There are wonderful things I could say about having a daughter with a fair complexion. The fact that her skin comes in two shades -- casper and lobster -- is not one of them. Which isn't a problem at home where I slather the sunscreen on before she steps outside. The problem, oh fellow parents, is when she goes to school.
And if you happened to catch a glimpse of the photos one Washington State mom snapped of her sunburned elementary schoolers the other day, you'll be scared for your kids too. Jesse Michener's daughters baked to a crisp during their school field day. Why?
Because no one bothered putting sunblock on her daughters before they were sent outside. In fact, the teachers aren't allowed to put any sort of sunscreen on the kids at their Tacoma school! The rules state that the only sunscreen that can be put on must be done by the kids themselves, and then only if they have a doctor's note on file. And now that I've done some asking around, I'm finding out this is how it works in a LOT of school districts!
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Come on! In 2012, knowing the immense damage that the sun can do to kids in just a few hours, there has to be a better way people!
For starters, let's just strike "putting it on themselves" off the list right here and now.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you that most kids do not actually enjoy having sunscreen put on them. At least, my 7-year-old doesn't. Nor does her 8-year-old buddy. And although both are smart, capable kids, neither one is able to put the stuff on themselves ... there are too many places they can't reach, they're still not really aware of what has to be covered, etc.
And let's talk about the "doctor's note," shall we?
I didn't know my daughter was going to have her "fun day" until a few days before it actually happened. That's when I learned that A) Field Day has gotten much, much cooler since we were kids (Did y'all have bouncy houses? Me neither!), and B) at some point during the day, my fair-haired princess was going to be outside in the bright sunshine. When, exactly, was I going to make an appointment with my pediatrician? OK, so maybe I could have gotten a note at the beginning of the year, but I bet you it would be tied to an exact bottle/brand of sunscreen. And as luck would have it, we changed brands again this spring after the latest warning about sketchy chemicals.
I think Michener's photos really scare me because I actually fretted about this on the morning of my kid's fun day. Here I was at 7:30 in the morning wondering if I should bother because if she didn't go out until noon, the stuff wasn't going to work anyway.
That's the problem -- we, the parents, can't do this for our kids! We aren't there, and whatever we do in the morning is pretty useless!
I know teachers have a lot on their plate, and gooping up our kids is going to take a lot of time, and won't exactly be fun. But kids should not be coming home from school looking like lobsters because they don't have sun protection.
What do you think would fix this problem? Have you had a sunburned kid come home from school yet?
Image by Jeanne Sager
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Comments 171
my GODS. Yet another reason to homeschool. Chibi still has tan lines from LAST summer camp and that was WITH sunscreen. She is VERY fair, the daughter of a red head (her father) who doesn't tan. I'm also very fair, but have enough Native blood that as a child (before the age of sunblock) I always tanned very dark while my blonde hair bleached white in the summer sun. I didn't have a serious sunburn until band camp where my marching tuba was a reflector right into my face and neck. Ouch.
I've since had skin cancer, but it had nothing to do with sun exposure. But I have to be VERY careful with Chibi...and one of HER daughters had a documented form of albinism??? And they didn't take her OUT of the sun?? UGH!!! Freakin PUBLIC SCHOOLS!!!
I am as fair as they come, like must wear 100 spf fair. When I was younger and going to day camp, my mother slathered me in sunscreen before we left home, and she told the counselors at the beach to make sure I kept my shirt on and to bring me in a noon and put more sunscreen on me. I was little, I think 8 or 9 maybe, and of course I didn't care or want to stop playing to put on more sunscreen myself so my mother told the counselors that they HAVE to bring me in and do it. Well they didn't and I ended up with 2nd and 3rd degree burns with blisters on my shoulders and ear that needed to be popped and drained constantly. You can believe my mother was furious. These girls weren't just pinked, I read a more descriptive article and 2 of the girls had blisters on their faces. These people needed to bring those children in (all children IMO) and give them water and hand them sunscreen and tell them to apply it. Sunscreen needs to be applied every 2 hours as per FDA recommendations. This is ridiculous and the mother has every right to be angry! I have a now 80% chance of skin cancer because of irresponsible adults who were told that they need to apply sunscreen because of my sensitive skin because I was too young to understand and care to do it myself. Now that I'm older, I put on sunscreen every day, year around just in case.
I'm incredibly pale, a ginger, and go from fluorescent, to eggshell to lobster pretty fast. Never in my life did my teachers apply sunscreen to me; my parents did that before school.
1. Teachers don't get paid to slather sunscreen on your kids. They are not daycare providers.
2. The logistical nightmare involved in lotioning up a classroom full of kids is ridiculous
3. People hop on their jump to conclusions mats and tend to assume the worst of men around children (see "suspicious" man in B&N), therefore it's not worth the risk of an accusation to have a male teacher lotion a child.
4. It's your job as a parent to make sure your child is prepared before they leave for school.
5. If your child burns easily, it's never to early to learn how to apply sunscreen
This is kind of ridiculous. Put it on in the morning if you think they need it, like you would do for camp. Sunscreen lasts all day. I have never had a problem. It would take way too long for a teacher to do it, then you would complain if they missed a spot.
Sun shirts and hats are your friends.
And no, as a teacher, i do not want to apply sunscreen to your child.