to think it's probably better to expose the DC to sun in a controlled way than to smear them in chemicals and leave them out there all day?

[fartingfran]

We're a fair-skinned family and in this weather I'm really careful with the DC - hats on, long-sleeved tops, and only out for short periods and not between 12 and 2. I use sunblock at times but hate using it daily cos it's so sticky and chemically. Plus, I think it's better to build up a bit of natural tolerance (wouldn't go so far as the term "tan" but less whiteness!) to the sun. What do you all do?

I agree. The other aspect of this is vitamin D - if we all go around covered in sun block all the time we'd never get enough - it's hard enough in the UK as it is!

I'm fair too and I find I can feel when I'm burning, so I use this as a guide now. If I'm not sure or I feel like I'm burning then I put sun cream on DS (and myself) asap - or if I don't have any then I take us into the shade.

I think it's misleading to think of building up a "natural tolerance" since the sun is much more harmful now due to ozone damage than it was ever likely to have been. I think it's a shame but we as humans have caused this damage, so we have to employ extra protection now.

I find that SunSense from Australia (google it) is much less sticky than other high-factor sun creams.

It's not really about tolerance though - it's the ability to produce sufficient melanin to protect from UV light. And fair skinned people just don't produce enough. Yes, we can build up a very gradual tan but even 15-20 minutes exposure can be too much.
Burning is a no-no because by that point there has been too much exposure to UV (which damages DNA leading to mutations etc.)
If you worry about chemicals, stick with the long sleeves and hats etc. and only allow 5-10 minutes UV exposure periodically.
We do need some UV obviously for Vitamin D production but short periods at a time.

YAN in my opinion BU. My DD is (or at least was) really fair. When she was a baby and until the age of 6, we lived in equatorial countries.
I don't like the feel of suncream and nor does she. I kept her out of the sun when it was at its strongest as much as I could.

DD is incredibly pale skinned, almost translucent and I thought I was bad. I burn incredibly easily and I cannot see how she could go out in strong sun for any period of time without burning. If I used Bertie's method above then by the time I felt my arms burning, dd would be already burnt.

So, I'm happy to stick with the sunblock until a better option comes along.

I agree (not so bothered about the chemicals) but there does seem to be an obsession with spending "all day outdoors" when it's sunny - you see it all the time on MN.
DCs' nursery once said they hadn't been out as much one day as "it wasn't as nice as the previous day" - we to my mind it was much better - overcast but warm and dry. No need to obsess over suncream and worry about hats that toddlers don't keep on.
But it seems as though it's the sunny days that are made for being outside, constantly slathering on more and more greasy cream and stressing over exposed bit and the lack of hats. Then the sun goes behind a cloud and everyone whines
Sorry - oe of my bugbears!

The thing is, to use suncream properly it has to be applied extremely liberally (a big bottle of my factor 50 only does 6 adult applications!) and frequently so you can't get away with putting it on before dressing. I know I couldn't, anyway, it just wouldn't work.

Not complaining about the sun, obviously I've achieved more in the last week than the preceding month due to my sunshine-fuelled motivation. Every time we get a heatwave I think about moving abroad!

There has been a significant increase in the numbers of people suffering malignant melanoma both in the UK and worldwide. This is linked to trends in foreign holidays, sunbathing and depletion of the ozone layer:

info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/archive/pressrelease/skin-cancer-rates-soar-for-baby-boomers

I used to work alongside a dermatologist who also spoke about the increasing numbers of young people who were presenting at the clinics with malignant melanoma.
There is, I believe, also some research linking sunscreens to increased risk because presumably people then spend even longer in the sun thinking they are protected.
As someone who has had dodgy moles investigated I take this all fairly seriously and was a bit rabid about hats and creams etc. with my own DC.

YANBU. I hate sunbathing and never encourage my children to play in blazing hot sun. Fortunately my garden is very shaded.

I had heard about that Salmotrutta - and IIRC it's the incidence of severe burns which correlates to later cancer risk - I read somewhere that a single severe burn can double the risk of melanoma in later life.

YANBU
I don't use sunscreen on the DC unless I know we are going to be outside for a longer period of time.

I read a report about this recently, will see if I can find it.

I think the message should simply be - get covered up before you feel any burning. To be on the safe side.

I can't abide the feeling of suncream on my skin - I just cover up, don't roast outside all day and don't regard a slathering of chemicals as a cover-up (ba-dum-tsh) for the use of common sense.

I also have incredibly fair skin - if anyone should be a candidate for going to vampireesque anti-sun measures it would be me!

This is quite an interesting article from last year. We live in the sun (300 days of it/year on average) and my general rule is 'when in Rome' so to speak. My 2 year old runs about most of the day in the sun (fair/not quite so fair skin, iyswim), though NOT between noon and 2. I slap factor 30 on her in the morning and then again after lunch.

I recall sometime last year there being a child in the news who had developed rickets and they said at the time that this was NOT uncommon, with Doctors in Southampton saying that there had been a 20% increase in such cases and likening some stats to those of the 17th Century...

I don't particularly like sunbathing, and will manage an hour at most, but I'm damned if I am going to shut the doors and windows when it's 30+ for 6 months of the year!

I can't recommend highly enough the information published by the Australian Cancer Council. Here's a link to their SunSmart page.

Even an ordinary tan has an effect on the longterm health of your skin. - there's detailed info on that link, plus consideration of Vitamin D issues etc (in fact loads of stuff).

They also have an on-line shop (I don't know if they send to UK, I've a friend who brings stuff over), but their sunscreen and SPF cosmetics are the best I've come across. Their highest SPF, BTW, is 30+ (as they don't endorse any higher ratings).

In addition - having observed sun-worshippers over the years, I have to say their skin does take on a very leathery appearance.

I used to do exactly as you do when my DC were younger. I'm no fan of covering a child up/adding suncream to the extent that they never benefit from the sun at all... used to bollock my mother about doing so when she took the DDs out for days too.

We're all very fair too but that's no reason to deprive ourselves of a little sun and vitamin D imho.

Too true Salmo and a wave and whistle to you also! The women here generally look 15-20 years older (with or without botox!). My neighbour is 7 years younger than me and it would be hard to believe she was less than 50 if I didn't know the truth.

I vaguely recall reading one in the Daily Mail within the last couple of months along similar lines with the rickets tbh.

I do however, hoik the entire class in on occasions when I'm teaching in foundation stage for a while because some kids will be out there all day and I'm not comfortable in my OWN mind with them being out there that long - so I'll bring everyone in for a story and a cool-off for a while... bugger the "wooo breaking up their play is evil" mentality sometimes.

I agree. I don't put suncream on mine unless they are out in very hot sun for prolonged periods.
I spoke to a consultant last year who told me that doctors are getting increasingly concerned about the rise in cases of rickets. This is because parents are so obsessed with covering their dc in factor 50 that children are not getting enough essential vitimins from the sun.

Hey boo!! Thanks for the whistle

Yes, I have a couple of relatives who live overseas - they are very leathery as they spend all summer soaking up rays. AND one of them has had malignant melanoma - mad.

YANBU.

There is a school of thought that one should get a VERY gradual sun exposure first thing in the morning for 20 mins ...(to build vit D and tolerance )

After that, cover up and keep out of the sun~use the shade and long cotton/cool sleeves .

I am very fair (as is one of my children) he has not burnt at all with this method ,despite being in the American Midwest with horrendously hot sun.

I think a general consensus knocking around last year was that anything over SPF30 is really not worth it and no different. Sunblock noses and maybe shoulders, but anything else really just needs a 20 - 30 SPF, and only then when in prolonged (more than half an hour) STRONG sunshine. I do put sunscreen on my youngest daughter, but as I said above, we live in the sun and she's out in it from the second she wakes til the time I drag her in (bar the midday siesta time). It is definitely worth spending more on sunscreen as tests have shown, that what may say SPF15 on some actually offers little more than 7 or 8. I stock up on the Soltan range when in the UK as they consistently do well in independent tests.