Sunscreen or Sunblock? What's the Difference?

What's the difference between sunscreen and sunblock? And which product is best for me and my family? I sure didn't know until I checked out this article.  With as hot as it has been around here lately, it's a good thing this article came my way.

I was surprised that sunblock is considered more effective than sunscreen when used correctly. I usually look for the SPF rating, which sunblock doesn't have, so I used to avoid it. Learn something new every day.

Guest Blogger: Don't Come Back In Until Dark! By Jenny Daniels

Now that most schools are out for the summer, parents are faced with the daily struggle to keep kids occupied and active. In our own childhoods, many of us were shooed out the door with instructions to stay outside until lunchtime, then repeat until suppertime, and repeat yet again until dark.

Unfortunately, that was in the days of greater space and safety for our kids. More people lived on large lots or even on farms, and fewer of us were in apartments or townhouses with no appreciable yard.

And thanks to the news, we know more these days about how many creepy people are out there where we thought we wanted our children to play. All that makes it more difficult to lock the screen doors and let them fend for themselves.

Whatever our living arrangements and regardless of who is drifting through, there are still lots of great ways to keep our kids active and away from smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles. Kids will grunt and groan about the mandate, but in time they'll get engaged in something and quickly forget about them.

The first thing you need to do is make sure that your kids are outside when the opportunity presents itself, not on the couch or bed swiping and scrolling. Set policies for weather conditions and activity levels that determine when they can utilize their electronic devices.

Here are some starters:

No cell phones outside unless kids are out of earshot. Remember Mom yelling for you to come home? It still works. For safety, longer jaunts necessitate phone access, but otherwise they're a distraction from physical activity.

Technology is allowed when outdoor temperatures reach a certain level. Although many of us just went ahead and sweated it out regardless of the mercury, you can throw your kids one bone to gnaw on by conceding time indoors when it hits, say, 90 degrees.

Or to throw in a science learning lesson, use the heat index as the parameter and get a thermometer and hygrometer to teach them how to calculate it.

Set up an outdoor/indoor exchange rate. Keep a running tally of the number of active outdoor hours (tanning does not count for teenage girls) for each child, then convert that into a (lesser) number of technology hours that the kids are permitted to have.

Have something to show for it when they come in. If the message around your house is "Take us to the mall!", do some background work to make that happen. Get online and find some Levi's coupons and be ready to go shopping on a rainy or super-hot day.

And speaking of shopping, position them for some future rewards as well. Coupons are already out there for the best Black Friday deals, so a reward five months out can spur their inspiration for an active summer next year, too.

There's no shortage of competition for our kids' time and attention. And there's nothing wrong with yielding here and there. We just can't let it become a habit. Finding some clever, workable ways to manage technology will keep your kids active during their time of greatest freedom.

Jenny Daniels is a freelance writer second, and a busy mom first. When she's not blogging about her children, she enjoys spending time with them in the sun or at the beach.

PBS KIDS offers free RESOURCES TO Fuel learning this summer

Arlington, VA, May 23, 2013 –This summer, PBS KIDS will provide families with a variety of free and educational resources to encourage young learners to continue learning and exploring over summer vacation. Research shows that students experience significant learning loss when they do not participate in educational activities during the summer months, and that loss is even greater among children in low-income communities. To combat this summer slump, PBS KIDS has developed 10 weeks of special on-air programming, a variety of online resources, and partnerships with Pottery Barn Kids, Education.com, Scholastic and Grandparents.com.

“PBS KIDS and our member stations are providing families with a wealth of resources and partnerships to keep children engaged and learning this summer,” said Lesli Rotenberg, General Manager, Children’s Programming, PBS. “The summer is a great time for families to explore together, and we know that our content can help families bridge the summer learning gap and build critical skills for success.”

Summer Learning Theme-Weeks

Starting Monday, June 3 (check local listings), PBS KIDS presents 10 weeks of themed programming to inspire children ages 2-8 to explore and learn. Each week will feature episodes from a different PBS KIDS series.

The line-up includes:

• WILD KRATTS – “Bug Week,” starting June 3                  
• SUPER WHY! – “Super You Week,” starting June 10         
• SESAME STREET – “Literacy Quest Week,” starting June 17          
• MARTHA SPEAKS – “Puppy Week,” starting June 24         
• CURIOUS GEORGE – “Creative George Week,” starting July 1                   
• DINOSAUR TRAIN – “Dinosaurs A-Z” starting July 8                     
• DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD – “Let’s Play Outside Week,” July 15                
• THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! – “Let’s Get Wet Week,” starting July 22         
• ARTHUR – “Sports Week,” starting July 29                      
• WORDGIRL® – “What’s Up With WordGirl Week,” starting August 5          

Partnership Activities

PBS KIDS is working with the following select group of partners to encourage children and families to explore literacy and learning all summer long.

Pottery Barn Kids: PBS KIDS is working with Pottery Barn Kids this summer to highlight the importance of reading through the Pottery Barn Kids Summer Reading Challenge.  From May 24 through August 26, families can find activities and tips from PBS KIDS, including a “PBK Favorites” booklist, certificate of completion and bookmark, in stores and online at www.potterybarnkids.com/read. Children that complete the list and bring it to a Pottery Barn Kids location will receive a free book, or parents can enter their child into an online drawing for a backpack full of books. Additionally, PBS KIDS will be providing tips to help families create a literate home at participating Pottery Barn Kids retail locations and on the Summer Reading Challenge website. For more information on the Summer Reading Challenge and related activities, visit www.potterybarnkids.com/read.

Education.com: Beginning May 20, families can visit Summer Reading Adventures hosted by Education.com to access a number of summer reading resources, including a “Do-It-Yourself” Reading Camp. “DIY” Reading Camp includes everything parents need to host 10 weeks of learning fun right from their own living rooms and backyards. Each camp week includes a dozen projects and activities, including specially selected PBS KIDS content, for parents and kids to do together. PBS KIDS and Education.com will also encourage families to read over the summer months with the “We’ll Read 10” pledge – which offers families the chance to win one of five Kindle Prize Packs. To take the pledge or learn more about DIY Summer Reading camp, visit www.education.com/read

Scholastic: As the national “Ambassador of Summer Reading,” WordGirl is challenging kids to read every day this summer through Scholastic’s Summer Challenge. The Scholastic Summer Challenge™ is a free online reading program where kids can log their reading minutes to earn rewards and help set a new 2013 world record for summer reading to beat last year’s record of 95,859,491 minutes.

Grandparents.com: Grandparents can help kids with reading, too. PBS KIDS is proud to be working with Grandparents.com to offer resources to provide grandparents with ideas and literacy-building activities that they can do with their grandchildren over the summer break.

Online and Mobile Resources

Select episodes and clips will also be featured on PBSKIDS.org/video and on the free PBS KIDS Video App. Additionally, each week a special episode will be available as a free download on iTunes.

Online, parents and caregivers will find free, downloadable activity guides and printables to host reading parties and more on PBSPARENTS.org/read. Literacy-focused games and activities will be available for kids at PBSKIDS.org/read. PBS KIDS also offers more than 25 educational mobile appsavailable on iOS and Android to help kids build key skills for learning.

Through a variety of summer learning initiatives, PBS KIDS continues to offer educational and engaging content across platforms to more and more families. PBS KIDS is increasingly serving children wherever they live, learn and play.

About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online, mobile and community-based programs. Kidscreen- and Webby-award winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including the PBS KIDS video player, now offering free streaming video accessible on computer- and mobile-device-based browsers. For more information on specific PBS KIDS content supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter and Facebook.