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.

As the pale offspring of a darker skinned mum, I can't describe just how many times I've been burnt as a child, even now my mum keeps saying that I don't need 50 SPD sunscreen .

Kid is ghostly pale, doesn't tan at all, doesn't get heat/ sun stroke either so I use common sense. Quick walk to the shops or mostly indoors- no sunscreen. At nursery- absolutely sunscreen as he's mostly outside.

I usually do put it on us even when we go out in the morning as quite often we don't just stay out until 10 and if we're already out I can't really reapply it. Also begrudge carrying yet another thing as we don't have a car.

We live in Spain and I try and give DD 10-15 minutes in the sun without sun cream (not at hottest part of the day) to make sure she gets lots of vitamin D, but am very careful if she's in the pool, at the beach or playing outside as she is fair and would burn otherwise.

DH pretty much burns if he looks out the window on a sunny day so we always have factor 50 in the house, and I use it on DS if we're going to be out after about 10.30/11ish.

I'd be interested to read more about use of suncream as a factor in the widespread deficiency in vitamin D. I had tiny levels and got supplements and I'd felt so terrible, itchy and night sweats, hadno idea a vitamin deficiency could cause such uncomfortable symptoms.

Prob more likely to be our cultural shift to being indoors sat on computers not being outside!

I use some on my kids but only when they're going to be out for a long time and it's very bright out or on hot holidays. I probably wouldn't for the weather we've had for a normal school day.

Nobody is burning at 10am

Last time I got sunburn was 15 minutes outside at 9.45am.

My skin is so white I’m practically transparent.

I wear SPF50 with the highest star UV filter rating I can find.

I got sunburn between 9.30 and 10.30am yesterday. I have previously burned through a thin top. My dc are pale skinned, blue eyed children of parents who burn and have a plethora of moles and freckles. My uncle died of skin cancer. You bet I slather the dc in factor 50, I'd far rather be sniggered at by people like the op than have the dc burn and increase their risk of what I can assure you was a fucking horrible end.

You do realise that whether it’s may or august, the suns always as strong. So yes there a need to put factor 50 on. My sons one and a half and I out factor 50 on first thing in the morning and again midday ish when it’s sunny, there’s no way I’d risk him getting burnt at this age. I however just spray factor 15 oil on me and off I go, don’t tend to reapply unless I feel my shoulders starting to burn.

The problem is schools won’t apply or allow suncream so it goes on at 8 in the morning however I am sure it’s worn off by the time Ds walks home .
I also use factor 30 on my son .

My rule for sun cream is usually between 11-3

The problem is schools won’t apply or allow suncream

Thankfully ours do. Very sensible!

We live somewhere hot and sunny all year round (it's nearly 30 degrees when we leave for school....) I need a sheep dip thingy for DS, as he is so fair that unless he is caked in factor 50+++ he goes red in a nanosecond; DD is fine unless we are going to the beach or in the pool. I use sun cream if I'm going to be outside for anything more than 20 mins

Our school doesn't want sun cream in school. So it's smother it on before school or not at all. And if it's warm they spend a lot of time outside. I've helped in school many times and felt myself start to burn without sunscreen.....
I try to encourage my DD to seek the shade, and always wear her hat so she doesn't burn her head ( fine hair equals burnt parting - I have to wear a hat in the sun for this reason)

That said, on non School days we do have some sun exposure without sun screen - but then I know that I can control it. I don't expect teachers to be able to do this.

I wore black and white stripe swimsuit at the beach once. I got stripey sun tan under my swimsuit. My friend explained to me, black absorbs sun light, but white, it goes through. So, as I understand, you still get exposure to some sun, if you wear light coloured clothing.

Aww Irvine, I thought you were working towards a black-and-white-and-red-all-over pun there.

Mad dogs and English men go out in the mid day sun

As someone who got second degree burns from sitting in the sun I probably am quite paranoid about sun damage. Doesn't help my DD is a redhead and has inherited my pale complexion.

We do both go out in direct sunlight without cream either early morning or late afternoon for a good 30 minutes. If we're going to be in the shade we don't use suncream for the day, but any chance of exposure during the day I do put it on. I also always put it on DD before nursery in case they go out to the park or anything like that.

People think I'm super ott but I'm better than I was. After my burns my skin became even more sensitive to the sun and I was too scared to go out in the sun at all. I wouldn't go outside for more than 20 minutes at a time if it was sunny. Then I got a sever vit D deficiency so had to find a balance

We are out pretty much all day every day when the sun shines. When really hot I do one coat about 10 and then top up after swimming. Try to avoid the sun at midday.

My daughter has my husband's complexion and goes brown on day , whereas my son is pale (like me) and more likely to burn. We have a few instances of cancer in the near family so are cautious.

ffs, some serious fuckwittery here. it is under four weeks to peak u v. temperature is irrelevant, do you dumbos think it gets hotter because the sun moves closer?

the childish demands for absolutes are bad enough but the pride in ignorance is disgusting. shamed to be female with this amount of pig thickness.

go learn some basic science.

😂 No no, Special, tell us what you really think. 😂

This is getting tiresome now. Protect your kids from melanoma and give them vitamin D supplements. Don't listen to all this bullshit. The treatment for vit D deficiency is vitamin D supplements ffs and we can buy them from shops and take them. I do and my kids do everyday. Don't mess around with cancer and just for the record OP you did say you send your kids to school without sunscreen which presumably means they are playing out at lunchtime and in afternoon break and walking home without cream. The UV rating here has been very high this week.Not a risk I am willing to take

Yeah, I encouraged teenage dd to sit out for 15 minutes before applying suncream the other day. Her arm started burning within 5 although that might be because she rarely sees the outside world.

My DC are slightly olive skinned and have never once burned. I don’t smother suncream on them unless I know their skin will be exposed to it for a lengthy amount of time. I’d never put it on them for school for example because very little skin is exposed and they’re inside the vast majority of time. It’s just a matter of using common sense really.

My children are all very fair blonde/red heads and I'm fairly relaxed about it. I tend to check the uv levels for the day and decide from there. If we're going to be outside for more than half an hour in direct sunlight I'll put it on them. They've never burned and actually having seen me burn and be in a lot of discomfort my eldest is very conscious about keeping herself sun protected.

Typically for a day at school, unless temps are in the high 20s+ and/or high uv levels I will send them into school without cream on as they're not in the sun for extended periods of time.

FRUIT

Neither of my children burned this week at school. Both had a good bit of time in the sun today before suncream and shirts were put on.

Nobody is burning at 10am
I used to have to put suncream on when I walked my kids to school in the summer because I would burn if I didn't. I was home by 9.15am!

Although you are right that avoiding the sun between 11-4 and covering with clothing is a very sensible thing to do, people don't live like that, especially children. They DO need protection from the sun and they don't need to burn for damage to be done.

Vitamin D is very easy to take as a supplement. We don't get enough from the sun during winter anyway so taking a supplement is a good idea.

The problem is you are not a scientist, you are an olive skinned person who thinks that because you don't burn, you will never get skin cancer and other people are wrong to try to protect themselves. South Africa has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Your children may need more protection than you do, even if they don't burn. Children's skin is thinner and more vulnerable.

And it's not just how hot it is. As other people have mentioned, UV is the problem, which can be high even on an overcast day. Norway has a high rate of skin cancer.

I am suggesting NOTHING more than a few minutes a day (preferably building up to 30-45mins) of sunshine without heavy creams in the morning/evening
Building your children’s skin up to a place where they can enjoy short exposure to the sun without sun cream is just common sense
No it isn't, this is dangerous nonsense!
You do not build up protection by exposing yourself to the sun. A tan will provide some minimal short-term protection but the damage from the sun is permanent. It does not build up tolerance. When a child gets burnt they will carry that damage for the rest of their lives, it does not make their skin stronger or offer any protection. It is that damage that can lead to skin cancer in later life.