Almost half of UK parents aren't worried about sun damage, according to new research

Two thirds of parents are not sure how much sun cream to apply to their children

Two thirds of parents aren’t sure how much sun cream to apply to their children. (Getty Images)

Nearly half of parents in the UK "aren’t worried" about the danger of sun exposure to their children, according to a new survey.

A poll of 2,000 adults in the UK with kids aged four to 14, found more than 47 per cent of parents are either unaware or unworried about the sun's harmful rays.

Two thirds of parents also said they were not sure how much sun cream to apply to their children.

“We know how challenging it can be to protect your little ones from the sun," said Charlotte Blanchard, the UK & Ireland’s General Manager for Garnier Ambre Solaire, which commissioned the survey. “It’s a challenge in itself to apply sun cream in the first place, then parents spend the rest of their time worrying whether they have used enough and when to re-apply.

Further data from the British Skin Foundation reports that at least 100,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the UK, killing over 2,500 people each year.

And getting sunburnt in childhood almost doubles the risk of developing melanoma skin cancer in adulthood.

More than a fifth of the survey's respondents said they found it difficult to get their children to put sun cream on during the summer and 15 per cent said their little ones never want their protection reapplied.

One in six parents did not know UV meant ultraviolet and a third of those polled did not know that UVB rays could contribute to skin cancer.

Matthew Patey, CEO of the British Skin Foundation, said: “We know that UV damage in childhood significantly increases a person’s risk of cancer in adulthood, so it’s imperative that sun awareness is made an essential part of education both at home and school.”