to think it's outrageous to not put suncream on your child in this weather

[BornSicky]

a little girl aged 3/4 was playing out front this afternoon wearing barely any clothes, no parent in sight and was bright red everywhere. SHe was out there for a good while. her poor little face was glowing with the heat.

i'm sooo angry. had it been remotely appropriate, i'd have slathered my suncream all over her.

AIBU to think it's really not that fucking hard to cover your child in suncream before they go outside, especially when it's this hot?

I think the risk of being burnt as a child and the subsequent greatly increased risk of skin cancer in later life outweigh the supposed vit D deficiency risks, however as someone who had skin cancer before I was 30 I am rather biased.

I am very pale admittedly but years upon years of burning in the sun ending in blisters and endless peeling means I am really conscious of it and was determined that dd wouldn't burn.

Yes it costs a lot but tbh its just a cost of parenthood for me - at least you can get cheap pound shop sunscreen now, when dd was growing up the price was prohibitive and there was nowhere where you could buy a cheap option.

There is no excuse for letting you child burn imo.

The Holland and Barratts own brand children's multivitamins contain 200% RDA of Vitamin D (RDA is set at the level below which diseases of deficiency may arise). Even if there is some wastage from not all being absorbed, that margin is enough to have a sufficient level.

The amount of sun recommended for synthesising vitamin D is much less than people think. On a high UV index day such as today, it is skin area roughly face and lower arms for about 15-20 minutes outside peak hours. Given that so many of us do not apply enough suncream, or do not reapply it often enough, it is likely that you are getting sufficient from that route too, especially if you are tanned (itself a sign of damage, and also sign of body's defences attempting to prevent further damage).

Vit d has been a problem and we are now suffering due to over slip slap slop message for sun cream.

back before 1950 no one used sun cream yet now we do rickets are on the rise and it is no surprise that sun cream costs money and manufactors make millions from sun cream sales

'There is a differnce between the MAY and WILL perceptionreality, sun cream may damage your skin, the sun WILL damage your skin, no two ways about that.'

Sun screens contain parabens which are cancer causing. Perhaps they cause types of cancer that are more difficult to treat than skin cancer? Just a thought.....I am definitely not a sun worshipper and I do think that the sun causes skin damage but in trying to prevent one problem you could create another imo.

We took DS (11mo, fair skin, red hair) out for a walk to town in his pram at around noon. We kept to shady routes where possible and covered the pram if he was going to have to face the sun for more than a few minutes' walk.

Therefore I chose not to cover him in sunscreen, because I thought the little bit of sunshine he would be exposed to would actually be good for him.

We're back home now and he doesn't appear remotely pink, so I'm calling it a win

The nhs advice is that vitamin D should come from diet and 10-15 mins of sun a few times a week on your hands and face. It states that during high temperatures sunscreen should be used. It also recommends all children under 5 take vitamins to ensure they get vitamin D.

You are being a little unreasonable as you don't know exactly what the score was. As some posters a saying, people and children can flush red dispite being lathered in cream etc but I do know it is hard not to out you're judging hat on when you see something like that.

On a slightly separate note, outside whilst doing the weekly shop today I saw baby (tiny thing so maybe about 2-3 months.. In her pram, sun a blazing on her.. NO sun hat, NO parasol or cover of any description!!! She had no hair and was red... I was gob smacked... Mean while mum was smoking a fag and playing in her phone. Now, I do try not to judge but I was :o. My DH had to restrain me but I did say something in the end.. Yes I know that is a bad thing to do as I wouldnt like someone to tell me what to do, so do feel free to flame me for it BUT the poor baby was cooking, literally! The mother was none to happy for my interference as you can imagine but I did show her up and gave her my DS sun hat.

I suppose that if you do not want to use sunscreens because you are concerned about safety, then you will be equally concerned about the known risks of sunburn. That means you will have to fall back on going indoors between about 1130 and 1500 on every day with a high UV index, and 1200-1400 on all other sunny days, plus wearing hats and long-sleeved, full leg clothing beyond those hours.

And perhaps invest in parasols

Yes YABU to say it is outrageous not to put suncream on your child in this weather.

It's not about suncream but reasonable precautions.

So if you'd said AIBU to think it's outrageous to allow a child to become sunburnt because you couldn't be arsed to take reasonable precautions - then you would have not BU.

We haven't used suncream yet this year. Honestly we probably use it on two or three occasions in any one summer, if that.

It is NOT necessary to wear cream, in fact in some situations it is a BAD idea to do so - sensible sun precautions does not have to mean sun creaming kids up to the eyeballs.

i think you should ring SS and report straight away as you know for sure she didnt put on sunscreen and that she was burnt and not pink from being hot or heat hash or anything ...you are sure arent you?

if not YAB sooo u!

I was working away for a few weeks last summer, DH bought DD sun cream as it was a hot couple of days. Idiot bought fake tan by accident, what a fabulous colour my 2 year DD was, San tropez fabulous!

Altkinmum, there's very little difference in protection between SPF 30 and SPF 40 and I think the max recommended time in the sun without protection is 15 mins. Obviously it varies from person to person but if I was in the sun for 45 mins I would be severely sun burned.

perception reality - you might like the suncream I linked to earlier too :)

Ah yes bumbley, we have a similar one that we use. It's SPF 30. We've always used it in the summer both in the UK and abroad on holiday and it seemed to work great - ie the kids didn't get burnt.

I understand there are some countries that won't allow accreditation of SPF above 30, on the grounds that higher claims are marketing without scientific evidence to back it up.

And didn't Which? do an analysis of whether suncreams on sale in UK lived up to their SPF rating and found that many didn't? IIRC their best buy for both price and actually providing the proper protective level was ASDA own brand.

And I've never found a survey which shows that "all day" creams actually do provide that on real people (who sweat, rub themselves, or have collars/ends of sleeves or shorts which brush the skin).

I've never used sun cream on my DCs, 1yr old and 3yrs as they're mixed race (half black African) and don't use it myself anymore. For me, my kids need vitamin D. I think many people underestimate how important vitamin D is, most probably don't even know what it's for. 15 mins a day unexposed sun time IS NOT enough to gain adequate levels of vit D, despite what NHS guidelines are. There is no food that provides any meaningful amount of vit D, only tiny amounts and we need a huge amount to see us through winter. Supplements of vitamin d do not have great bioavailabilty and most will not be in the quantities we really need. Vitamin D is VITAL for our immunity, not just bone strength. Lack of vitamin D has been linked to all sorts of illnesses including various cancers.

We were out today for the whole afternoon, DD had a sundress and hat on and no suncream. Her skin was as pale as ever this evening and at no point during the day did it redden. We went to the zoo and the park so she was in and out of the shade. Tbh I think this sunblock hysteria is not very healthy, of course if you'll be staying in the sun for hours it's important to put it on, but otherwise...not sure if all the chemicals being absorbed by the child's skin for 10 hours a day, every day for 2-3 months are that great, tbh.

And obv. slathering your child from morning til evening in sunblock can cause vit.D deficiency.

I agree winnybella - trouble is that it's gone from one extreme to the other.

butterfingerz - the AAP recommends the same iirc.

People with darker skin do need more exposure to sunlight to absorb enough vit D though.

Perhaps they hadn't got any with them.

We aren't always all perfect parents.

My DDs are both away this week end, I said sun cream several times to both before leaving and at lunch time to DD1 on the phone.

I expect they will be pink.

I get cross at anyone being outside all day in this heat with no sun protection. I'm not for one second saying it's reasonable of me but I have had sun stroke EVERY YEAR I can remember from toddlerhood to last year. I can wear factor 50 and burn like a lobster in 10 minutes of sun, I drink gallons, wear sunglasses and a hat and still end up in hospital on a drip from heat exposure.

Anyway, I don't let my children out without a hat, sunnies and a liberal squirt of suncream on, so shoot me.

What I hate (I'm not a mum but not for lack of trying) is when I see parents putting sunscreen on when kids get to the park/beach but not before.

Sunscreen needs to be applied 30 mins before they go out so it has time to soak into the skin and form a shield. Iirc if you go out too soon it wont be as effective and will break down quicker in the sun.

I only had factor 30 on yesterday but I applied it all over (even on areas that would be covered in clothes as you can burn through clothes) 45 mins before we went out and reapplied it during the day too. I havent got any tanning or tan lines today.

Makes me very cross when I see brown children, I used to know a woman who worked for cancer research, she even put it between her kids toes.

I just pour diet coke over mine

It's very annoying about the Vitamin D. For years they've been telling us to slather our kids in suncream, and if possible to avoid going outside between 11 and 3. Now the advice is: don't overdo the suncream, otherwise you'll get rickets, and to get the maximum Vitamin D effect you have to go out between 11 and 3.

I know the state of scientific knowledge changes, but it's kind of frustrating when there's a 180 degree turn in advice.

I've read a lot about Vitamin D recently, and it seems that Vitamin D deficiency is implicated not just in rickets but in other diseases as well, including multiple sclerosis.