How to get a teen to actually *use* sunscreen? <rant>

[KarenNC]

My very, very pale 15 yo went on a swim day with her GS troop today, and I chose to send her as a drop-off because I don't tolerate the heat and all that sun very well. She is a very intelligent person, and knows she burns easily. Typically our family swims in the morning or evening, avoiding peak sun times, so I warned her about being particularly careful today. She was provided with plenty of water-resistant sport sunscreen, reminded by me (and her leaders throughout the day) multiple times to reapply liberally and frequently with specific time frames, sent with a dark tshirt to cover-up when out of the water, and told to stay in the shade as much as possible. Her face was a bit burnt when I picked her up, which wasn't a surprise, but after her shower, her arms, back, and shoulders now look like a tomato <sigh> .  Evidently she reapplied to her face, but "didn't think she needed to" elsewhere because "it didn't feel like I needed it."  :banghead: This is not the first time, but it was last year that it happened before. I thought she had learned.
 

I'm about ready to put her in a burkini before letting her go swimming without me again!

:rant:

 

Note: I don't blame her leaders at all in this. I know them very well and I am very confident they did indeed remind the girls frequently. It's all on my daughter.

Edited June 23, 2016 by KarenNC

[AK_Mom4]

My experience is that teens start using sunscreen regularly after they burn a few times and decide they don't want it to happen again.

 

Eventually they burn enough times that they choose to put the sunscreen on or else stop complaining about being burnt.

[MomtoCandJ]

A blistering event or 2... Ok that is what did it for me (after the 2nd blistering event I essentially have become a sun screen freak and now have a deep love affair with my rash guard). I do still burn occasionally but not bad (as in a little pink) mainly when I have an ADD moment and forget my "white girl" cream.

[SKL]

I have made that mistake more than once as a 40-something.  :P  I think I might have learned after the 2nd time I ruined my vacation in 2 years.  :/

[gardenmom5]

2ds's skin is more stereotypical redhead skin than the two redheads.  bad burns didn't incentivize him to remember to put 50 spf on.  (or even to wear a rash guard shirt.)

 

however, being scheduled for two biopsies (as in, two different moles) for melanoma did. . . .

[purplejackmama]

My kids all wear rash guards. Maybe get her one?

[nd293]

Long sleeved rash guard for my red-head 15 year old! I always make them apply a good quality water resistant sunscreen at home, then rashies can go on after several hours to deal with the hottest part of the day. Plus hats and more sunscreen on the face. But yes, it's a challenge, and is only 100% successful if I'm there. I have taken to texting reminders if she's out without me!

[J-rap]

Once my own fair-skinned daughters really began understanding the seriousness of skin cancer, they did finally take responsibility!  That didn't happen until after high school though I think...

[SparklyUnicorn]

I was the same as a teen.  Actually, i still am.  I hate putting on sun screen.  I hate the feel of it. 

 

 

[ktgrok]

Honestly, maybe show pictures of skin cancer disfigurement? A trip to the dermatologist? Begging? I don't know. My son has gotten better after i had to have skin cancer removed and he saw the incision/scars/etc. 

[ktgrok]

Oh, and you might want to send spray sunscreen too. I don't find it AS effective, but for some reason teens are way more likely to actually use it. I think because you can ask someone to spray you, and they don't have to touch you. It can be awkward as a teen to ask someone to rub lotion on your back, you know? And even a slight amount of awkwardness with that can be enough to make them just decide not to or put it off. Heck, my son can even manage to spray his own back. Not perfect, but helps. 

[Guest]

I think it's also hard to compete with the idea of embarrassing ones self in front of peers. To be the only one constantly reapplying the sunscreen or donning the rash guard at 15 or 16 would be mortifying and rare around here- people like to be tan. And rash guards and t shirts (while I'm not denying their usefulness) are not typical apparel for teen girls or boys at the beach (at least here). They're what little kids wear and have their moms constantly smearing them with sun screen. Opposite of how a teen wants to be perceived. Unless pasty white becomes cool, teenage girls are a hard sell on it- unless you can get the wrinkle scare in or the cancer fear, but that seems difficult if it hasn't personally affected them. I am glad they're banning tanning beds for people under 18 here for that very reason. I think it was very peer driven for everyone to be tanned year round and they just don't get the long term damage at that age.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh, and you might want to send spray sunscreen too. I don't find it AS effective, but for some reason teens are way more likely to actually use it. I think because you can ask someone to spray you, and they don't have to touch you. It can be awkward as a teen to ask someone to rub lotion on your back, you know? And even a slight amount of awkwardness with that can be enough to make them just decide not to or put it off. Heck, my son can even manage to spray his own back. Not perfect, but helps. 

 

The spray is the only one I'm willing to use.  For my face I buy a stick.  I hate the feel of that stuff!

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

 

The teens around here all apply it often, at least the ones we are around. Even the tan ones.

 

Most the teens use the spray.

 

 

Maybe we are in an unusual group.

[kewb]

Mine always wore rash guards when they were younger. They both lifeguard and I want them to wear rash guards. Neither wants to because "no one else does. It is social suicide." so I said fine. However, the day you come home with the sunburn the next day I will bring a rash guard to you at work and follow you around with it until you put it on and have your boss announce it over the past system that your mother is there with your rash guard.

Needless to say, they know I would do it and are quite good about applying sun block.

 

It doesn't hurt that there is skin cancer in the family and I have drilled it home that sunburn increases your chances of getting skin cancer.

 

For your dd, this burn may be enough to remind her to reapply everywhere.

Edited June 23, 2016 by kewb

[MomatHWTK]

Show her pictures of women in their 30s that look 60 because they didn't take care of their skin?

[SparklyUnicorn]

The teens around here all apply it often, at least the ones we are around. Even the tan ones.

 

Most the teens use the spray.

 

 

Maybe we are in an unusual group.

 

Yeah I see plenty of them applying it here too.  And I can't recall the last time I saw someone very tan except an older woman who apparently was VERY into tanning. 

[purplejackmama]

I think it's also hard to compete with the idea of embarrassing ones self in front of peers. To be the only one constantly reapplying the sunscreen or donning the rash guard at 15 or 16 would be mortifying and rare around here- people like to be tan. And rash guards and t shirts (while I'm not denying their usefulness) are not typical apparel for teen girls or boys at the beach (at least here). They're what little kids wear and have their moms constantly smearing them with sun screen. Opposite of how a teen wants to be perceived. Unless pasty white becomes cool, teenage girls are a hard sell on it- unless you can get the wrinkle scare in or the cancer fear, but that seems difficult if it hasn't personally affected them. I am glad they're banning tanning beds for people under 18 here for that very reason. I think it was very peer driven for everyone to be tanned year round and they just don't get the long term damage at that age.

We are from a "beach" town and I have the opposite experience. All locals here wear rash guards and the tourists are the ones without the protection (getting fried). That's interesting.

 

We also have a lake house and all the wake boarders wear rash guards there underneath their life jackets.

 

We are away from home for the summer staying in Houston and we are at the water park here a lot. It's too hot to be anywhere else! I would say more than half the kids here have on rash guards. My kids prefer to wear them here because a few of the slides can be rough on the body.

[vonfirmath]

My kids all wear rash guards. Maybe get her one?

 

This. I have a long-sleeved SPF shirt I wear in the water over my swim suit. Its very difficult to get the sunscreen over all the places it is supposed to cover and easy to miss one.

[Pippen]

Oh, and you might want to send spray sunscreen too. I don't find it AS effective, but for some reason teens are way more likely to actually use it. I think because you can ask someone to spray you, and they don't have to touch you. It can be awkward as a teen to ask someone to rub lotion on your back, you know? And even a slight amount of awkwardness with that can be enough to make them just decide not to or put it off. Heck, my son can even manage to spray his own back. Not perfect, but helps. 

 

My kids have all gone through marching band and I've been around the group a lot through the years. I agree that in a group setting especially they are more apt to use spray if it is available.

 

Also, I found that my guys especially like to travel light, and I'm far more likely to get them to take sunscreen along when I buy the 1 ounce travel size tubes of sun lotion. (Last year I saw some travel size spray cans as well, but those didn't look like they would go far.) They can stick it in their pocket to take along to work, etc, I always keep a few in the house and in the cars.

 

Once kids are of an age to go off without Mom, there's only so much you can do. I have been known to make everyone sunscreen up at home before dropping them off if I knew there was a chance they'd get busy and forget. They got a little cranky about it, but i'ts worth it. 

 

OP, my 18yo daughter is very, very light skinned and usually is careful about sunscreen. When she was younger I bought her rash guards and made sure she had a hat. Occasionally she misses reapplying in time to prevent sunburn, but mostly she's pretty good.

[theelfqueen]

My DH has an extensive history of skin cancer. He is a Florida boy and grew up on the beach without sunscreen....

 

He has had to have one deep tissue surgery (we're not talking a mole removal -- a six inch incision in the middle of his back with removal of lymph nodes under both arms, under anesthesia by a surgical oncologist in hospital)... and has some sort of excision at almost every visit (we're back down to every six months right now -rotating between his oncologist and dermatologist). We celebrate when he goes to the doctor and comes home without some part of him cut up. He's had two separate surgeries involving skin grafts on his ears (so gross). He's had multiple works on his face and arms and the top of his head.(We have a REALLY good dermatologist who does amazing work that really keeps his scarring under control.)
 

So my kids have a constant reminder of what happens. He's kind of a walking deterrent. LOL

 

They use spray on their bodies and sticks on their faces.

 

 

[fairfarmhand]

Talk to her about wrinkles.

 

My pale girl did get a couple of bad burns before she became the sunscreen nazi.

[Julie Smith]

I admit I don't force my kids to put on sunscreen. But the way I remind them to put it on is offer them this choice:

 

Pick one:

1. Sun wear (shirt, hat)

2. Sun screen

3. Sun burn

 

If they miss a spot with some then I state, "Do you want a sun burn on your XYZ?" 

 

With my boys it is also an easy lesson since my Dh had pretty big deal surgery for Melonoma. He has a giant scar on his neck from 100 stitches. 

 

ETA: No idea why my Dh is prone to being cut up. He has had three things removed. But he doesn't like the sun, or the outdoors, never has. 

Edited June 23, 2016 by Julie Smith

[MinivanMom]

What did it for me as a teen was seeing a relative go through the horrific pain and disfigurement of facial melanoma with the accompanying surgery and skin grafts. I haven't been out of my house without sunscreen in 20+ years.

 

For a teen girl, though, I don't think requiring rash guards and hats is reasonable. Most teens I know, unless they are surfers living in a beach town, would view them as social suicide. Even having to reapply regular sunscreen seems to embarrass many teen girls. Nobody wants to be the pasty-white girl standing in the shade reapplying sunscreen every hour. What has worked with my daughter:

-Forcing her to put the good sunscreen on before she leaves our house.

-Sending her with a bottle of good spray sunscreen. I know it's not as effective, but apparently it's less embarrassing to spray on sunscreen periodically.

-Sending her with high quality lotion w/sunscreen to reapply to her face. For reasons I don't understand, she's okay with reapplying more sunscreen to her face from an expensive, fancy bottle. I imagine some kids would also be willing to use the sticks.

 

Some girls just need to learn the hard way, though. 

[prairiewindmomma]

I agree with the pp who mentioned that all of the locals wear rash guards, hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen and it's the tourists who are getting burned.

 

I am a very pale person...I burn through normal t-shirts. If she is very sensitive to the sun, she may well have burned through her clothing.  I have a large wardrobe of shirts from Columbia and Coolibar that are all uv-rated.  I also wear long pants from Columbia when outdoors all day and not in the water. (I am saving for a capri length set of swim pants.)

 

 

[lovinmyboys]

It's too bad that it is social suicide to wear a rash guard. My oldest is 10 and all of his friends still wear them. I'm hoping since they have grown up with them they will just continue.

[almondbutterandjelly]

Long sleeve rash guard and swim tights over the swimsuit.  It's not social suicide here.  We are a beach town.  

 

By the way, we just discovered swim tights this year and are in love.  Perfect for the beach!

 

Swim Outlet has some that might be sufficiently trendy for a teen girl to feel awesome and not embarrassed.

 

http://www.swimoutlet.com/searchresults.asp?Search=swim+tights&checkRealSearchInput=Y

[TechWife]

One thing that helps me parent an older teen was accepting that I can't control him, nor would I really want to, either. You equipped your daughter for the task. You did your job. It's up to her to follow through.

Edited June 23, 2016 by TechWife

[prairiewindmomma]

Also, if she listens to medical advice, push her to wear a hat or sunglasses so that she doesn't develop cataracts or pterygium or cancer in her eye. Our eyes are very sensitive to uv damage---particularly if her eyes are blue or green.

[vonfirmath]

I agree with the pp who mentioned that all of the locals wear rash guards, hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen and it's the tourists who are getting burned.

 

I am a very pale person...I burn through normal t-shirts. If she is very sensitive to the sun, she may well have burned through her clothing.  I have a large wardrobe of shirts from Columbia and Coolibar that are all uv-rated.  I also wear long pants from Columbia when outdoors all day and not in the water. (I am saving for a capri length set of swim pants.)

 

..Columbia sells swim pants? I need to take a look at this. My long sleeved UV shirt is Columbia and works REALLY well.

[KarenNC]

At least I'm not alone in the struggle. :) In our case, the rashguard is even less likely to happen unless I'm actively watching her than the sunscreen. I suppose I should be happy that she's into retro and picked a rather 40's style one piece rather than the bikinis most of the rest of the girls had. I will look for something she can use as a cover-up that is uv-rated, great idea, and also get her some spray on sunscreen. She's known these girls for years (some of them and one of the leaders since she was 4), but I can see where it might still be awkward. I'm not wild about the idea of breathing sunscreen, but it's probably better than a bad burn (sigh). We've had it in the past, but had run out and I'm trying to use up the tube of the other before buying more. At least none of the group is into tanning.

 

Thanks for letting me rant. :) I can't really do it locally as I am good friends with the leaders and don't want to make them feel at all bad nor is it productive to rant at my daughter, but I was ill as a hornet at her last night.

Edited June 23, 2016 by KarenNC

[patriciatx]

I would show her photos of women in older age who didn't take care of their skin! Then I'd buy her a cute hat and rashguard. 

[zoobie]

Would she listen to a dermatologist more than mom? That would be worth the copay. 

[Rachel]

Would it help if you took her to get a spray tan? That way she looks tan but doesn't get burned in the process? Would you be willing to help her pay for self tanner or a spray tan if she actually uses sunscreen?

 

Even though I burned easily and it was painful, I so desperately wanted to be tan as a teenager I would only reapply sunscreen on my face.

[prairiewindmomma]

..Columbia sells swim pants? I need to take a look at this. My long sleeved UV shirt is Columbia and works REALLY well.

 

No, Columbia does not sell swim pants. They do, however, have very light weight uv rated pants in a variety of styles. I like the Saturday Trail and PFG Aruba styles best--anything with OmniShade rocks. :)

 

Coolibar and a number of other places (Lands End?) do sell swim shorts, swim capris, and there a couple of places that have swim pants cut to the ankle. Here's the link to the swim tights: http://www.coolibar.com/product/Swim-Tights/155525.uts  Coolibar runs sales and coupons a lot. :)  

[goldberry]

My DD17 just got sunburned also.  *sigh*  I think this might be the one that converts her though.  She got a really blotchy burn that looks flat out hideous, and she is very sensitive to appearances. ;)

[kewb]

One thing that helps me parent an older teen was accepting that I can't control him, nor would I really want to, either. You equipped your daughter for the task. You did your job. It's up to her to follow through.

I do agree with you on this. I can't control my teens. Health issues are too important to me to not push the importance of sunscreen and hats and make my best effort. Ultimately, they are the ones who need to put it on. If they choose not to listen they are the ones who will suffer the consequences.

[TechWife]

I do agree with you on this. I can't control my teens. Health issues are too important to me to not push the importance of sunscreen and hats and make my best effort. Ultimately, they are the ones who need to put it on. If they choose not to listen they are the ones who will suffer the consequences.

 

So true. Education is our responsibility, but action is theirs. It's particularly hard on us when we know that the consequences can be painful and even life threatening. 

[KarenNC]

Would it help if you took her to get a spray tan? That way she looks tan but doesn't get burned in the process? Would you be willing to help her pay for self tanner or a spray tan if she actually uses sunscreen?

 

Even though I burned easily and it was painful, I so desperately wanted to be tan as a teenager I would only reapply sunscreen on my face.

 

She actually has no interest in being tanned. This happened because she wanted to hang out with her Girl Scout troop and they planned an all day swim day at a local Y waterpark. She's not used to that much concentrated sun exposure. I think a lot of the other girls' families have memberships to that Y and have been going more regularly. We have a neighborhood pool, but always avoid the middle of the day.

 

I did talk to her this morning and it turns out feeling "weird" about asking someone to put more sunscreen on her back did indeed play a part in the issue. 

[FriedClams]

We require swim shirts. They're more modest (boys and girls alike) and they provide great coverage for my easily burned son. Yes, they still need sun screen, but if they "forget" they won't end up in a hospital.

[Mimm]

Two of my kids are ghost-white and my husband's family has a history of skin cancer (both grandfathers, his father, and his brother have all had skin cancers removed). I've been a sunscreen fanatic their entire lives, even for my "darker" child (who is actually pretty pale still, but not as white as my oldest and youngest). I would be frustrated and threaten not to let her hang out outside without my supervision if she can't be more responsible. I'm laid back about a lot of things and I understand what it's like to have a distracted forgetful teen who doesn't like taking anything I say seriously, but I feel very strongly about my kids protecting their skin.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

My kids all wear rash guards. Maybe get her one?

I bought form fitting long sleeve swim rash guards for ds to solve a lot of this problem. Well worth it. I even bought a neoprene swim hat that swimmers wear to cover his ears but I have yet to convince him to wear it.

[Hilltopmom]

When I take a group of kids (even teens) to an outdoor event, I have them do water & sunscreen breaks. I supervise everyone at once, not just suggest. It seems to be the only way the kids actually drink a full bottle of water & reapply sunscreen. Like, in a fun way," ok, now let's all drink our whole water bottle, put on more sunscreen, then go back to the lake", or whatever.

 

My dd thinks it's too much, but after one too many times of teens not drinking enough & getting sick, nor using sunscreen, it's just how I roll.

 

If they go to stuff without me, I make them apply a lot of good sunscreen before going, at least.

Most of our boy teen wear rash guards but the teen girls do not (as in, wouldn't be caught dead in one, the moms have tried to convince them).

[Tita Gidge]

Why is she not wearing it - forgetfulness? how it feels? too lazy? doesn't see the point? doesn't want to stand out as the only one re-applying? All of the above?

 

My children are mixed race, White & Asian. Most of them take after me and are darker. I never burn and one month into summer it's rare for me to get any more dark because I hit some kind of saturation point LOL. I'm not the best model for using sunscreen and only one of my sons ever uses it. He's the only one with lighter skin - still pretty tan by White standards, but light enough that he'll get one solid sunburn a year if he doesn't use sunscreen those first month or so of good sun (for him this is usually Spring baseball season). What convinced him was seeing the faces of coaches and ball players who spent years not using sunscreen.

 

Think Marlboro Man type faces that may look rugged ... for a bit ... until they just start to look prematurely OLD and CRAGGLY. And by then they've started to use sunscreen but it gets stuck in the folds of their faces so they walk around with spots of white lotion not able to sink in easily to an overly-weathered surface and getting stuck in valleys of skin. Not cute!! And my son is vain enough that this motivates him to use sunscreen. Well, about 80% of the time LOL, which I'll take.

 

I don't like spray sunscreen (or spray anything). I don't like to use commercial hygiene products either due to common ingredients. But I shove those ideals straight out the window on a few products - sunscreen being one of them. I'd rather he wear it, than not, and he wants that crap OTC sunscreen with yucky stuff in it ... so that's what I buy. :lol: As mentioned in another post, maybe she'd be more inclined to use a different sunscreen than what you sent - like the spray one?

 

 

 

 

[alisoncooks]

It's too bad that it is social suicide to wear a rash guard. My oldest is 10 and all of his friends still wear them. I'm hoping since they have grown up with them they will just continue.

 

I hope this, too!  Both of my girls (age 10 and 8) swim in rash guards, mostly because they hate the feel of sunscreen and the rash guard minimizes the area where I have to apply it.  They also wear swim shorts because it gives good coverage for active play.

 

I think they look pretty cool...but then again, I am the mom in a tankini and a swim skirt... :o

 

(FWIW, I did a lot of people watching on our most recent trip to the Great Wolf Lodge, and I noticed that many swimmers were wearing rash guards.  Men, women, fit and less-fit....it was a common choice among all ages.)

[foxbridgeacademy]

There's another thread about DC/teens being in control of their bodies, I am 99% in favor of this.  My only sticking point is sunscreen.  They will wear it or they don't go.  My children have never had a real sunburn(a little pink on the cheeks), my lack of diligence will not be the reason they end up with skin cancer.  My grandfather died from skin cancer and my mom was in stage 3 before they found her's, luckily she was treated and 10 years later no re-occurrence but the fear is always there, colors everything she does. 

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I think it's also hard to compete with the idea of embarrassing ones self in front of peers. To be the only one constantly reapplying the sunscreen or donning the rash guard at 15 or 16 would be mortifying and rare around here- people like to be tan. And rash guards and t shirts (while I'm not denying their usefulness) are not typical apparel for teen girls or boys at the beach (at least here). They're what little kids wear and have their moms constantly smearing them with sun screen. Opposite of how a teen wants to be perceived. Unless pasty white becomes cool, teenage girls are a hard sell on it- unless you can get the wrinkle scare in or the cancer fear, but that seems difficult if it hasn't personally affected them. I am glad they're banning tanning beds for people under 18 here for that very reason. I think it was very peer driven for everyone to be tanned year round and they just don't get the long term damage at that age.

Yes but what they need is something like this which is what surfers might wear:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Kanu-Surf-Sleeve-Platinum-Rashguard/dp/B00JYCKSHK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466714342&sr=8-2&keywords=men%27s+rash+guard+long+sleeve

 

Or like this:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Roxy-Juniors-Long-Sleeve-Guard/dp/B00EK1R2NS/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1466714432&sr=8-8&keywords=women%27s+rash+guard+long+sleeve

 

These are cool IMHO. Then they could always use the comeback line of something along the lines that "I'm no fool. I don't want to look old before my time by frying my skin!" or something similar.

[Farrar]

The rashguard and/or constant sunscreen application thing is really cultural, I think. It's super normal around here - even among teens. But I was very aware when we were down south with cousins at their pool that no one over age 4 or 5 had on a rashie except my kids.

 

I agree with others that sometimes it takes a painful burn for some kids to learn. And, strangely, for some kids a medium burn just isn't painful. I can remember I was burned a number of times as a kid and it was mildly uncomfortable at worst... until I had a burn as a young teen so bad that I was in agony for days. My grandmother made me strip down to underwear and sit in the dog bath and she poured milk all over me in the middle of the dining room. It was a strange mix between mortifying and sweet relief. And after that... sunscreen, always sunscreen.

[Pen]

My very, very pale 15 yo went on a swim day with her GS troop today, and I chose to send her as a drop-off because I don't tolerate the heat and all that sun very well. She is a very intelligent person, and knows she burns easily. Typically our family swims in the morning or evening, avoiding peak sun times, so I warned her about being particularly careful today. She was provided with plenty of water-resistant sport sunscreen, reminded by me (and her leaders throughout the day) multiple times to reapply liberally and frequently with specific time frames, sent with a dark tshirt to cover-up when out of the water, and told to stay in the shade as much as possible. Her face was a bit burnt when I picked her up, which wasn't a surprise, but after her shower, her arms, back, and shoulders now look like a tomato <sigh> .  Evidently she reapplied to her face, but "didn't think she needed to" elsewhere because "it didn't feel like I needed it."  :banghead: This is not the first time, but it was last year that it happened before. I thought she had learned.

 

I'm about ready to put her in a burkini before letting her go swimming without me again!

:rant:

 

Note: I don't blame her leaders at all in this. I know them very well and I am very confident they did indeed remind the girls frequently. It's all on my daughter.

 

 

Stick with your family early and late swimming plan. No swimming during middle of day unless she can do something like wear a rash guard or burkini--that is the right approach, IMO, not a ridiculous idea.  

 

Seriously.  Keep her home on  GS swim days, unless she has demonstrated an ability to actually use sunscreen or can (and will!!!) wear a rash guard or has some other means to not get sunburned.  As a person who has had a melanoma, and had a friend who died of one, the risks are too great. And middle of day swimming for the fair skinned may simply be inappropriate/foolish.

 

You should, IMO,  also look for clothing with high SPF factor that is comfy and reasonably good looking, rather than just a dark T-shirt.  Try, for example, www.solumbra.com  ... I like their black "water legs" and women's raspberry and white zip front #16500, for example--these have a near 100 SPF far better than most rash guards. And I use them for more than just swimming, since leggings are now in style for daily wear.  For face etc. that will still be exposed, I try for an SPF 50 or 60 sunscreen, that resists water, since these tend to need fewer reapplications.  And the less that needs to actually be done and remembered, probably the better.

[Guest]

The rashguard and/or constant sunscreen application thing is really cultural, I think. It's super normal around here - even among teens. But I was very aware when we were down south with cousins at their pool that no one over age 4 or 5 had on a rashie except my kids.

 

I agree with others that sometimes it takes a painful burn for some kids to learn. And, strangely, for some kids a medium burn just isn't painful. I can remember I was burned a number of times as a kid and it was mildly uncomfortable at worst... until I had a burn as a young teen so bad that I was in agony for days. My grandmother made me strip down to underwear and sit in the dog bath and she poured milk all over me in the middle of the dining room. It was a strange mix between mortifying and sweet relief. And after that... sunscreen, always sunscreen.

I think you're right. It must be regional/cultural. We like to be bronze in these here parts! You can't spit here without hitting a tanning salon. They do quite the business. And if you don't tan here, most women I know at least spray tan. Year round. Maybe it comes with beauty queen dense areas like big hair does. :) I don't have time to tan but I'm a huge fan of the FakeBake myself. Who wants pasty legs in shorts we wear 10 months of the year?!!