To worry for this poor baby!

[Iamonlyhuman]

My DP's brother has an 18 month old that and since the baby has been born, they've been to Spain a few times (in the heat).

I was talking about sun cream the other day to her and she doesn't bother other than a little F15! I asked why and she said "Well it's not really the done thing where I am from and my Mum never bothered with it with me, nor did my Nanna use it for her children".

SERIOUSLY, just because you're olive skinned and from a Spanish background does not mean you can let a child's skin colour change. It's a form of burning.

Literally, she let her DD play on the beach in just a swimming nappy and a hat!

Isn't this a form of I hate to say it neglect?

Cleve you don't have to burn to be exposed to skin cancer

Do they? Have you seen many Southern European children recently? They are ALL nut brown in the summer.

People need to tailor their skin care to their skin type. Babies should be kept out of the sun rather than slathered in chemicals.

people have to be exposed to the sun for short times - there are now cases of vitamin D deficiency in kids because of the obsession with covering kids in sun cream all the time.

OP you really need to go and read about the incidence of skin cancer, and who gets it.

Ok so quick point here, you say any change to skin colour is bad... Me and dc wear factor 50. We all tan a beautiful olive colour, despite living in the uk and despite there rarely being any proper sunshine, and being smothered in sun cream every 2-4 hours. I think you really need to get a grip. And if the babies mother is Spanish the baby is mixed race. You sound a little unhinged.

It's okay for the skin colour to change. A little bit of tanning is a healthy sign and shows that the child has had some time outside in the summer. It's only burning that is bad.

I would worry if I saw a child that was winter white, even in July. In fact I know two adults like this and they both use sunscreen every day in winter and summer and both have depression. I do worry about people losing out on vitamin D from sunshine if they are too worried about burning.

I'm not a medical person. It's just my understanding of the situation.

there does seem in be an insane overuse of sun cream in the UK and a mania about applying it to children as soon as the sun comes out, lest the suns rays touch their skin. It's not healthy.

If the baby isn't getting burnt, then clearly she is not leaving it out in the sun all day. A bit of sun exposure is good for us all. Getting burnt is not. The baby isn't getting burnt. Save your "worry".

My DH is of Iberian origin and he still can burn especially on places like shoulder and neck. He uses suncream. My sister is the same sort of olive skin and so is my MIL, both always use suncream. Children and babies in those countries still use suncream, they get nut brown because they have that skin tone to start and they are exposed to the sun over the year, far more than we get here. All skins actually need some level of protection even very black skins (they can dry easily as well).

What is better is to do as many people in hotter countries do which is retire to a nice air conditioned restaurant when the sun is at it's highest and use the beach earlier in the day and then again later when the sun is not at it's peak. This is what we will be doing next week. Also using cover ups can help. Factor Deadly just doesn't cut it!

on sunscreen overuse:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/26/the-inside-track-sunscreen-overuse

on sunscreen myths:
theskincarerevolution.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/sunscreen-myths/

extract:

"MYTH 3: Sunscreen protects against skin cancer.

As many studies have pointed out, cancers are actually on the rise in the US, despite widespread knowledge of sun protection, use of high SPF sunscreens, and the trend to stay inside and avoid sun exposure. There are no definitive studies linking melanoma (the deadly form of skin cancer) to just sun exposure. Just as puzzling, is that there are no studies definitively showing sunscreen can prevent cancer or melanomas. It is a widely held belief, but with little in the way of scientific study to verify its effectiveness as a cancer preventative. Yes, sunscreens can protect from UVB rays and sunburn, but as for UVA rays and preventing cancer, that is unsubstantiated. For an interesting scientific treatise about this, read the 440 page monograph which was written by the late, highly acclaimed, and respected dermatologist, Dr. Bernard Ackerman, “The Sun and the Epidemic of Melanoma: Myth on Myth.” He presents all the research regarding this topic up to 2008 and concludes there is no direct correlation between melanoma and sunlight exposure, or any scientific proof that sunscreens protect from melanomas. Dr. Arthur Rhodes, another dermatologist agrees that people are under the mistaken belief that melanomas are only caused by sunlight exposure and do not seek medical attention when such lesions occur on areas that never receive sun, such as the armpit, soles of the foot, which ultimately leads to certain death if not treated. Dr. Rhodes goes on to state “melanoma is a heterogeneous disease with multiple causes, arising from potential precursor moles that have little or nothing to do with sun exposure, including dysplastic nevi, congenital nevi, and abnormal moles on acral surfaces and mucous membranes.”"

My DH goes a lovely brown in the slightest amount of sun.

He always holidayed in Spain or Greece as a child, because he never burned his parents would just use a bit of factor 15 on his shoulders if they were on the beach for a length of time.

He was diagnosed with skin cancer last year. He's had a massive chunk of flesh taken from his chest, and a piece from the side of his nose. The damage was done as a child.

I'll be using factor 50 at all times on my kids.

What suncream does your DP's brother put on his daughter?

there does seem in be an insane overuse of sun cream in the UK and a mania about applying it to children as soon as the sun comes out, lest the suns rays touch their skin. It's not healthy.

Totally agree. I think smothering your child in chemicals every five minutes is really bad.
OP If the child is olive-skinned anyway then surely they are not 'burning' but just getting a little darker and they are using suncream, so I don't see the problem.

So I presume your brother in law is putting a higher sun cream on the baby OP?

It's not neglect, I don't like it when people use neglect for things that aren't it make the word sound less when children really are neglected.

If the child isn't burning then they may well keep her from the sun ( under an unmbrella) in the hottest part of the day.

I do think in the uk we feel we have to put sun cream on as soon as the sun appears, when i don't think it's always needed. Really it depends how long you are going to be exposed to the sun.

It really is there parenting choice, it's up to them if they use factor 40 or 15.

I think your are getting in a bit of a twist over 'factors' to be honest

F15 and F50 are EQUALLY effective - F15 applied regularly is as effective as F50 - F50 just offers longer protection time wise

A tan isn't burning - burning is the big risk factor - a tan is not good for the skin in terms of ageing etc but it's a fact of sunny weather if you are in it!

We just came back from Spain - all of us slathered in F50 - all of us have tans! no one burned though so not all bad - it's hard to keep 3 active children in the shade when they want to be in the pool, playing footy, doing archery or climbing a climbing wall!

One of my colleagues died from skin cancer, he had never burnt always used high factor sun screen, never burnt or tanned as a child.

The consultant said that the original site of the cancer was inside his nose and totally unrelated to sun exposure.

Every year on holiday in Europe I see blonde, dutch children with the most amazing tans, I wonder if there is any evidence of really high skin cancer rates in the Netherlands?

Interesting articles HisNameWasPrince.
I have often wondered if it's the actual suncream that causes half the damage. Who thought it was a good idea to rub metal and chemicals into your skin? I think young children/babies should be covered up and kept in the shade as much as possible rather than rubbing suncream into their skin all the time.

They must be taking precautions or your niece would have been coming back from holiday with sunburn.

And if the babies mother is Spanish the baby is mixed race

What? Since when is being half Spanish considered being mixed race?

When I've spent time in hot climates such as Greece and Spain one thing I've really noticed is the locals standing in the shade the whole time. Even ladies out in the front garden chatting.. standing in the line of shade from a telegraph pole. They're magnetically attracted to it.

So perhaps your niece is being shaded rather than slathered in dodgy chemicals? Really if she's not burning then she's being looked after.

F50 just offers longer protection time wise

this is so but actually F50 can give a false sense of security as the cream will be sweated off the skin before it can give 20 x 50 = 1000 minutes of protection.

Why else do F50 products still say "reapply every few hours" etc. They are very misleading.

So yes you are paying much much more for F50, applying loads more chemicals, and it can't protect you for the 16 hours it's meant to as creams can't stay on your skin that long.

IDontKnowWhoIAmAnymore
What race are Spaniards? I'll ignore the low-blow 'unhinged'.

In America (and spreading to other places) "Hispanic" is often considered a race, even though American law doesn't describe it as such.

I think people just like to point at the slightly darker skin of some Spanish/Italian/Greek people and go "oh you look a little different so you must BE different"!

If she is regularly putting on the F15, and keeping the baby from the worst of the sun, you are seriously overreacting.

OK, first of all the fact that the child is getting a suntan is NOT bad.

Then the mother is NOT increasing the risk skin cancer for her child. It's REPEATED SUNBURNS that do that. Actually research says that she is doing good because exposing him to the sun is GOOD for your health (It reduces a hell of a lot of illnesses)

Finally, we are only in JUNE. It's not the time of the year where you will get the strongest sun yet. I doubt she will do that in July or August, nor will she do it at 12.00pm. People in Spain migt be happy not to use lots opf suncream etc..., but they are usually MUCH more careful about not going out when the sun is strong etc... Aka when actually it is dangerous to stay in the sun for too long (they will be having a siesta anyway )

For info about the effect of the sun on your health read that research article (I promise it's readable! Just a nice summary of what we DO know)

According to my husband's consultant dermatologists, Any change in skin colour is a sign of damage.

My DH has melanoma and several surgeries, is on serious medication with no guarantee that the skin cancer won't kill him.

I trust his consultant dermatologists more than random wittering on the Internet. They all recommend high factor sun screen for everyone and staying out of the hottest part of the day. Factor 50 and coverin g up for him and all of the kids.