Put sunscreen on kids faces every day?

[Chkchk]

I sunscreen my own face every day and this seems like best skincare practice. Do kids need to wear a facial sunscreen every day too?

I only put it on mine on holiday or during exceptionally hot weather here. Sunscreen has some strong chemicals in it.

I didn’t when mine were little. Sunshine is good for us and within reason, perfectly safe. Days out, beaches, height of summer obviously is a slightly different story.

No terrible advice. Do not slather then in chemicals everyday for no reason. Just don’t let them burn.

I’m not doing in April - DS needs vitamin D and the sun is too weak at this time of year to burn him unless it’s very hot and he’s out for a long time.

No. Only if it's hot and we are out all day. Certainly not at this time of year. Vitamin d is important.

I don’t as we’re Asian, my boyfriend is white and he has been burned by the sun this week despite only being out for about forty minutes, so I would put it on white skin.

Depends on their skin type. Pale, red hair I would yes. I burn within 5-10 mins without SPF so wear factor 50 daily (unless it's dark or I'm inside all day of course!)

I don’t in the UK, depends where you live obviously though. I normally put sunscreen on my kids daily from April-September. I have this year though due to suggestions that lower vitamin D levels can make you more susceptible to Coronavirus. Also as we’re quarantined we’re all outside a lot less than usual so they are getting less sunlight than they normally would.

Yes, childhood exposure is strongly correlated to later cancer, especially if they burn.

There are threads on MN every year when people who don’t routinely use sunscreen end up with a sunburnt child. It’s very easily gone if not assiduous about prevention.

Sun damage is greatest, of course, in the areas which are most exposed, which of course means the face.

You do not need much sun exposure for good vitD levels, and supplements are both safe and readily available if this is a concern.

I do as my dc are fair with red hair and burn quickly even with the temps we have at the moment. Still new freckles are appearing daily! I let them have some time without in the morning to get some vitamin d.

We spend lots of time outside and baby is pretty fair so generally I do a once a day type formula in the morning and top up with a roller if I think it’s needed.

I’d probably do less if I could convince him to stay in the shade or if we were a less outdoorsy family.

I would.

I’d let them run around for 20 mins with no screen everywhere else after but then cream would go on.

No.
You need to let your children have minimum 20 minutes of sunlight on their faces with no sunscreen on. It doesn’t have to be that they’re sunbathing- just sunlight while they’re walking around or playing.
It’s really important that they do this especially this far north of the equator. MS cases increase the further north you get and although it’s not certain, there’s every likelihood that overprotection from the sun/lack of sunlight on the skin especially the face has an influence on your risk.

I do t on. Y children, unless out in the sun all day. I'm Indian and my children all need vit D, it's harder to get enough with melatonin. Plus all the chemicals as pp have said. But if my children were white I would. I do put hats on them when it gets really hot though. I never let them burn or tan too much though

‘You need to let your children have minimum 20 minutes of sunlight on their faces with no sunscreen on

This really isn’t true.

Yes, you might decide that sun exposure should be on skin, and yes only about 20mins is needed. But no it does not have to be the face. And as the face is so much in the open air/sunlight it is the piece of skin most likely to be damaged.

The cancer risk is the life-changing one, but it also causes wrinkles, age spots and loss of elasticity to appear earlier and worsen over time.

Expose a different part of DC’s body if you must.

Or as it takes about 15-30 mins after application to sink in and become effective, then apply just as your DC go out rather than beforehand.

skincancer.org has good pages about this

And reminders that sunscreen is only one part of a sun protection strategy

I only put it on them if there is a risk of burning.

No definitely not. I love to see them getting a bit of sun on their faces, within reason, and they need the vitamin D, in my opinion. I do if the weather is very hot, or if we are on holidays in a hot country.

If they're out in the sun for long periods then I would (obviously staying in shade/wearing a hat is best). Have a look at Badger suncream if you're worried about chemicals.

Not daily no but it's been warm this week and I imagine certain skin types will have needed it if out for more than about 10
Minutes or so.

@iVampire are you in the medical field? I’m a nurse and we were always told that vitamin D is best absorbed through the face out of anywhere on the body

Why would it be absorbed best through your face? Not having a go, just genuinely curious. Surely the skin on your face is the same skin that’s on your legs and arms?

The sun hits your face a lot more severely than it does other parts of your body (along with shoulders/neck) as is easily evidenced by the fact that your nose, ears, forehead and shoulders burn much more quickly. I’m guessing that’s the reason. I don’t think it’s the skin itself that absorbs rays differently than the rest of your body.

Not for everyday, no. They need sun to make vitamin D which is very important for growing bones.

If you're at the beach all day - yes. Walking around town in a hot and sunny climate (not UK!) - yes. Average UK sunny weather when in and out of the house (or shops etc.), nope. Just don't let them burn.