Mustela: Very High Protection Sun Lotion

This year has been a year of fulfilled dreams and answered prayers. One of my faith goals for Troy last year was for him to be able to play soccer (Read about it here).  With much prayer and faith, Troy is now part of their school's soccer varsity team and trains 3 times a week. While i love that he's very active and so much into the sport, I have been a little concerned about his skin.  His skin seems to be getting darker by the day. As with most six-year old boys, Troy does not like to put sun protection. I've tried giving him various sunblocks but he either complains that it does not smell nice or that it's too sticky.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to the launch of Mustela's Sun Care line, among other things. The sun protection line was reformulated to better fight against dangerous UVA and UVB rays while enhancing the preservation of the skin's wealth of stem cells that are still present in our kids' skin.

Mustela's Sun Protection Range

So when I got home, i immediately asked Troy to try it. I was silently praying that he would like it. And he did!   These days, Troy keeps a tube of the Sun Protection cream in his bag. He puts it on himself each time he changes for soccer training. He has also agreed to use it during recess when he plays with his friends in the playground.

I like that Mustela's Sun Protection cream for the face come with an easy pump. This allows for my son to use just enough instead of squeezing the entire content out. I also like how the body lotion is in spray form so it's quick and fun for the kids to apply. I just have to keep reminding him to check where the nozzle is pointed before spraying to avoid spraying his eyes.

I will end with some tidbits about Sun Protection that i learned during the recent Mustela event. I think it's good to always be armed with knowledge.

• SPF (Sun Protection Factor) is a measure of UVB protection and is the amount of light it takes to induce redness after sun exposure. Example: SPF 15 - if it takes 10 minutes of noontime sun for you to develop a sunburn, then an SPF 15 will give you 15 x protection or 150 minutes total. So it's not true that SPF 15 means 15 minutes of sun protection while SPF 60 minutes an hour.
• The sun's peak hours is from 10am to 4pm
• The recommended thickness of sunscreen application is 2mg/cm2. Most people apply less than that. 
• Frequent application is more important than just choosing one with higher SPF

You can check out the Mustela products available in the Philippines by visiting their website or going to their Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/MustelaPhilippines.
 

Contact +639178959988 to find the Mustela store nearest you!

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Growing Up with Integrity

The past months have been a roller coaster ride for me on the parenting front. There were good days and not-so-good days. Our son is six and is growing up to be a fine young man.  But of course, as with most kids, he is a work-in-progress.  He may be more outspoken than i hope at times, or more active than my feet can take. But one thing i am noticing more and more is that he is growing up with a strong sense of integrity. 

Troy loves to play soccer. Give him a ball and he will run with it and practice his high-kicks wherever he is.  But last week he has been down with the flu so i told him not to play soccer during lunch breaks to avoid dehydration.  Yesterday when he came home from school, he asked me if he can already go back to playing soccer during lunch. I said as much as possible it's best that he doesn't because i don't want him to get sick again. He explained how his friends played that day and that he was not able join them because i asked him not to.  I felt bad for him but was also very proud that he kept his word. He asked me if he can already play the next day and i just replied with 'We'll see tomorrow'.   

Today at around 12:30pm, we got a call from the school. Troy wasn't sure if he was already allowed to play soccer so he went to the school's admin office to borrow the phone and ask for our permission.  My heart swelled with pride at his honesty. He could have just gone ahead to play soccer and we won't have a way of knowing it.  But he knew he kept a promise with us and he wanted to do the right thing. My cousin recently shared something on Facebook that says 'Your true character comes out when nobody is watching' - and that's true. That's where integrity comes in.

Our children are indeed a work-in-progress. But who isn't, right? I'm in my thirties and i know the Lord is still molding me to be the kind of person He wants me to be.  What is important is that we, as parents, instill good moral values in them that will bring them a step towards being a better person.  Even as a parent, i am still a work-in-progress. Each day i learn something new. I've learned a lot of parenting tricks and techniques through the past years, but one thing i know is that my greatest coach is Jesus Christ. He is and will always be our best resource in bringing our children up.

And in case you're wondering, we did allow Troy to play soccer today.  He kept his word and i think that deserves a reward.

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