To think children don't need a bloody tan!

[GordontheGopher]

4 year old mindee came back to my house after school with really bad sunburn all down one leg.

This parent almost refused to give me suncream for her daughter, and when she finally did it was a factor 12 and I was to only put it on her face .

Now she's got sunburn (happened over the weekend btw) and was complaining how sore it was poor girl.

I cannot understand why parents do not put factor 50 on their children. What's the point in a child having a tan? Possibly increasing their risk of premature aging and skin cancer later on in life?!

It really baffles me tbh.

Above factor 30 you don't get much more additional coverage. I saw this chart on the skin cancer web site once
"factor 15 sunscreen offers about 93% protection
factor 30 sunscreen offers about 96% protection
factor 60 sunscreen offers about 98% protection

kristina, we currently use aveeno for the dd's but thats just until dd1 reacts to it. following her pattern of usual usage time period and then reacting suddenly we have maybe another two years max.

Way to go, nzshar. How shocking some parents are

Gordon - back to your mindee - couldn't you refuse to take the factor 12 and tell the aprent that whilst the child is with you if she refuses you to allow any suitable suncream , that you will cover the child with long sleeves etc .

You shouldn't be put in that position that you cannot take her outside in the lovely weather - if she made a complaint against you I dont think she would have leg to stand on .

All my mindees have UVA suits, they are not expensive and I ask all my parents to supply them, that way we can go out in the sunshine, even if they cant use sunscreen. I do put it on their faces tho, with permission.

Could do, tbh I only noticed today that it was only factor 12. Fortunately I only have her after school and when we're in my garden it's really shady. It's only parks that are a problem.

my two dd's got a little bit sunburnt last week and i felt so guilty (we were at the park having a pick nic and obviously had wiiped their faces clean after ice creams but not re-applied sun cream). I feel so guilty- would never intentionally let them burn- I have red hair and freckles so know what it is like to get sunburnt.
Needless to say since then they hwve been smothered in the stuff

I have to post even at the risk of getting flamed...

All children must be protected from the sun there is no such thing as a "good base" - when the UV radiation hits the skin it reacts with cells called melanocytes and causes the colour change. The more this happens the greater your chance of skin cancer so even a bit of colour increases that risk. We have seen the incidence of melanoma sky rocket in recent years - I now see at least one a week (not including other forms of skin cancer) and it all comes from the sun. (in 1993 we say 10 in the whole year)

It is true that UV radiation can help some skin disorders particularly psoriasis but we now have to limit the amount of radiation we expose patients to as we are now seeing melanomas and other types of skin cancer being caused by this treatment.

We do need sunlight to enable us the absorb vitamin D but normal day to day sunlight is enough.

I know that it is still thought that nice tan is healthy and until this changes I will continue to see more and more skin cancers. Pale and interesting is the way forward . Please please please use suncream and cover your children up.

Both my dc have fair skin and I give them a light coating of of Factor 40 in this sort of weather. Ds' neck can still get a bit red, also his face.

I let them have soem time in the sun unprotected though.

Dh and I are from different backgrounds wrt to sun. My dad was Asian and rarely sat in the sun for long periods, he mostly covered up. Dh is from NZ where unprotected beach/outdoors life was the norm. I constantly remind him re hats etc but he sometimes takes no notice.

Every summer I remind him that his siblings have freckle maps -and how wrinkled his mum is.

i was remembering last summer or the summer before seeing my neighbour sunbathign in the backgarden, sun spot, with daughters, aged 8 and 6 or so! i was gobsmacked!

but i don't myself know what factor to use now they are a bit older, think i settled with 30 but 11 year old wants a tan!

misdee. can't be easy.......

i used factor 60 total sunblock on my dd1 when we took her to benidorm at 16 months, she still got a tan despite the fact that we got through half a bottle of suncream every day with me slapping it on nuerotically every 30 mins after every swim etc.

i use factor 30 when in uk and am not quite so excessive with it but both dds have it on before we go out and it is topped up through the day if they need it.

its easier with the other two Kristina, as they dont react the same way as dd1. dd1 can be in screaming agony trying to rip her skin off within minutes. then you see those little spots of nettle rash appear before your eyes, watch them spread, and then try and wash it off ASAP whilst trying to stay calm and not make her panic.

Well Actually I agree with you and cover my Childminded children with long sleeves, trousers, hats & suncream

So if you could find a way for my DD to not get a tan when she goes out in the fresh air I would be very grateful

Sunshine (even in February) she goes brown - when all her limbs are covered even her belly goes brown it defeats me

Mind you she is half Jamaican - so you think that is why?

It is not a case of if looking "weathered" or "sunbathed" it is a matter of is he protected from UV and UB rays. Some people as mentioned here have a natural tendency to "tan" even with sunblock.I myself naturally tan slightly more than the lily white I am over the winter even though I cover myself with factor 30. And ds has a natural tendency to gain freckles on his nose even with factor 30 as well. But I know I am doing the best I can by staying out of the midday sun, making sure hats are worn and sunblock is applied.

my dermatologist said any colour change from sun exposure is sun damage. I had malignant melanoma at 23, I got burnt regularly as a child as was outside most of the day without protection.

i always try to put at least factor 30 on DD, i have both, so grab whatever comes to hand. She gets a slight tan on cooler days but i really don't want her to burn. I tend to carry it around all the time as ive been caught out before. She is like me and tans very easily so never really looks pasty.

Sunshine isn't a poison. I think the suncream/cover-up advice was ridiculously oversold. Now the experts are backtracking somewhat.

I don't use suncream on my sons unless we are out all day in the hottest weather, or overseas somewhere hot.

I am very interested to find out about the evidence about experts backtracking somewhat on this? Genuinely interested.

About a year ago there was a flurry of advice stating that the overuse of suncream was risking insufficient exposure to sunlight, which the body needs in order to manufacture vit D.

We have evolved to cope with the sun. the obsessive overexposure to sun (deliberate sunbathing, tanning machines) created a strong need to state the anti-sunshine message, but it was overplayed.

I agree, threadwormm.

Of course we're designed to cope with the sun. Yes, it's wise to stay out of the midday sun, and to avoid sunbeds like the plague, but this idea that the sun is our greatest enemy is a bit nonsensical.

A bit precious.

Fair enough Threadwormm. All I know if either myself or ds spend any longer than 30 mins in a playground on a day like it has been here that we would both be burned.