Sunscreen and children

[RedRobyn24]

I’m in a couple of online parent groups on WhatsApp and Facebook pages, I’m noticing in all there’s a real obsession (and I would use that word yes) with sun screen and not letting children be in the sun at all without it on. Obviously it’s been quite hot recently, but there’s been days this year where I am in recent months where it’s been sunny but certainly not boiling

I know you obviously have to be careful and I thought I was, but I do feel like I might be missing something

For context, both my children are fair skinned (like me) and my oldest is 4 and has never ever been burnt (the other hasn’t been burnt either) but if it’s been good weather for a while she might have caught the sun slightly and be slightly brown

i mean.. is that ok?? I always thought it was and it was good, like most of the U.K. are vitamin D deficient so surely a bit of sun is good?

If I’m out walking the dog with my baby I will put her in light long sleeve clothing and a floppy hat (she’s in a carrier as we’re rural, walking in farm land) she’s too young for sun screen.. like surely that’s fine?

Feel a bit stupid for asking, but some parents seem terrified if it’s like 13 degrees with a cool wind but the sun is out and it feels like I’m missing something

We use a zinc sunblock from fierce nature @RedRobyn24 - the kids look a bit silly because it leaves a white sheen but it protects them and is totally chemical free.

These ones are traditional sunscreens but with minimal nasties and can get in Boots

• Nivea baby and kids sensitive
• Eau Thermale Avène Intense Protect SPF 50+

It doesn't need to be sunny and hot. You can get skin damage any time of the year its just in colder weather we tend to wrap up. When it's hot and sunny remember slip slop slap. Slip on a shirt, slop on the cream and slap on a hat. (Their little brains are on top so keep that hat on and keep it protected.)

Remember as you get older tans seem to age the skin.

Totally agree with this, we put sun cream on at my early years centre depending on the UV levels rather than the temperature.

only one parent out of all our children refuses suncream for their child. We encourage that child to play in the shade and inside.

I tend to put on sunscreen in the mornings but often don't reapply through the day unless it's a day spent all outdoors like a beach day or theme park. I find the dcs tend to get a bit brown on days out, and it's hard to avoid as suncream tends to be rubbed in more than is recommended.

But we also wear long sleeves, hat and full trousers most of the time to minimise the amount we have to put on, including long sleeve/legged swimwear. I find it a faff to put suncream on and the dcs don't like it. I'm SE Asian and it makes me fairly relaxed about it as I've never been burnt, though DH is a white Caucasian so the dcs are mixed.

I check the weather and UV forecast daily, and tbh although in theory you can have high UV on cold days, in practice it's rarely necessary to be putting on suncream on cloudy winter days, because we don't spend much time outdoors then.

We use it in summer, not in winter. Around this time of year we generally check the UV index on AccuWeather. Sometimes it can be high even though it doesn't feel like a hot day 🤷‍♀️

I check the UV rays for the day every morning and put it on the dc if it’s 4 or above. Mine are very fair.
They still clearly catch the sun even with it on so I dread to think how they’d be if I didn’t!

I think 15-20 minutes exposure to the sun everyday is enough to get vitamin d requirements anyway (well that’s what the health visitor told me years ago)

Good thread, food for thought. I've put suncream on the kids faces today, and mine, but not anywhere else, which I'm thinking about now. I found a useful guide to UV on my phone's built in weather - today's index is 3 now but will go up to 6 so I guess ideally you'd have skin out first thing for vit D then put suncream on later in the day.

Screenshot of UV guidance on my phone's weather

Sunscreen has no link on vitamin D levels, there’s no need for forgo sunscreen thinking it boosts vitamin d.

Your phone will give you today's burn time....for an adult....if it's moderate to high for an adult you know it's worse for a child. I'm in London today the score is high with a burn time of 30 mins to an hour total in the day so 2 15 minute walks could result in a burned child.

Wearing sunscreen doesn’t block your body from getting vitamin D. It protects your skin — it’s not some kind of armour.

Also, don’t let your child get "coloured by the sun." We’ve already done enough damage to the planet, and the sun’s rays are harsher than ever. Being under the sun used to be good for you - now it's dangerous.

Use sunscreen consistently. If you’re that worried about vitamin D, just give your child supplements on cloudy days — as you should do during wintertime anyways.

Those saying "Tanned skin is damaged skin" please can you explain how this works for mix race children? My DC is half Asian, half white and used spf 50 when outside in the sun, wears a hat and sunglasses but their skin still goes much darker VERY quickly in the sun, but its not getting burnt. How exactly am I supposed to stop this when it's likely their skin type? Sure enough this isn't"damage"? They are in pre school so will play outside a lot, dressed appropriately for weather too.

Sun screen doesn’t stop production of Vit D…

Any level of tan is damage, even if you think it looks nice.

There is no such thing as building up tolerance to sun.

If you're in the UK they won't get nearly enough vitamin D from the sun, even if you let them burn to a crisp.

There is really no good reason not to use sun cream.

I think it’s all within reason. You can have a cloudy day that doesn’t feel too hot but the sun will still hit your skin, so sunscreen is probably wise from mid-spring through to mid autumn. I don’t think it’s should be gaged from temperature alone. However, if I go on a short walk and baby is in an all in one sleep suit, I will put a hat on to shade the face and won’t put sunscreen. You just have to be sensible.

I think the recent ‘craze’ with sunscreen comes from many many people exposed to the sun in the extremes are now suffering the consequences with melanomas which could have been avoided if there was enough information back then. So it’s not unjustified.

It might be because their kids go to nursery?
Ours insist on sun cream being applied in the morning before they go into nursery from April through to I think October. Then they reapply in the afternoon.
So it does make you a bit more aware of the UV level and normalise wearing sun cream regularly. They also have to go outside in a hat.
I actually don't trust them to sun cream a whole room full of toddlers properly so I do long sleeves & trousers to limit the risk of sun burn. I know its happened to a few kids at the nursery.
But I'm quite wary about both sun damage and sun cream chemicals so prefer to do hats/clothes to cover skin and just be aware of sun exposure times depending on UV levels.

Not every day no. Depends on where we are going, who’s with him and temperature.

For nursery days I put on now onwards every morning as dh and I aren’t with him to monitor weather. He also has to have bottle there and the teachers re apply if a hot hot day.
I send with floppy hat and long sleeve Muslim shirt in summer to help protect and they have a lot of shade from sails and trees

At home it depends. I don’t put it on daily by default at the moment. If we plan to go outside longer I will add, or put on as needed. But not for general afternoon play in garden in semi shade in April when he’s in and out house.

It’s very hot 3 months of the year where we live. So on those months it’s more frequent. I also use uv tops and floppy hats so I’m not over the top sun creaming every 5 mins. Ie sunscreen on, then at outdoor pool his torso and arms covered by suit so just top up legs and face

Just keep using sunscreen and covering up, same as everyone else. People with naturally dark skin have a pigment which reduces the risk but doesn't get rid of it. They can still develop the same problems.

Yeah some people definitely go overboard with suncream even going as far as putting it on if there's a tad of sun in February. Them kids need vitamin d honestly it's a balance

Yes, this is what we do. We follow good sun safety and they always have SPF 50 on if going to be in sun, plus a hat. Often t-shirts and shorts. But regardless of that, will still get darker in the sun. Just a bit confusing to hear the constant "tanned skin is damaged skin" when I'm already doing what I can.

I'm an Aussie - we have scarily high melanoma rates. Sunscreen 50+ on any day where UV is 3 or higher is the guidance. Temperature doesn't matter.
It's the UV level that's important (and it can also get multiplied by reflecting (eg off water or snow. It's very common to get sunburnt skiing). Reapplying Sunscreen every couple of hours is v important if you need to be out, but much better to cover with clothing or avoid being out in the sun for extended periods

It’s not a balance, there are no studies drawing a link between spf and vitamin D deficiency.

I think skin colour that is indigenous to an area has traditionally been suited to the sun conditions. Very pale people in Scotland - let lots of light in to help with vitamin D production as there is less sunshine. Very dark skinned indigenous Australians - have some natural protection against sun damage in the stronger Aussie sun. But we humans have f*cked with the climate and ozone layer so now we're all more vulnerable to sun damage wherever we are.

If they're getting darker, significant levels of UV rays are getting to their skin and causing damage.

OP any colour on skin is effectively burning the skin. And UV rays are stronger than they used to be.

Direction of a source? A Simple google will help. Honestly if you can type here you can easily search online.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40407734.amp

www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/