DD is mixed race (her dad is Jamaican) & I don't really bother with sun cream - except if abroad in very hot sun (eg Egypt)

So I sent her off on her sailing course today & put no sun cream on

I have been told off

I feel embarrassed

I am however sure that she wouldn't have burnt - her arm & legs are covered and she has a hat on. She has never burnt before (& she sails quite a lot)

But I still feel a bit bad

Don't feel bad.

Mind you I think sun cream is over rated. I think covering up and staying out of mid day sun is far more effective.

My ds who's three has a nasty rash on his face and the back of his neck and I feel guilty because I think it's caused by the suncream I put on him.

You can't win really. But don't let other people's comments get to you. They mean well, but you're doing a good job.

you don't have to burn for the sun to damage your skin. and i am sure that the rays are stronger near water ( some highly scientific reason that i don't know )

you really should make sure she has some sun cream on

When DD goes out in the sun her skin goes brown

Even if she is covered in clothing her skin changes colour - so wearing shorts and a t-shirt she gets a brown tummy & bum as well as arms & legs

I always assumed her black genes protected her

Katy

If your daughter had got burnt then the person taking the lesson would have been right to say next time you need to put suncream on her

If your daughter didnt burn then its none of their damn business.

"I always assumed her black genes protected her"

I think that's a common misconception actually, even amongst 100% black people. There was a chart in a free magazine from Boots and whilst black skin needs a lowere SPF, it still needs protection.

No point feeling bad though. I forgot to put cream on the Small Dragons this week until Friday. They don't burn (despite being white) so I tend to forget. I've got some of that once-a-day stuff for school now and am trying to get us into the habit again!

The misconception bit wasn't meant to sound patronising/accusatory BTW! It's one of those useless facts I hav stored in my brain (at the expense of knowing the currentlocation of my housekeys)

I do when abroad

I just never thought it got that hot here really

i may be wrong but i thought it is about protecting the skin a bit from the damage...

my kids dont burn, but we use cream to protect a bit...

i may be worng so it may be worth finding out properly...

dont feel bad though, we do what we feel is right for our children

It's more important to wear eye protection from the sun IMO.

If her skin was covered then I wouldn't worry too much.

Katy

I really do feel that this whole sun cream thing is ridiculous for people who are black/brown/mixed race. My godson is mixed race and his parents never bother with suncream. Incidence of skin cancer in people with natural melanin protection is much MUCH rarer than in whiteys. It's sort of ignorant I think really

Or perhaps I am being unreasonable

Even DH wears a low factor in the tropics

But I guess I thought UK sun was less threatening

My kids are mixed race and I always use sun cream.

In fact (and this is another piece of useless information that I've read) apparently in black people, skin cancer (I don't know whether malignant melanoma) is more common on parts of the body that are not exposed to the sun. I can't remember where I read this, but found it interesting enough to remember.

A friend of mine has dark skin and is Indian, she burns sometimes.

I have also taught a young man of mixed race Jamaican/english, who also burns.

Another friend of mine has olive skin (again a Jamaican/Brit mix) and she burns.

Skin colour genetics are very complex and skin reaction to the sun does vary in people with dark skin, just as it does with 'white' skin.

Depends what you mean by "told off". If some one was really rude to you, that's one thing, but if they just mentioned that sun cream might be a good idea next time, that's another.

I think it's important that they wear a hat in the sun.

She didn't burn

She didn't go brown

She didn't even freckle

She was cheeky to her teacher

She did jump in several times

She did have a fab time

& we went sailing again when she got back & had a picnic on the water - which was <<again>> fab

Oh, well.. my son is blond haired with white skin and he hardly ever get burnt, yet his indian friend with quite dark skin seems to burn more easily. I don't get it.

Still, I'm glad that your daughter had a good time. I think that suncream while sailing would be a good idea for a black child, it acts a bit like a moisturiser and protects the skin from the affects of the wind as well as the sun.

The chart in the freebie mag from Boots suggests SPF 12 for black/asian skin in the UK/Ireland.

I do think it's worth getting into the habit of suncream, then it's not such a chore on holidays etc.

True that covering up and staying out of sun important - but rays intensified near water and sailing is a high risk activity for sunburn. Glad she was OK . We regularly got sunburn as kids and it was awful.

Creams are only ineffective if you don't put enough on (most people don't)