It's a hot, summer day and the sun is shining bright. 

The perfect opportunity to get outside and sunbake, get those much-needed chores done or head off for a swim. 

These are all perfectly great ideas for summer, but what residents must not forget is sunscreen. 

It seems an obvious thing to say, but how many parents lather up their children and then forgot to apply their own sunscreen? 

Back in the day it seemed like a perfectly good idea to sit outside and burn. 

However, this does have long-term consequences for both adults and children. 

This isn't just the pain of that sunburn either. 

It's cancer and it's deadly. 

Bad sunburn in childhood increases your risk of developing potentially deadly melanoma and this isn't something that should be taken lightly. 

The Melanoma Institute Australia has issued the reminder as the festive season draws closer and Leeton Shire families prepare to embark on their annual summer holidays.

It's so very important that everyone adheres to this. 

One Australian dies from melanoma every six hours. Melanoma is the most common cancer affecting 15 TO 39 year-old Australians and IS the leading cause of cancer death in 20-39 year-olds. 

The incidence of melanoma in the over 60s is also high, a legacy of sun-damage from decades ago.

According to the Institute ultraviolet radiation is damaging to skin cells as it causes mutations in DNA and it also impairs the immune system’s ability to repair. 

Intense, intermittent sun exposure leading to sunburn – particularly in the years prior to puberty – is the most dangerous.

If those facts aren't enough to startle you into action, what else will? 

Will it be a mate dying from skin cancer? 

Hopefully it doesn't come to that. 

It is just so very important that like many things in life, popping on sunscreen while out in the sun isn't something people become complacent about. 

It's a simple task that could end up saving your life.

It may seem like a bore and a chore to do so, but how valuable is your life and that of your children and family? 

Seems a small price to pay for a few minutes before heading out in the sun.