Sun protection suits - confusion - need help !

[tomps]

There seem to be various different sun protection suits about for babies / toddlers, but I'm hoping someone who's actually used one could explain the differences. Jojo catalogue has one mostly nylon which blocks 98% of UVA rays, or one mostly cotton which blocks 92%. I'd prefer cotton but what difference does that 6% make ?! GLTC catalogue has one mad of ? which blocks 80%, so is that sufficient ?, and also one which offers a UV protection factor of 50+. What's the difference between UV factor and blocking UV rays ? Urchin sells one which 'blocks out those harmful rays' - but how many of them ?! And finally Green Baby's offering is polycotton with that 50+ UV protection again. If you weren't confuced I hope you are now. If you have a degree in sun factor-ology, please explain. Many thanks

Does anyone out there actually use one of these for your kids ?

I'm not a scientist but a fan of the product. You put kids into them in the morning and don't have to endure two-hourly fights about re-application of sunscreen. Kids do not burn. This has to be good. I wouldn't worry too much about percentages unless your child is very very fair. I took 15-month-old ds to Senegal (Boots suit, no idea of the spec) and he spent hours in the hotel's children's pool with no adverse effects. DH burned to a crisp, silly man.

I think Dannie is about right. 80-90% is pretty good and the extra 6-20% makes very little difference. We used suits while in Spain last June. I try to let my kids get a tan because that in itself protects against burns (and possibly cancers, too), but the suits are good in middle of day when the sun is fierce or the skin is still white.

That said, I'm pretty sure an ordinary t-shirt would be just as protective as any sunsuit -- methinks SPF 6-12 (SPF6 = 6x as much protection against the sun as your skin naturally provides; t-shirt SPF depends on t-shirt thickness). However sunsuits, unlike t-shirts, don't chill the child when wet. You can test it for yourself while on holiday. Do you get tan under your t-shirt after many days in the hottest, brightest, fiercest sun? Or more than the slightest bit of colour, at least? I thought not.

I'm glad you said that, Zebra - I always thought they must either be a bit of a con for over anxious parents, (as you don't get burnt under ordinary clothes, and these sun suits all seem to be short legged/sleeved, so what's the different bwn those & an ordinary t-shirt & shorts), or maybe I'm a totally thick & cynacal old mum who needs educating and quick. (probably the latter)

I think a sunsuit is probably better than nothing, though.

Sunsuits tend to dry more quickly than t-shirts and t-shirts IIRC, don't stop those damamging rays (not the ones that colour you but the ones that do the unseen damage). This half-remembered stuff I am typing might be complete doo-dah put about by sunsuit manufacturers though.....

If you are going to buy a sunsuit I would highly recommend buying direct from, say, an Australian (or NZ) company rather than paying through the nose to Urchin, Boots, John Lewis, GLTC, etc.

Friends of mine have used Cwear very sucessfully. Their sunsuits work out at about 20 pounds for very good quality. P&P is about 4 quid IIRC. You can even buy the fabric from that site and make your own sunwear.

I use a sunsuit on my ds. They are fantastic and much better than just keeping him in clothes. Tshirts etc don't always block out the rays (as stated) but the sun suits do and they dry quickly so the kids aren't sitting around in cold clothes. They also don't stretch like normal clothes and hug the body ensuring no skin is exposed that shouldn't be.

I would recommend these for anyone with a child. I'm particularly aware of skin cancer as a lot of family members have had it. Some from not knowing about the harmful effects of the sun (due to age and lack of information back then) and some even though they were very careful. My family are from Australia so obviously we are in the sun a lot more. My family don't sunbake at all.

Oh yeah, the stats now say that more people in Great Britain suffer from skin cancer than in Australia. Obviously, we are very concious of this in Australia and do everything we can to avoid it (or most of us do) but remember that skin cancer can be deadly and also when you burn it is the same as being burnt by the frying pan or fire.

Sorry, I'm on a soapbox here and don't mean to be. It's just the way we are brought up in Oz now-a-days and I'm particularly vigilent about this issue.

Also, the all in one sun suits don't run the risk of the gap between top & shorts allowing sun to burn unprotected skin without you noticing. They look pretty cute too!!

I love ours, we've used them since DS1 was 7 months old and he's now 4.

My dd has an all-in-one sunsuit, which she'll wear on days I can persuade her to give up her bikini! The only down-side is that it has 3/4 sleeves and legs and is a pain to peel off to go to the loo.

I also use P20 sun protection on her when she goes to school (we're in Indonesia, by the way, not the UK!) as one application lasts all day, it withstands water and it isn't greasy. You have to apply it 90 mins before exposure to sun so you need to remember to put it on first thing but that's much less hassle than reapplying cream several times a day.

Suedonim - your sunscreen sounds brilliant. What make is it. I have some 50+ sunscreen but you have to reapply it.

I bought one for DS last summer as he has a suncream allergy (or more specifically a PABA allergy, and we've now found a suncream which doesn't contain this), and without it he couldn't enjoy the summer activities like splashing around in a paddling pool on hot days.

Have just ordered a suit from a new site I've come across - koolsun.co.uk - set up by two mums who love greek hols. According to their blurb, their suits are tested against Aussie standards and block 98% UVA and UVB. Will let you know what it's like when it gets here. They also sell a single application sunscreen like P20.

Meanmum, try the P20 website for more info. It has stockists on there. HTH!

Re Factor50 sunscreens, does anyone know if they are worth the extra money? As I understand it, SPF50 means you can stay in the sun 50 times longer, without burning. So, if you were normally to burn in 10 minutes, using SPF50 would mean you could stay in the sun for 500 minutes, which is over 8 hrs. But does anyone actually spend that long in the sun? Or are my calculations wrong?

Suedonim - I'm not sure if the extra cost is worth it in terms of 50+. I never believe their calculations about staying out longer the higher the factor and still reapply as if it is just a factor 5 or so.

My ds is very fair like his father and as I said earlier I'm paranoid about the sun. Stupid considering I'm so lax in other areas that are probably more important.

Thanks for the website.

I read somewhere, either when we were in Oz or NZ, that where SPF30 might block 97% of the rays, SPF50 would block 98% for instance. Not a huge difference.

The length of time thing is dangerous though, IMO. That's why some people believe sunscreens are bad for you - because they encourage people to sit out for longer.

I used CWEAR last year for shirts for the kids & myself. Very efficient & stuff is good quality. I ended up e-mailing everyone's measurements & they told me the sizes to order - very helpful & all fitted great (with enough growing room so they'll fit this year too!)
I ordered the t-shirt for me as I alsways burn on holiday - even with factor 50 frequently applied. I didn't burn last year, as I just slipped the shirt on whenever I could feel myself getting hot. To whoever said you can't burn through a t-shirt - you can (altho I am extremely pale skinned)

Agree about Cwear from Australia, great product, cheap, arrived in a few days. www.cwear.com.au if I remember.

Normal tshirts etc lose most of their sunblocking powers when they get wet so these clothes are great for swimming, beach etc.

For real litte uns those UV tents are good too. There was a heat wave in South of France last yar and it was brilliant for my, then 6 month old, baby. I could sit in there and breastfeed her and she kept cool and dozed on the beach all day.

I was thinking about getting one of those tents, but just don't think I could keep dd in it !
Thankyou everyone so much for all the info - especially the websites. I knew I could depend on you !

Adams, Mothercare, Woolies and maybe Tesco's too, all do sunsuits. I'm not vouching for quality, though (!)

used the csuits for the last 2 weeks in Arizona -absolutely brilliant for 2 and 8 yr old. Also had the tent which, surprisingly ,they played in quite a lot.

Thanks all, as I suspected, I'm clearly thick & cynical, but now feel well & truly educated - I might even take a peep at cwear.

I find summer a real pain - miserable cow that I am. People moan about winter dressing & layers, but I find that much easier than sun protection - the battles & hysteria I have pinning mine down & the ensuing mess I have to say makes me far too lazy. I will pull my socks up.

Boots do sunsuits too

sorry, but I just looked at the cwear site & the suits for kids. I mean, surely that kid in green would get beaten up??? I looked at the shirt - that looked ok but it's called swin shirt - d'you think it'd be ok for general wear, or too hot & sweaty?

The fabrics are, I believe, the type that wick the moisture away from the skin, rather than making you hot and sweaty. Never tried them myself but DD runs around in her suit very happily in the summer - particularly if she thinks I might get the aquaslide out!