To not smother my DCs in suncream?

[CantankerousCamel]

I know there is a lot of information suggesting ‘there’s is no such thing as a healthy tan’ but AIBU to think it’s gone too far the other way?

I am very lax about suncream personally (choice partly and research mostly) but everywhere I look, people seem to be smothering children in factor 50 every second of the day!

This cannot be healthy surely? Some sort of happy medium is necessary? Obviously some skin needs heavy sun cream and some needs none (I have Spanish skin and my husband is South African, neither of us or the kids have burned when being careful with staying in the shade in midday sun and popping a thin layer on/hat if needed

Why the factor 50 in May?

AIBU to think NICE should be adjusting guidelines to ward off such thick use of creams on young children? It is important for skin to experience sunlight, especially in the Northern Hemisphere and especially this time of year when moderate exposure is easier, safer and will prevent burning later on in the summer.

Aha! There we have it! The FTP who knows better than everyone!

@CantankerousCamel has a 10 month old. I am guessing no 6 year old, no 9 year old, no 13 yr old or 16 yr old (I don’t have all of those - only the oldest 3)

Good luck making your child sit nicely indoors during the higher UV days because you don’t wanna sun cream them. Enjoy that. Really. 🙄

Yup, definitely the NICE expert on how to reduce risk of cancer. Maybe in addition to the one baby that doesn’t demand garden time in the middle of the day you also have a few degrees under your belt. I don’t, but then, I don’t pretend to know all the facts about ozone, UV, cancer, skin damage and vitamin intakes.

You know what, I’m just gonna continue to treat my kids as individuals. With only one of them needing higher factor protection.

I guess it depends on your skin type and how much they will be out. My children are very pale like me and one came home from school very burnt as she had been outside a lot that day and we hadn’t put cream on. She was very uncomfortable and we covered her up the next day. It wasn’t even scorching hot but was this may hot spell we are currently having. Both children now have roll on cream in their bag and I put some on them before school. Older kids spend less time outside so less of an issue. When we went to the canaries last Easter it was early 20s and my 2 and their Australian cousin all had cream on. They spent a long time in the pool and my eldest got very burnt despite having the same exposure to the others. We ended up buying those long sleeved swim tops. It wasn’t even particularly hot either most days.

Yes they need some sun in their skin but on very hot days it’s best to take precautions. My sister is more obsessed living in oz and having lost a friend who was only in her 30s to skin cancer. She was a red head who hadn’t used much cream as a child but hadn’t been out sunbathing loads either. They also have ozone layer issues down there but it’s still best to be safe.

FLOWER

I have 3 children, the eldest is nearly 8.

I don’t expect them to sit inside quietly on hot days. I work very hard to make sure they have fun spaces outside in the shade, big sail shades over the paddling pool, craft areas under the canvas gazebo etc etc.

Just like you would in any other country.

It’s only the British who seem to think baking in the midday heat is leisure. We might go to the beach for around 4pm and stay til 7/8pm making sandcastles and watching the sun go down, rest of the day we’ll be at a leafy watering hole.

They also get their hours iPad time at midday here in the summer, which really helps

Again, 8/9/10am is NOT ‘the middle of the day’ regardless of how many times you misread it as such.

Never said it was the middle of the day. Some of us were pointing out that some skin types still can’t cope unprotected at that time!!

I am a Brit. We do not ‘bake’ on the beach in my family. We avoid 11-3 in the sun where possible.

Most skin types can handle

endless references to hot days.... still not getting it, are we?

no cream is waterproof. kids in pools need to be in uv suits.

@specialsubjects. I am going to show your post to my 11 year old later.

I make him wear a uv top on holiday . He hates it esp as it tends to be the younger ones wearing them not his age

Or put shade over the pool!

Is there any actual peer reviewed scientific studies that warn us not to use suncream? Because i know quiet a few australian friends who have had skin cancer quiet young. My bil dad has severe skin cancer now due to working on a ship in the sun. Another lady i know has used suncream and covered up in the sun for years and looks years younger than she is. Im not sure why people are so anti factor 50 apart from the vitamin d issue.
Also no one is forcing factor 50. Factor 30 is also good. Below that seems pointless to me.

Martha

I posted a telegraph article a few times with various studies cited in it that discuss the need for sun exposure in the northern hemisphere.

Really there is so much difference between here and weather in Australia that I think it’s important to find information related to where we live

Depends really on situation. I have a child with photo sensitivity (sun allergy) who can't go out at all even in shade and overcast days without longs sleeves, long trousers, sun hat and factor 50 minimum of 4 uva star sun cream on the bits that's exposed. My 3 year old only needs sun cream in the peak times of day. I out sun cream on him around 10 am and 2pm and he's not burnt yet.

My mother was do South African she never used to put sunscreen on the whole 24 years we lived in Kent. She sadly died last year from melanoma carcinoma.

Just done him to think about.

I read the article for the focus seems to be on vitamin d exposure rather than dangers of suncream. I know loads of brits who get skin cancer its very common sadly. Whereas where i am from we dont get loads of sun and when we do suncream is used to protect the skin. We are pale and sallow mostly.

beaver so sorry to hear about your dm

I posted a telegraph article a few times with various studies cited in it that discuss the need for sun exposure in the northern hemisphere.

The article mentions studies that promote the importance of vitamin D in protecting against many kinds of cancers. And that insufficiency of vitamin D can be a significant health risk

I can see strong research for the critical role of vitamin D in overall health. I can't see the evidence that this has to come from sun exposure to be effective. Or that it's superior to vitamin D supplementation. There is a theory posited that vitamin D from the sunshine may be protective against melanoma as well as other cancers. But I can't see a significant body of evidence to support this in the article. Please could you point me in the right direction as I'm obviously missing this ?

so sorry to hear that beaver

Thank you Marta and Yolo unfortunately people assume that minimal sun is not dangerous when at times it could be worse. I would rather smother my dd in sunscreen than end up losing her for my own vanity.

Well, there was a massive increase in melanomas in the UK when the foreign package holiday industry took off - but we did not have a history before that in the UK of droves of people dying of skin cancer. Yes, uv levels are higher than they used to be, but not that much higher that the sun is now our enemy. Imvho, I think there is a problem with medical specialists focusing intently on their own area of medicine and knowing too little about the effects their advice has on other areas of health until the effects become obvious years down the line... I do think the level of paranoia about the dangers of the UK sun has gone too far. I know, for example, that multiple sclerosis is hugely more common in parts of Scotland than anywhere else in the world, yet if Scottish people move closer to the equator, MS levels drop dramatically, so autoimmune experts are fairly certain that some autoimmune system disorders at least are linked to lack of sun exposure (and there are increasing numbers of people suffering from autoimmune disorders). Also, some people seem to be poor at absorbing and metabolising vitamin d from the diet and supplements. So, all in all, I don't think smothering yourself in high factor suncream whenever you go outside and hoping supplements will solve your vitamin d problems is as safe as it has been sold to be - more like saving yourself from one thing (which nobody in my family has ever suffered from) and putting yourself at greater risk of others (eg osteoporosis, autoimmune disorders and generally dysfunctional immune systems, which virtually every family is at risk of). I will therefore continue to favour never getting burnt and wearing high factor suncream when on holiday abroad, but not slavishly putting on suncream before I leave the house in the UK when most of the time, I'm not even out in the sun for that long, anyway!

BANANA

I’m afraid I am a strong believer in the world giving us what we need to survive where we are, hence people having different colours of skin around the world or eyes or whatever.

I don’t know that I agree with covering ourselves up so the natural aspect that offers us VIT D is unable to, and taking unnatural, man-made tablets to rectify the deficiet.

I totally understand if you feel differently to me, I get it if everyone wants to cover their family in high-strength sun creams every minute of the day, but I still stand by the point that almost all skin can deal with a few minutes exposure in the early morning or late evening and that this is good for the body in many ways.

Like I said, if you speak to any skin doctor they will tell you that getting burnt is the biggest risk, so getting a bit of a tan in the sunshine at 8/9am is not the big problem we all seem to think it is.

I am going to sound really stupid but in late afternoon say after 4 or 5pm when its still really sunny and warm but risk of burning goes down do you still benefit from exposier for 20/30 minutes?

Yes, definitely! Any time really that the body can be exposed to nature without any chemicals and creams on it, is good

I hate factor 50 as its so thick
There are plenty of factor 50 creams that aren't thick.
Altruist spray is clear, very light and very effective

*Most skin types can handle

I put factor 30 on the dog - don't have kids - but I do out factor 50 on me after a while. Burnt badly one year and had to sleep with cold flannels on my shins so don't want a repeat
I have factor 30 and 50 might buy some 20 for normal days out to mix in with my make up on summer days

honestly the way people go on about 'chemicals' as though they are utterly evil things...
Water and air are "chemicals" and frankly I would rather have 'chemicals' on my skin than get burnt.