My husband is very fair & we now live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, so we have to be very aware.

My rule of thumb is 10 min exposure initially, gradually increasing it as the days get longer. When we are hiking, If he has even a hint of pink on his shoulders, his shirt goes back on. We used this rule when we lived in the Pac NW as well.

His sun tolerance has definitely increased since supplementing with D3 2 years ago--so something to consider!

The Vitamin D Council has some great info: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org

Somewhat related to your query, (I also have a red-headed child) I think red-hair = people who do NOT tolerate gluten very well. And gluten may greatly interfere with their vitamin d status. Red hair generally means one is of Celtic descent, and such folks lived on oats rather than gluten grains, and are therefore particularly susceptible to gluten issues. Or at least that's my understanding.

Red heads and fair skinned folk will be at an increased risk for skin cancer, so it is a legitimate concern to prevent burning. My dad is a red head, and he has had melanoma on his scalp removed several times and always has to be very careful about always wearing a hat and sunscreen. Because he has already had cancerous growths removed, he exposes himself to the sun as little as possible and gets all of his vitamin D through supplementation. That being said, it doesn't take much exposure to get some vitamin D, but it is a safety that you could still get it through supplementation.

PS I live pretty close to you, Montreal!

Red head here, although now through help from Ms. CLairol, I was once Carrot Orange headed (at birth)...and certainly have the freckled and hardly tanned skin to go with it. I would consider a hat at the beach, lake or when outside for extended periods. My son is fair skinned so we usually let him go without sunscreen if he is playing in teh back yard, sort of in and out of the house but if he is to be out for a while we use 30spf and if he is going to be near or on the water and in blazing sun then 55+ and waterproof. Most have chemicals I dont wnat to use but I also dont want him to get skin cancer either...so I am shooting for a balance. Just keep a very light cover up available tucked away in the car for just such times when you dont have sunscreen.

Best of luck, I am going to attempt to use mostly zinc oxide this summer to lessen the chemicals..

* anyone have good sunscreen reccommendations?

Check into Astaxanthin.

I'm just like your daughter- strawberry blonde with freckles. I used to never tan- ever! I just burned and went right back to white. I would go to the beach as a child and wear sunscreen- religiously applying it every hour, proudly leave the beach as pale as I arrived, only to be bright red and in pain an hour later. It's really frustrating because it's so hard to monitor when you're fair skinned.
I'm now an adventure guide and spend lots of time in the sun. I'm to the point where by the end of the summer I can go several hours without sunscreen and not burn. Here is what I do: