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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be astounded at the number of people stripped off sunbathing in the park when everyone knows how BAD that is for you?

182 replies

LadyBiscuit · 27/06/2010 16:05

In an era when smoking is more or less banned and the government spends a fortune telling us to eat better and drink less, why are so many people so obsessed with getting a tan when we all know how bad it is for you?

Apart from skin cancer, all the sun worshippers I know look much older than they really are because they are so lined from lying in the sun.

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 27/06/2010 18:09

Oddly enough, the sun damage to my face is in the form of freckles.

At 39, I'm wrinkle-free. I don't even have crow's feet.

mumeeee · 27/06/2010 18:09

YABU. Obviosly it's not good to spend hours and hours in the sun without somesort of protection. But how do you know they haven't covered themselves with a good sun cream. Also sun is important to your health as it's a major source of vitaman D. My 18 year old Daughter went to the beach with her friends this afternoon. She had sun cream with her which I told her to make sure she used, Should I have told her to wear long trousers and a long sleeved top?

Original poster
LadyBiscuit · 27/06/2010 18:15

The inability of people to read the thread is really annoying me now. You don't get vitamin D deficiency if you don't sunbathe for four hours FFS.

Right I really am going out into the garden now.

Enjoy your tan expat

OP posts:
mumblechum · 27/06/2010 18:18

I like to have a bit of a tan, ie not completely pillywally which I think looks a bit horrible tbh.

You can get a bit of a tan without looking like an old leather shoe, you know.

DilysPrice · 27/06/2010 18:19

Vitamin D deficiency is linked to depression, diabetes, MS, and a whole range of cancers several of which are much bigger killers than skin cancer - the optimum level is not fully known, but likely to be significantly higher than the WHO advice which is the level needed to prevent rickets.

Burning is not a good idea, but to my mind the skin cancer lobby have (understandably) had too much say on the subject of tanning because the link is so very obvious, as opposed to the positive effects which are difficult to pin down.

YABU.

mamalovesmojitos · 27/06/2010 18:25

YABU

i absolutely love lying outside, feeling the sun warm my bones. it makes me happier, relaxed and really raises my mood. i've never, ever, ever been sunburnt. i dont have any moles. i have good skin, i'm lucky as its olive.

i can't (won't) lie in doors all day, in a plastic bubble in case i get skin cancer. bad things happen sometimes - all you can do is enjoy yourself responsibly and not get burnt.

i will say that i am amazed at the amount of people who let themselves get burnt but you can enjoy sunbathing without letting that happen.

Itsjustafleshwound · 27/06/2010 18:31

YABU - as others have said, a bit of a tan lifts the mood and makes me feel better. I hate the creams - if they aren't applied correctly or if you are using the incorrect factor it can be just as bad.

I personal;ly hate lying outside in the sun, but it if others do it, it is no skin off my nose...

You should be having a go at those paying top ££££ to have their skin dyed to appear tanned ..

Did I also mention that a tan makes you feel slimmer

My dad has had a few sun spots and treatments for sun damage to his skin - but he gre up in the 50's in SA and sun cream was unheard of ...

onagar · 27/06/2010 18:41

Maybe it's the "everyone knows"

Everyone knows that if you stick a bare finger out the window without sun screen on you will be struck dead.

But for a long time before that we all managed fine thank you and will continue to do so after this fashion for health paranoia has gone.

sarah293 · 27/06/2010 18:44

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Original poster
LadyBiscuit · 27/06/2010 18:52

Yes but you're not allowed to criticise them Riven - it's their choice

OP posts:
oldandgreynow · 27/06/2010 18:53

I am a bit amused by the parents slathering their recption DDs in factor 40 in the mornings.The girls school dresses are down to their knees and elbows and they are never out more than 30 minutes at a time

sarah293 · 27/06/2010 18:54

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trilliAnasTra · 27/06/2010 19:11

People getting bright red I think are stupid because it hurts. Anything else - why not? It's how they choose to spend their time. A lot of psoters seem to object to the 'lying in the sun doing nothing', I wonder if there is a little bit of at having the opportunity to lie around doing nothing.

Original poster
LadyBiscuit · 27/06/2010 19:18

Nah I'm not jealous. I think it's really dull. It's like lying in bed all day - what a waste of time

OP posts:
onagar · 27/06/2010 19:18

And you know that in 10 years time it will be discovered that sun screen caused it rather than protected.

I believe some are now putting sun screen on kids in mid-winter. After all the sun is still there isn't it.

usualsuspect · 27/06/2010 19:21

I think lying round in bed/on the sofa/sun lounger sounds like heaven

thecatatemygymsuit · 27/06/2010 19:30

God how miserable you sound op, some of us love the sun and positively bloom in it! I have never ever been burnt, having olive skin, and like Expat I feel better when I catch a few rays. Barely a wrinkle either.
I do wear sun factor but love the look and feeling of having a tan. So what!
My dd is an English rose type so she has to wear factor 30 +, but how miserable we would all be if we didn't get out and enjoy this beautiful weather!

Original poster
LadyBiscuit · 27/06/2010 19:30

Really US? Can't think of anything worse personally.

OP posts:
Original poster
LadyBiscuit · 27/06/2010 19:32

You're right, catatemygymsuit, I'm miserable as sin to find it odd that people want to spend the hottest day of the year lying silently in the sun, burning.

I'm the Victor Meldrew of MN

OP posts:
ProzacTheGiggleFairy · 27/06/2010 19:37

I am avoiding too much sun & using the wonderful factor 85 sun screen that I bought on holiday in the US. As I still have terrible scars from the 3rd degree burns across my shoulders & back as a result of sunburn when I was 6 years old.
That was just from a local open-air swimming pool in the UK. My friends parents decided not to bother putting any sun protection on us.

Greensleeves · 27/06/2010 19:39

what the fuck is pillywally?

trilliAnasTra · 27/06/2010 19:39

Lying around reading books/magazine/newspapers is my idea of a nice Sunday. It's clearly not yours. I expect there are plenty of things yo do for fun that I would really not want to do.

MiladyDeScorchio · 27/06/2010 19:43

Today I saw a leathery woman waiting with her children outside the supermarket.

Two little blonde boys aged about eighteen months and three standing in the broiling midday sun wearing only nappies.

We went in at about the same time as her DH who was buying beer and BBQ stuff. They were all still out there thirty minutes later when we came out and the boys' lovely delicate complexions were already turning pink.

I alerted the manager and then called the police because the mother looked really fierce (and drunk) I'm a busybody aren't I?

sarah293 · 27/06/2010 19:47

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ByTheSea · 27/06/2010 19:52

I have good tanning skin and by all accounts look quite a bit younger than I am. I use a face moisturiser with SPF 15 on sunny days, but nothing on the rest of my body. I like a bit of a tan and really enjoy that baking feeling, but don't overdo it. I find the sun in this country never really gets strong enough to burn me as where I come from we get longer, hotter summers. My DC get suncreamed for mid-day exposure (11-3) and have never been sunburnt but have healthy-looking complexions.