I fully understand that kids should wear sunhats, I do......

[tweetyfish]

But why?
I hate wearing a hat in the sun as my head gets very hot and i end up with a headache. Hair presumably stops the UVs burning the scalp, and hats really don;t make much shade unless you get the wide rimmed ones which would be impossible to keep on a child.

So why is it so crucial? if anyone knows the answer, mumsnet does!

My DS1 in partic is very fair skinned. He went to school without his hat when we had that early hot weather at the start of May and burned his ears [blush at bad mummy].
So yes, sunhats (with big floppy brims) are essential in this house.

Fairymum I hope your children are not fair-skinned then. At our school they are not allowed to play out in the sunshine without a hat.

BTW Pumpkin Patch is sooooo the best place for kids hats that actually fit. Hmm, Aussie company, eh eidsvold, that's not a surprise then!

We too spent time in Australia and there was definitely a policy of 'no hat no play'. It works really well and kids from a very young age are taught to apply sunscreen themselves at kindergarten, nursery. Our 2.5 yr old dd learnt it (although the carers obviously checked). We've still got her wide-brimmed Aussie hat which is fab cause it has a toggle. My dd2 (13 mths) hated hats until she watched the teletubbies and one of them (Dipsy, I think) has a black-and-white one. And she suddenly switched into wanting to wear one all the time - brilliant timing as we're putting her on the back of a bike with a helmut. I noticed Millets doing lovely legionnaire hats for girls the other day (about £3 or so)

If dd wears a cotton sunhat, her hair is glued to her head afterwards. She hates wearing them and takes them off at the first opportunity but I've noticed brown marks on her scalp so she should really wear one.

I don't mind straw hats but since you can see through them, they don't offer enough protection to make a difference.

I never ever where a sun hat as my hair is sooo thick and I have never burnt my scalp. I do make DD and DS where one though although DD is 3 and has to wear a hat for a 7 year old as she has hair like me - thick and loads of it!

I had a hat problem for so long - couldn't find one I didn't hate and all hats make me itch - until I suddenly spotted a basket full of light scarfy things in a charity shop and thought, I could use one of those! Problem solved (except when dd1 wants to borrow it...)
Of course I make the children wear them!

Personally, I need to wear a hat in the hot sun. I have very dark hair, and get sunstroke easily, so a light-coloured hat makes all the difference.

NQC - i have had a few doses of sunstroke/heat stroke - not nice in an adult let alone a child either.

I thought sunhats were recommended for babies and children to prevent heatstroke/sunstroke.

Clary, Pumpkin Patch is Kiwi not Aussie!

ooops pegasus!
Not the same thing at all, I do know that....

Still good sunhats tho

totally agree with Eidsvold on this one - there is an Oz company that sends to the UK for free and claims its hats ( with peaks and neck protection) and UV clothing is 100% uv protection (Radicool). Our dd is very fair and dh's mother died of skin cancer - went on holiday last year and dd did not take hat off in sunshine- no hat no play policy too, sweaty or not. Hair is not enough protection for UV damage and normal cotton hats only give you a UV rating of about 10 I gather - the same goes for T shirts...

Just seen how old this thread was - time to go to bed! but posted as do feel needed to share.