccer game, the afternoon at the park. All those "little" moments of sun exposure?
They can contribute up to 80% of lifetime sun damage by age 18.
Let me say that again for the parents in the back: UP TO EIGHTY PERCENT of the sun damage your child will experience in their ENTIRE LIFE happens before they turn 18. Not just from beach vacations. Not just from summer camp. From everyday, ordinary, "it's just recess" sun exposure.
How Australia Actually Did It:
So how did Australia manage to shift an entire culture around sun protection? It wasn't one thing. It was everything. The SunSmart Program launched in the 1980s with a simple campaign: "Slip, Slop, Slap" Slip on a shirt Slop on sunscreen Slap on a hat (They later added "Seek shade" and "Slide on sunglasses" to make it "Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide" but honestly the original was catchier.) But here's what made it actually work:
1. They Made It Policy, Not Suggestion Schools across Australia adopted "No Hat, No Play" policies. Not recommendations. Not gentle reminders. Policy. If your kid shows up to school without their wide-brim hat, they stay in the shade during recess. Period.
2. They Built Infrastructure They didn't just tell kids to seek shade, they BUILT shade structures over playgrounds, sports areas, pool decks, outdoor eating areas. Walk into any Australian school and you'll see shade sails, covered areas, trees strategically planted. They made sun protection easy.
3. They Started Young Sun safety is taught in schools starting at age 5. It's embedded in health curriculum. Kids learn WHY sun protection matters, not just that they're "supposed to" wear sunscreen.
4. They Made It Cultural This is the big one. Sun protection became uncool NOT to do. Kids who showed up without hats were the odd ones out. Parents who didn't apply sunscreen were the odd one out. It became as automatic as wearing shoes to school. And within ONE generation, they saw results.
What America Is (Slowly) Starting to Do:
To be fair, we're not completely asleep at the wheel. Some states and school districts are starting to wake up: California, Nevada, and Oregon have passed laws allowing students to apply sunscreen at school without a doctor's note (yes, that was actually a thing we had to legislate) Some schools in Arizona and Texas are building shade structures over playgrounds A handful of progressive districts are starting to include sun safety in health education. But we're DECADES behind Australia. And in the meantime, American kids are still playing on blacktop at noon in full sun, with zero protection, while we're all just... okay with it?
The Everyday Exposure We're Missing:
Here's what really gets me. We're so focused on the "big" sun exposure moments, beach vacations, pool days, summer camp that we completely miss the daily, cumulative exposure that actually does damage too. Let me break down a typical school year for an American kid: 180 school days × 40 minutes of outdoor recess = 120 hours/year Add in: Walking to/from school or car After-school sports and activities, weekend outdoor play, family time at parks, playgrounds, etc.
Average American kid: 1,000+ hours outdoors per year.
Now ask yourself: How many of those 1,000 hours are they actually protected? Beach day? Yes. Pool party? Probably. Tuesday recess at 11:30 AM when the UV index is at its peak? ...crickets. And that's the problem. Because sun damage doesn't care if it's a "special occasion" or just a random Tuesday. UV rays don't take the day off just because you're at school. And your child's skin is accumulating damage every single time they're outside unprotected. Whether it's for 10 minutes or 2 hours.
Why American Parents Are Stuck:
Look, I get it. I'm an American parent too. And here's the truth: We're not set up for success. Australian parents have: Schools that enforce sun protection, shade structures everywhere, cultural norms that support daily SPF, Kids who are TAUGHT about sun safety, infrastructure that makes it easy. American parents have: Schools that don't require (or even remind about) sun protection, playgrounds with zero shade, a culture that thinks sunscreen is for "special occasions.” Kids who have never been taught why it matters, having to figure it all out ourselves. We're expected to remember sunscreen every single morning, reapply throughout the day (how?? they're at school!), convince our kids it matters, and do it all without ANY systemic support. It's exhausting. And honestly? Most of us just... don't. Because it feels impossible.
Making Daily Sun Protection as Automatic as Brushing Teeth:
This is where my obsession with Daily Shade comes in. I can't single-handedly change American school policies (though I'm trying, more on that another time). I can't build shade structures at every playground. I can't rewrite the health curriculum to include sun safety starting in kindergarten. But here's what I CAN do: I can make sunscreen so easy, so fast, so non-annoying that it ACTUALLY BECOMES AUTOMATIC. You're not doing it on a random Tuesday before school unless it becomes an easy habit to integrate into your life. But if it takes 30 seconds, glides on smoothly, doesn't leave white streaks, and your kids don't even complain (well any more than they do to brush their teeth)? This is a win! Suddenly it's doable. Suddenly it becomes part of the morning routine, right there with brushing teeth, putting on shoes, grabbing backpacks. That's the goal with Babe Shade. Not just "better sunscreen." But sunscreen that's SO effortless that daily application becomes as automatic as it is in Australia.
Because we can't wait for American schools to catch up. We can't wait for policies to change. We can't wait for infrastructure to be built. Our kids are accumulating sun damage right now. So we have to make it work with what we've got.
What We Can Learn From Australia (Starting Today):
Okay so we can't snap our fingers and become Australia overnight. But here's what we CAN do:
1. Make Sunscreen Part of the Morning Routine Not just for beach days. Every. Single. Day. Put it right next to the toothbrush. Make it as automatic as brushing teeth before school.
2. Keep Sunscreen in the Car For reapplication after school, before sports, during errands. Make it accessible.
3. Teach Your Kids WHY It Matters Australia teaches sun safety starting at age 5. You can too. Explain UV rays, skin damage, long-term protection. Make them understand.
4. Advocate at Your School Ask about shade structures. Suggest sunscreen stations. Request reminders before afternoon recess. Be that parent. I promise you're not alone.
5. Normalize It with Other Parents Talk about daily SPF at drop-off. Mention it casually. Share what works. Create culture change one conversation at a time.
6. Use Sunscreen That Actually Works with Real Life This is key. If your sunscreen is thick, streaky, takes forever to apply, or makes your kids look like ghosts, you won't use it daily. Find one that works with your actual life not your aspirational life.
The 80% Statistic That Changed Everything for Me:
I want to come back to this for a second: Up to 80% of lifetime sun damage happens before age 18. When I first read that statistic during my PA training, I literally sat there staring at it. 80%. By age 18. That means the sun protection choices we make for our kids RIGHT NOW during these years when they're in our care, when we can still control what they wear and what we apply to their skin will determine their skin cancer risk for the rest of their lives. After age 18? They're on their own. They're in college, making their own choices, and honestly probably not thinking about sunscreen at all. We have this window. Right now. To protect 80% of their lifetime exposure. And we're just... not using it. Because it's "too hard" or "takes too long" or "they hate sunscreen" or "it's just recess." Australia figured out how to make it easy. We can too.
Let's Be More Like Australia I'm not saying we need to adopt every single Australian sun protection policy (though honestly? we should). But we can start with the mindset shift: Sun protection isn't for special occasions. It's for every day. Just like brushing teeth. Just like wearing seatbelts. Just like washing hands. It should be automatic. Non-negotiable. Just what we do. Because here's the truth: American kids are spending 1,000+ hours outside every year with little to no protection, accumulating damage that will show up decades later as skin cancer. And we're acting like it's fine because "they're just kids" and "it's just recess." Meanwhile, Australia proved that when you make sun protection cultural, normal, and easy an entire generation benefits. We can do this too. We just have to start treating everyday sun exposure like it matters. Because it does.
My Challenge to You For the next week
I want you to try something: Apply sunscreen to your kids every single morning before school. Not just sunny days. Every day. Not just for outdoor activities. For regular school days. Not thick, streaky, "good enough" sunscreen. Sunscreen that actually works that glides on smoothly, disappears on skin, and doesn't make mornings a battle. Make it as routine as brushing teeth. See what happens. Because I genuinely believe that if we can make sun protection THIS easy, THIS automatic, THIS much of a non-issue... We can change the trajectory for the next generation of American kids. One morning routine at a time.
Ready to make sun protection automatic? Shop Babe Shade: The mineral sunscreen designed for daily use. Goes on smooth, disappears on skin, and actually makes morning routines easier instead of harder. Because if Australia can do it, so can we. 🇦🇺💙
About the Author: Breelyn Vanleeuwen MSPA, PA-C is a Physician Assistant specializing in skin cancer prevention, and the founder of Daily Shade Sunscreen. She spent 4 years developing Daily Shade, a TRUE mineral sunscreen company so easy to use that daily application actually becomes automatic. She lives in Utah (with the highest melanoma rates in the U.S.) with her husband and four kids who now wear sunscreen literally every single day.
Share This Post: Know a parent who needs to hear this? Forward this article! Let's start a culture shift, one family at a time. 💙
Have thoughts about sun protection culture in America? Drop a comment below or email hello@dailyshade.com Breelyn genuinely loves to hear from you. And if your school is doing sun protection well, PLEASE tell us about it so we can share what works!
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