Sun Smart Kids & Fitness
We live in Queensland, by the ocean and are blessed with 25 degrees Celsius, warm sunny weather most of the year. Kids are playing outdoors and we want to help keep the littles ones protected.
The ‘Fit Kids Festival’ ran over the Australia Day weekend at the new Stockland Shopping Centre. The bakslap team were invited to have a pop-up stall, presenting some sun smart education and a few fun games for the kids. During our 30 minute presentations we wanted to reinforced those easy 5 SUN SMART ways to keep them and their skin protected when enjoying the outdoors.
Now it’s all good and well to plan a 30-minute presentation but we had to remind ourselves that they’re kids and if they are bored or not finding it interesting – they’re going to show it and even tell us ? I was asked by one of the team if I was nervous a couple of minutes before we started. I was excited not nervous as you don’t really know what will happen when there’s 50 kids together and games.
Recently bakslap launched our own, improved version of the flap hat. When we spoke to both adults and kids, we found they loved having a flap on some of the time but if indoors or at night there wasn’t a need for it. So, our first activity was to show the versatility of having a flap and what it helped protect when outdoors. A game of ‘hot hat potato’. We passed 4 hats around (minus the flap) and with the parents help we clapped to create some music and then ‘stop’. Whoever had a cap came up to the front stage. The kids then fit their cap, added the flap and showed the different ways it can be used. Clipped on, Rolled Up or Clipped off. The kids were happy when told they could keep their new hats.
Collaboration. It’s very important for us when we find a cool, innovative product that helps with awareness, prevention or raising funds for skin cancer research, to share it with our audience. Why? It’s because when speaking with other Founders, we all have the one ultimate goal – to play a part in eliminating skin cancer.
Two examples of our collaboration was firstly with an organisation we partner with, the Melanoma Institute Australia. The provided us with some very interesting wrist bands that were a BIG hit with the kids. Each kid was given one after shouting out the 5 Sun Smart way. With the bands on we walked as a group a new steps into a section of UV light. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6…the bands started rapidly changing from white to dark purple in under 10 seconds. It is as awesome reminded that when in your in UV light, “are set for the 5 ways to keep sun smart”?
The second innovative product was by Suncayr ‘SPOT MY UV’. This has been developed over many years and staff are very passionate about what they have created. Each spot is placed on an exposed part of your skin, you apply sunscreen over the top and when it’s time to reapply…the spot has changed colour. Another game was played and this time the prize was given to parents.
This event just so happen to be the first time bakslap was demonstrated in public – as a competed product. It was great to have lots of questions asked and seeing adults and kids understand it and ‘nod their head’ with understanding.
To check out a short 20 seconds video overview of the event, click here.
Sun safe education can be fun, it is actually quite easy. It’s about knowing what we should be doing to help us avoid the extreme cases it can cause. Our home State is Queensland, it has the highest rate of melanoma in the world with more 20 to 39 year old’s dying from this type of cancer in Australia than any other kind of cancer. Sharing this education within our own age group, as well as starting it with the kids is definitely something the team feel passionate about and we look forward to creating some fun, innovative new ways to deliver it in the near future.
ss
Cheers,
Raph
