According to a study published Tuesday spending your vacations at a beach during childhood years could increase the risk of melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, later in life.

In the study researchers from Denver evaluated 681 white children born in 1998 and lived in Colorado. The children were examined at age seven for any signs of nevi, also known as moles, which are considered a risk factor for developing melanoma. The parents were asked about vacation details that they had been on.

The researchers found that every vacation at the beach one or more year prior to the examination was linked to a five percent increase in nevi that were less than two millimeters, or .08 inches in size. "Moles went up 5 percent for every vacation they took [beginning at age 1 year]," said study senior author Lori Crane, an associate professor and chairwoman of Community and Behavioral Health at the Colorado School of Public Health.

According to the American Cancer Society there will be 62,500 Americans diagnosed with new cases of melanoma in 2008 and 8,400 deaths.

"Parents of young children need to be cautious about taking their kids on vacations that are going to be sun-intensive at waterside locations, where people are outside for whole days at a time in skin-exposing swimsuits," said Crane.

Crane added that parents were often mistaken into believing that sunscreen eliminates skin cancer risks but as the children tend to stay out in the sun longer the risk increases. "We recommend that, for young children, parents keep the kids involved in indoor activities from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm to decrease risk, or if they are to be outside, that they wear shirts with sleeves."

Young boys were found to be 19 % more likely than girls to develop nevi which Crane said "may be due to an increased likelihood among boys to want to stay outdoors."

Children from higher income families were found to be more likely to develop nevi perhaps as they tended to vacation at a beach more than those were not so well off.

Crane said, "Daily sun exposure at home did not seem to be related to the number of moles, while waterside vacations were. Vacations may impart some unique risk for melanoma."