Children who attend childcare are the most sun smart in the state according to new results from the Cancer Council's 2018 National Early Childhood Sun Protection Survey.
Research shows WA children in the 0-5 age group who attend day care have near perfect sun protection.
A strong 94 per cent of children wear sun protective clothing, 96 per cent wear a hat that protects their head from the sun, and 98 per cent wear sunscreen when the UV is at damaging levels.
Cancer Council WA South West regional education officer Shenae Norris said the high level of sun protection in the childcare sector was already having a noticeable impact on peoples long-term health.
"As a result of the work done in childcare centres and schools in WA, over the past 20 years we've seen a downturn in melanoma rates in people in the 15 to 39 age group," she said.
"Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, with two in three people developing skin cancer in their lifetime.
"Childhood is a critical period when sun exposure is likely to contribute to skin cancer later in life, so instilling these behaviours early on will help avoid nasty skin cancers down the track."
Collie Early Education Inc early childhood director Jenny Fry said all their staff complete sun smart training every year so they were more aware of sun protection.
"The UV is checked daily and anything over three we have the children apply sunscreen. We encourage them to apply it on their own. We make sure they are also wearing a hat, if a child doesn't have a hat we can give them one of our hats, or they are suggested to play in the shade," she said.
"The children will say 'I need my hat', or, 'I need to apply sunscreen', when we ask them who wants to go outside. It's about teaching the kids about sun safety."