To be worried about my toddlers tan...

[elmoisthebest]

Why is my 2 year old getting a tan when I coat him in factor 50, La Roche posay kids and keep him out of the sun as much as possible?

I try to put a hat on although this doesn't often stay on long.

I put his water and sand table under a big sun parasol so he's mostly in the shade. It's only just June and he's looking fairly tanned already.

I know a tan means sun damage which worry's me but not sure what else I can do. I use lots of sun cream and wait a little bit before we go out.

DH and I are both white, but I do have quite olive skin and even with regular sun cream application, my skin goes darker straight away, DH on the other hand is fair and burns easily. Could he just take after me or should I be concerned?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Many people are genetically better at tanning. Taning is the body’s immediate response to exposure to sunlight and acts to protect the skin from further sun damage. The only way to avoid a tan (unless you are incapable of tanning) is to not go in the sun in which case you risk rickets. A small amount of sun never hurt anyone. So long asheusnt getting burnt, unusual spots or heat stroke you really don’t need to worry.

He’s probably just inherited your skin.

My skin is like yours. I was outside for about 20 mins in total yesterday (and the weather was not amazing). In the evening my BF asked if I’d been outside for hours as I looked tanned, apparently. I’m not sure I am actually tanned at all. I think it’s just that my skin lost some of its greeny wintertime pallor 😂. DS2 is the same.

I have learned to relax about sun tans on my kids. All three of them (and me) go quite dark brown within a few weeks of summer starting, despite sun cream / covering up / shade etc. We all look like we've been on a beach holiday already, when we have only been in U.K. sun.

My eldest child tans so responsively that he doesn't get tan lines If he goes out in shorts and t shirts he goes brown all over, not just on the exposed parts. I think he's part boy and part melanin factory

My son literally looks at the sun through the window & goes brown, his dad is the same...... i look at the sun through the window and burn!!

DS inherited my olive skin despite being blonde compared to me. I also used factor 50 all the time in the sun for h. I personally avoid direct sun as much as possible and always sit in the shade anyway as I find it more comfortable so he was in the shade a s much as possible. Always wore a hat etc..He too turns brown after very little time outside , even with sun lotion on ( as do I). He always seemed to have brown forearms and legs from the shorts and t shirts in summer. I. Not sure if it is a problem but there was absolutely nothing more I could have done, short of keeping him inside permanently in summer and on sunny winter days

He never ever burnt or went red. He just seemed to go a sort of golden brown.

It's great that he has a tan! As long as he's not burning he's fine.

Children need Vitamin D... Don't be too afraid of the sun!

We have had such a cold summer so far that I have only worn a t shirt once.

My arms are completely brown and I have a watch mark just from one day in the sun.

Some people just tan very easily.

My daughters have both inherited their fathers olive Mediterranean skin. I also coat them in factor 50 make sure they wear hats etc but they go brown. We've just been to Spain for a week and they both had noticeable tans after day 1. There is no point worrying about it, so long as they don't burn and you keep the sunscreen amd take reasonable attempts to keep them in the shade when possible they will be fine. There is no need to keep them inside though, as other people have said, sunlight is good for you.

I'm so glad for this thread. My 2yo is the same, he's quite fair but despite factor 50 is tanning on his arms and legs. My DB is the same so I think DS has inherited his skin tone.

I wasn't sure about upping the sun cream applications, but I'm also wary that some time is needed without for vit D. Also DS is such an outdoor baby, he would live in the garden if he could.

I have one ghostly white child and one who tans really easily... my sister always says my youngest would get a tan standing in front of an open fridge door! The first time a new colleague met him (he was about 9 months old at the time) she said, 'wow you have a brown baby!' He had hardly ever been in the sun...

Husband and I are both white, although we both tan quite easily. I have one very fair parent and one very dark (for a white person; she is often mistaken for 'foreign' )

We live in a very hot country and I'm religious about suncream for the fair child, long sleeves for swimming etc. She still looks very white until you see her naked and realise she does actually have a 'tan' of sorts... she just sort of goes cream instead of brown/golden