Standing in the sun is like standing in front of a hot oven.  Four hundred hot ovens. Four hundred unstoppable, blazing hot ovens.  Unless you’re planning to worship your at-home air conditioner until you and the kids begin to hallucinate from cabin fever, you still have to get out of the house during a heat advisory.  Here are some tips to make those heat-soaked forays a little easier (and safer).

1: Slather yourselves in sunscreen like there’s no tomorrow: because if you get skin cancer that metastasizes into your BRAIN, tomorrow’s going to suck.  Seek out higher SPFs, with protection from both UVA & UVB rays.  Apply to clean, dry skin 30 minutes before exposure and reapply after swimming, towel-drying and liberal sweating.

2: Wear protective gear: wide-brimmed hats, UV-protected sunglasses, and loose, light-colored clothing.  You may laugh at the woman wearing the yellow floral muumuu, but she’s cooler than a cucumber is cool.

3: Detoxify your car:  When you’re running errands, keep your parked car with windows down and sunshades up to keep the air breatheable for reentry  You can keep your kids’ empty carseats cool by throwing an icepack on them, or at least draping a damp towel over the seat.  The sun quickly heats those black plastic or metal buckles which can result in a burn.  And when the shade is 20 degrees cooler, it makes sense to park a little farther away to be parked under a tree.

4: Bring provisions: big bottles of water (with ice cubes), fresh fruit (non-salty snacks).

5: Honor the siesta:  Unless there’s an emergency (running out of ice cream doesn’t count), plan to spend the hours from 12-3pm indoors.

6: Take advantage of well-cooled resources: The library is a fantastic place to spend a hot day.  You can also utilize bowling alleys, movie theaters, mall playplaces and fast food indoor playgrounds.

It almost goes without saying, but if you’re smart enough to access the internet, you’re smart enough to never, ever leave children, pets, or a gallon of milk in the car, even for a minute.

[ July 2010 | Melissa Sewell | image courtesy cookiemag ]