Parents who slap sunscreen on their children with hopes of protecting them from skin cancer may be doing them more harm than good, European researchers said yesterday.

They said a study showed children who wore suntan lotion - no matter what the strength - were more likely to develop moles than children who did not. Moles are the main predictor of skin cancer.

The researchers - Dr Philippe Autier, of the European Institute of Oncology, and colleagues in Italy, France, and Germany - said sunscreen use may actually lead to skin cancer because people think the lotions protect them and thus they stay out in the sun longer.

''In white, European children, sunscreen use appears to be associated with development of nevi (moles), probably because it allows longer sun exposures,'' the researchers wrote in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

''Wearing clothes may be an effective way to prevent proliferation of nevi (moles),'' they added.

The team studied 631 six and seven-year-olds at four schools in France, Germany, and Italy. They examined their skin and counted moles, then interviewed their parents about how often the children were in the sun, how often they got sunburns, whether sunscreen was used and if so, what strength, and what clothing their children wore in the sun.

In adults, it is well documented that the more moles a person has, the higher his or her risk of skin cancer. Other factors include skin colour, eye colour, and the number of sunburns in childhood.

Other studies have indicated people who use sunscreen are more likely to develop skin cancer. The researchers found the best indicator of whether a child would have a lot of moles was the child's propensity to get a sunburn. Lighter-skinned children are more likely to burn, as are children with light-coloured eyes.

Sunscreen use was also a predictor, especially when the sun was also intense. ''When the sun exposure index was high, children who often or always used sunscreens had a nevus (mole) number about two times greater than children who never used a sunscreen,'' Autier's team wrote.

Using stronger sun creams also was of no help, this study found. ''The SPF (sun protection factor) had no effect on occurrence of nevi,'' they wrote. In contrast, children who wore more clothing in the sun were protected, the study found.

Dr Maria Turner, a dermatologist at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, said it was too soon to conclude sunscreen did no good.

People have heard the message, she said. ''The use of sunscreens in developed countries has become common practice and, until recently, their usefulness for photo-protection and their beneficial role as a public health measure for the prevention of sun-induced cancer were taken for granted.''

Lately, this has come into question, because even though sunscreen sales are up, so is the rate of skin cancer. The best protection, Turner said, is to stay out of the sun, wear protective clothing, and use sunscreen as well - but not as an excuse to bake in the sun.