UV suits - are they necessary?

[WinkyWinkola]

We're off to Spain at the end of August.

Do you think we need UV suits for DS (3) and DD (1) or will good sun lotion do?

Where can I get some UV suits that aren't stupid money, please?

[whooosh]

I think they are horrible.....very tricky to get on when still damp from previous swim and I reckon they must be very hot and uncomfortable.
Yes they are easier than slathering on factor 50 several times a day but we only used dd's once.

Am sure other people will tell you how wonderful they are though

[WinkyWinkola]

Well, I can't find any I like.

I'm just wondering their value because I never had any of this as a kid and we lived in the Middle East and north Africa. Lots of sun lotion, hats and T-shirts seemed to suffice.

But perhaps our knowledge of the sun and what it can do has progressed somewhat since 1910.

[Lovingthepink]

We have UV tops from boots so they weren't really expensive. I think they are really good to wear over swimtrunks/swimsuits when dc are swimming instead of a t-shirt. They dry really quickly and stop their shoulders burning. They only use them when swimming the rest of the time I just use sun cream.

[gegs73]

I think they are good for really young children/babies as you have to worry less about suncream covering every bit of skin. Though for a 3yo I wouldn't think that you would really need one. Also it depends how dark skinned your children are. Both my boys are fairly dark, but if they were red haired and pale skinned I would be more worried. I've seen cheap ones in Sainsburys.

[TheArmadillo]

I got one for under £10 in asda.
Cheaper than suncream at that price.

[KristinaM]

we are just back from greece with a 2 and 4yo. the guests were all British and about 95% of the babies/toddlers were wearing them in the pool And most of the older children.

as everyone says you can get them cheaply from the supermarket. they are cheaper and MUCH easier than reapplying cream over their whole bodies every hour.

Of course you still need to frequently cream all the bits that are not covered by the suit and the hat. We used a large bottle ( 400ml i think) per person, so you will need 4

i wore a rash vest for watersports and they are NOT hot - they are very comfortable to wear

i think you will find that the rate of melanoma in northern europeans has increased since we were children

[anotherdayyetanothernickame]

I think they're worth it IF you are likely to get more than say a week's use out of them.

Buy one size up and maybe they'll last til next year....I bought age 4 when ds was 2.5 and not big for his age and they fitted fine (just slightly longer which is no bad thing) so they will last longer.

They do save some of the worry about whether their shoulders etc. are burning which is great and mean that you only have to slap suncream on smaller areas.

[Gobbledigook]

I'm hoping they are worth it as I've bought the boys 2 sets each for our holiday in August when I'm expecting it to be scorching. One set was from Sainsbury's - not the nicest in the world but they were half price and 3 for 2 so I got 3 suits for £9.

[theressomethingaboutmarie]

I got one for my dd from JojoMamanBebe (the most pretentiously named shop EVER!). It cost about £15 and is rather cute actually. My DD is 10 months and very pale so rather than risk missing bits whilst putting sun lotion on the little wriggler, I thought that this would be a far better idea.

[Morloth]

We always use them all the time, for the whole family. I have had to have so many moles removed because of all the sun damage I had as a kid. My father died of skin cancer. So for us, I am pretty damn obsessed!

HOWEVER having said that we are from Sydney so I am not sure what the sun is like in Spain. I always err on the side of caution though even here in the UK and have a 50+ suit on, plus sunscreen on the exposed bits, plus a hat, plus rashies shoes (also UV protected, one of the moles was on my foot).

Its a personal bugbear, also I find the shirts that we wear dry really quickly and breathe brilliantly so not uncomfortable at all.

[Walkthedinosaur]

I use one for my 3.8 year old son, however be aware that they're not allowed to wear them in open air swimming pools in France. I had a huge disagreement with an arsey lifeguard last week who made me remove my son from the pool while he was wearing his. It falls into that stupid rule where men have to wear speedo's and not bermuda shorts for swimming.

[Lizzylou]

We bought 2 for our week long holiday in Devon, I got them from Asda for about 8 quid each. The boys lived in them and they were fantastic for the pool/beach/rockpooling.
Far more comfy than being caked in suncream and sand.

[TheRedQueen]

I got my DD's UV suits from Adams (ordered online from www.adams.co.uk). They are currently on offer at around 5 to 6 pounds each.

[MrsBadger]

Winky, would you like to borrow dd's?
we've just come back from Fr and I can't see them getting used again this summer.
2 all-in-ones (think one's 9-12, one 12-18) and a two-piece (12-18 again I think, tags still on)

let me know

[MrsBadger]

(all the kids were wearing them in the pool we went to - the rules are to stop you wearing non-swimming clothes that might be dusty / shed fibres etc and the suits are obv swimwear)

[Oblomov]

Necessary ? No.
Totally fab ? Yes.
I bought 2 from e-bay, second hand for about £3 each. Bargain.

[roquefort]

Well worth it - makes the suncream hassle so much easier and much safer. 11 year old still wears (and likes) a UV top if on the beach or doing watersports. Two piece ones easier once they are school age. Have usually managed to get two, sometimes three, summers out of them if you buy a bit big.

[jellyforbrains]

I use them on the children and really like them. Both of my DCs are fair skinned though. DD has been wearing DSs old one this summer so has not worked out as being expensive. DC3 will have the same one too. Now that DS is 4 I have started to get him a couple of those UV tops (surfer style type) with bermuda shorts as I think the all in ones will start to look more 'babyish' when he is a bit older.

DD tends to get a rash when wearing suncream so I have found it to be a big advantage from that point of view too.

They are quite thin so I don't think they are that wet aginst the skin when they have been out of the water a little while.

[Oblomov]

Definitely buy in a bigger size than you think you need. That way they are not skin tight, you don't have as much problems peeling them off.

[JRocks]

DS has the o'neill sunsuit from blooming marvellous, the zip is on the back which helps if you have a child that likes undressing!

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[Oblomov]

Cod says Peak hours. But we took ds(who was about 2.5 then) to Ibiza in Sept and I thought the sun was very strong at both 10/11am and at 2/3pm.
Ds was in and out of the pool all day. Apart from 12-2 when we went ot lunch and had a siesta.
Thus, the UV suits were a godsend.

[HuwEdwards]

they are ok to use in a pool, but on the beach, they get ingrained with sand which is absolutely impossible to get out. This makes them v.uncomfortable - v. scratchy. I used them when DDs were toddlers, but gave up on them last year.