Children as young as six want to get a tan this summer, a poll has found.
Half of children aged six to eight years want to have a bronzed complexion, the survey for Superdrug found.
The poll of 1,000 children aged six to 16, conducted on behalf of the high street chain as part of its work with skin cancer charity Skcin, found that a third of children will sunbathe at “every available opportunity”.
But a fifth intend to sunbathe without using any sun cream.
Richard Cryne, Superdrug’s sun care buyer, said: “These findings are really alarming as they show that children have little regard or knowledge of the dangers of the sun, or the consequences of spending time in the burning sun without protection.
“The average person receives 80% of their lifetime exposure to the sun by the time they’re 18 years old. This means that good childhood habits when it comes to being safe in the sun aren’t just a matter of preventing painful sunburn but can cause a real tangible difference to a person’s chance of avoiding skin cancer later in life.
“That’s why this summer we’re working with national skin charity Skcin on the Sun Safe Schools campaign and hope to sign up 1,000 schools and nurseries to the awards scheme this year.”