Getting the message across

I made a TV documentary about skin cancer, in which I spent a day on Bondi beach in Australia talking to young people as they lay sizzling in the sun. I found that telling them about the damaging effect of sunlight and how it could cause cancer and premature skin ageing just didn't bother them.

They couldn't connect their behaviour now with consequences in the future - or at least they didn't want to. Even when I asked them if they really wanted to end up with skin like their parents in ten years, they didn't seem worried. Teenagers live in the present and only care about looking and feeling good right now.

So asking them to think about their future health won't put them off tanning today, which is why we need to use more subtle persuasion methods to get them to slap on the SPF...

● Point out pale celebs - Thankfully, it seems the days of perma-tanned celebrities walking the red carpet are pretty much over. Now more stars are embracing their natural skin tone and shunning the sun. Your teen may find the pale look much more interesting when they remember how pretty and successful Kristen Stewart, Pixie Lott, Nicola Roberts, Gwen Stefani and Lily Cole are...

● Fake, don't bake - If your daughter still prefers a golden hue, point out that, in a matter of minutes, fake tanning products can achieve the same effect as hours of sweltering in the sun. Make it feel like a treat, booking both of you in for a salon spray tan.

● Make protection part of the reward - If teens insist on sunbathing, hide the olive oil and buy them one of the new suncreams that combine an SPF of up to 50 with a gentle self tanner that gives a light glow.

● Steer them from sunbeds - A monthly session on a sunbed can increase the risk of skin cancer by more than half. Thankfully, a new law banning under-18s from using tanning salons is set to come into force later this year.

● Lead by example - Teens are always on the lookout for reasons to say "it's not fair", so don't give them an excuse. Always protect your own skin with a high SPF when you leave the house.

● Chill out in the shade from 11am to 3pm - Set up a big beach umbrella and have a picnic or barbecue underneath. Make it as attractive as possible, with cooling drinks and music. Why would anyone want to lie sweating in the sun when there's more fun to be had in the shade?

● Be oil free - Many teens are put off using greasy sunscreens for fear of causing spots. Appeal to their vanity by getting them an oil-free facial suncream that won't block pores.

● Buy them a funky hat - There's a great variety of styles on the high street - Alexandra Burke and Cheryl Tweedy have been snapped in straw trilbies, while High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens has been sporting a big floppy number. Plan a shopping trip with your teen to find a style they like. Hopefully, they'll love it so much they won't want to leave the house without it.

● Help them pick sunglasses - No celeb worth their salt is seen without the obligatory oversized shades - and your teen will be keen to look cool.

● Text alert - Teenage Cancer Trust has created a free burn-alert text message service to remind young people to stay safe in the sun during the hottest days of the year. To sign-up text SHUN to 80231. It's vital to protect teenage skin from the sun, as this is the key time for causing long-term skin damage and raising your lifetime risk of cancer.

I never enjoyed exposing my skin to the sun, but as a student I accidently burnt my shoulders waterskiing in the midday sun. It took weeks to heal and was so painful it ruined my holiday. Since then I've twice needed to have skin cancers removed from this area - almost certainly as a result of this early damage. The fact is we all have a sun quota - a limited number of hours over a lifetime that our skin can be exposed to the sun before changes occur that lead to skin cancer.

This limit varies from person to person but, as there is no way of knowing what it is, avoid the sun as much as possible starting from an early age. The more exposure you get while younger, the faster you'll reach your sun quota.

I have a friend whose father developed a skin cancer at 70, while she needed to have one removed at 35. This was largely down to the fact she'd emigrated to Australia in her 20s, which meant she'd reached her sun quota in half the time of her father who remained in the UK.

Source: Daily Mirror