To wonder about sunburnt children before suncream was popularised?

[Leah5678]

Apparently wasn't popularised until the 70s. With children playing outside practically every day back in the days before television was invented how did they not burn? Did they just get used to it?
Apologies if this is an extremely stupid question just something I've been wondering about with the last few days of decent weather

It's not true that everyone burned in the 70s and no-one used sun cream! Some of us had sensible responsible parents!

80’s kid, I burnt loads, we had SPF 15 in the house and only on scorching days. I have a memory of my Mum only putting it on our shoulders too, for some reason!! I was forever burning; tops of my feet, my ears/hairline, neck etc etc. Wincing in a cold shower!

If we went to the beach in summer we tried to avoid the heat of the day - so we'd go out in the morning and go back inside in the middle of the day and out again late afternoon.

I was born in the 80s, so my parents should have known better, and I got burnt stupid. To the point where I had huge blisters on my shoulders and arms. Peeling skin was normal part of childhood. I used to ask why I didn't tan and was told you have to get a proper good burning once and then after that you get a tan. As I've got older I still just go red then white again so that was bollocks. Everyone used carrot tanning oil back then!

I burned. When Factor 50 appeared it was a godsend.

70s child I remember peeling being something that was part of summer. I'm red head and my children marvel over the massive number of freckles I have when they have so few. I don't think they'll get so many really. I do remember sometime in 84 my mum being warned by the doctor that the suncream she was getting just wasn't adequate for my skin type

I have burned badly several times as a child (blisters, even a hospital admission) hence my huge wariness with my own children

People could wear long sleeves and hats if they were fair skinned. Suncream was only for the beach though - definitely wouldn't have been applied for school or a normal day in the garden like it is now. I remember getting burned a few times, usually after a beach day on areas that didn't see much sun normally like shoulders

I remember hiding from my mum in the 90s because I didn't want to put suncream on. When I was a bit older (early 2000s) I got sunburn on my shoulders but not too badly. As an adult my face and scalp got burnt at a music festival I went to over a decade ago and the skin peeled off my nose. I learnt my lesson! Last time I went to the beach (Isle of Wight) I put on SPF50 and carried a parasol. ⛱️ I've been doing that for years and getting funny looks.

I remember a few of the very well off girls in my class getting third degree burns when they went on fancy holidays to Antigua/Barbados etc - they ended up with some pretty bad scarring.

Yes I'm fair-skinned and getting burnt was a common event, usually on holiday on the beach where we were out all day in the sun (never went abroad with my parents). But we also played out a lot at home so my arms etc didn't burn as much as my thighs when I was wearing swim wear at the beach. I've pulled strips of skin off my back too after falling asleep in the garden as a teen.

We did have suntan lotion but very low SPFs - 8 was considered too high as it was felt you wouid never get tanned if you used it. The aim was to tan and the downsides weren't talked about. Advice was also given to build up a tan before a holiday, by sunbathing for short periods regularly. Only actual burning was thought to be something to avoid.

However we didn't come to any harm. None of my family or childhood friends have developed skin cancer. Maybe our skin has aged more than it would otherwise have, though I've used moisturising cream with SPF for decades.

Born early 70's , never got sunburn as a child but we holidayed in the Lake district , so the Kagoul covered most of your skin ! My Mum is a fair/ginger type so didn't like being out in the midday sun, so I was indoors during the hottest parts of the day and we never went to the Seaside !
I can count on one hand the number of times I have been burnt in the past 50+ years, I always opt for the shade or will stay indoors, the worst sunburn I ever had was as a result of being in the Yorkshire Dales on a relatively breezy day, it just didn't feel hot due to the breeze.

Yep, I used to burn & peel a lot. 17 years ago I had skin cancer - a ver aggressive malignant melanoma. The consultant said it was a result of childhood sunburns.
I still have scars from it being removed and the pain was horrendous. Luckily it hasn’t returned .

A very reasonable question OP!
We all got burnt!

It was Chanel who made a sun tan be fashionable. Before her a tan was considered lower class, as your job kept you outside all day.

Then came hot summer holidays and the hole in the ozone layer. Plus sun beds (how on earth they are still legal I do not know)

SPF cream was v expensive and horrible!

I think there will be a lot more sun damage in the generation born in the 1970s.

Yep and now my back is covered in ugly moles :(

I was a kid in the 90s but my parents never put suncream on me because I tan well and they liked how it looked.

I spent my 18th birthday doing all the pre-op stuff ready for my skin cancer removal operation the next day.

Same here. I was born in 1974. I’m firskinned. Sunburn/sunstroke was a regular occurrence 😫😫as was covering yourself in cooking oil to get a tan.

Yeah, we burned a lot. My mum did make sure we had suncream on when we were on holiday, but it was low factor, applied once in the morning and that was it. No hats. I have pretty vivid memories of being awake in the night shivering and burning up, sometimes sick with sunstroke too. I also used to go on sunbeds to get a base tan' before holidays in the 90s. Absolutely nuts looking back.

By the way, TVs were invented in 1925 and most people had them in the 60s and 70s! You didn't necessarily get programmes all day, and it stopped late evening. There were only 3 channels in the UK until the early 80s when Channel 4 started. I think the lack of outdoor play postdated TVs by many years. That came about when parents began to worry much more about their kids being unsupervised and when video/ electronic games became a big thing.

We just got burnt - and I was a teen in the 70s and no-one really knew about sun damage even then. I used to be as brown as a berry, as the common saying was, as a child. After that it was more a case of getting sunburnt, going red, peeling - then doing it all over again. I'm in NZ btw, so at more risk than those in the UK. I had really bad sunburn on my back when I was 16 and my whole back blistered. Never again!

The wisdom of hindsight, experience and health messages. I'm sure decades from now I'm sure parents will be questioning practices that now seem normal.

We burnt and, for some of us, there has been a price to pay.
I've never had a great memory but I will never forget the pain of sunburn so bad that it blistered and the unbearable feeling of just a sheet touching my back. I was probably around 12
My mum has had a few melanomas removed and has half of one nostril missing because, due to her age and health, the skin graft never took.
I am grateful for the knowledge I had as a parent so that I could make sure that my children did not burn

When I was a child (80s) i hated suncream so much i managed to convince my parents i was allergic to it

I have olive skin so didn’t really burn but it might have done damage I don’t know about yet!

I was born in 1982 and as a child we often went to Spain on holiday and definitely had sun cream applied. But probably only factor 8 or 15 at the highest. My mum used to use the factor 3 oils and glisten in the sun! We were made to wear T-shirts and stay in the shade in the peak midday sun. I can remember getting a bit burnt on the odd occasion but usually due to missing areas when applying or not reapplying lotion. These days I always use factor 30 as a minimum.

Red head family growing up in Cornwall in 70s and 80s.

We did burn sometimes but this was minimised by always keeping a top on - even when swimming in the sea. Hats hats and more hats and keeping out of the worst of the sun. Ie beach early or late. Going to woods / shaded parks on really hot days.

I remember suncream from mid 70s?