to ask about sun safety at school?

[CupCakeHandyBox]

I think DD's class went outside at the first sign of sun on Tuesday and haven't been back in since. Apparently they have been doing work, but I think they've mostly been playing with water and sand (by the looks of her uniform).

She isn't sunburned but she is definitely a little pink. They didn't put suncream on the children, although they did give them water. They were definitely out at 10am and 2pm, because I drove past and could see them all. There is no shade in the playground at all- it's such a sun trap.

If they do the same any later in the summer she will definitely burn.

I wish they would tell you this. They seem to expect you to know by osmosis

Of course they expect you to know that YOU need to put suncream on YOUR child if you want them to be protected from the sun!
Do you also need them to tell you they need a coat through the winter and a sun hat in the summer?

It's not practical to expect school staff to apply sunscreen because of time constraints and allergy concerns. The pragmatic thing to do would be to do it before you take your child to school.

I burnt yesterday sat out in dappled shade for an hour at most.

Gemini thank you for that link.

Im going to mention it to the head.

dizzytomato my two would most certainly be in sweaters, jeans and shivering in 14oc

I recall coming back to UK for a visit in June 2012 and were up in North Berwick. It was a sunny day, but very breezy and clouds skittering across the sky. It couldn't have been more than 14oc and I was shivering in a pashmina and parka.

Whilst standing by the beach I watched as a boy about 7-8 years old, stood in his underpants shivering as the grey murky water washed over his feet. His mum dashed towards him and I thought "yes, it's far too cold for him to go in there", only for her to stop him and slather him with suncream.

Made me chuckle.

Sunscreen can stop you making vitamin d. Vitamin d deficiency is common in scotland, and may even be related to MS in some way- so do try to get some sun if you don't take a supplement.

June is peak UV and air temperature is utterly irrelevant. That mum evidently didnt sit in science lessons flicking her hair, glad someone didn't.

tanaqui for about half the year there is not intense enough sunshine to make enough vitamin d anyway, so the entire population should be supplementing. VitD supplements also have the benefit that they don't give you skin cancer...

Strokethefurrywall that's hilarious, poor kid.

We're off to Argentina in July and London in December, I was sorting out the hats and coats today to see if we had all we needed. My 4 year old came into the room in his his usual attire: a pair of underpants, took one look at the thick puffer jacket, said "not wearing dat mummy" and left again. Poor kid doesn't know what he's in for. ⛄evil laugh

Regular sun exposure doesn't increase your chance of cancer, what increases cancer is getting sunburn and spending hours in the sun when your skin hasn't built up a gradual immunity. Also possibly a vitamin d deficiency can increase your risk too. If you look at the world skin cancer rates, with the exception of Australia the top 5 countries are in Northern Europe. Countries with a low risk are places like South Africa, India, Mexico, Jamaica and Brazil! There is evidence that sunscreen gives a false sense of security, peoole who live in sun get rugular but not prolonged exposure. If you wear sunscreen and stay 4 hours in the sun you are increasing your chances much more than the people who live near the equator and never wear sunscreen.

If you look at the world skin cancer rates, with the exception of Australia the top 5 countries are in Northern Europe.

All this really tells you is that very pale-skinned people are rather prone to skin cancer if they are not sensible about sun exposure.

OP, I have very fair children and live in a hot sunny place. When they were little I would bung some longlasting sun cream on in the morning, on sunny days, from about mid April onwards. I'm not paranoid about sun exposure but if they spend time in the sun at school, it is often at midday when the risk is highest. In April I would only bother with face, neck, and shoulders/ backs of arms - but it depends how fair your child is.

Regular sun exposure doesn't increase your chance of cancer, what increases cancer is getting sunburn and spending hours in the sun when your skin hasn't built up a gradual immunity

That is completely wrong

Cumulative sun exposure mostly causes basal or squamous cell cancers

Severe sunburn tends to cause melanomas.

You cannot build "immunity" to the sun, and a tan provides very little protection.

You need to look at the latest research.
www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-horowitz/dueling-docs---does-the-s_b_203801.html

Pale skinned people live all over the world. Especially in former European colonies like South Afruca and Brazil. They don't look as pale vecause they blive in dunnier climates. People's bsse or natural colour cannot be seen near the equator.

You've just contradicred yourself. Darker skinned people have more melanin which gives a protective layer against uvb. When you tan your skin is making more melanin so as long as you don't burn, or get the tan in two weeks which is dangerous but instead more gradually just from living and working everyday then you will build up melanin in your skin without major damage. Giving you more protection from sunburn. When i lived in the UK if i got shopping to my car in 40 degree heat for 5 minutes i would have burnt to a crisp, so would my Brazilian husband, now we can do that without any damage.. People with dark skin burn as well if they have no sun for a long time.

They don't look as pale because they live in sunnier climates. People's bsse or natural colour cannot be seen near the equator. -stupid phone

Bugger just lost my whole post.

The gist of it was that it's the UV that burns so you can get burnt in cool and/or cloudy conditions.

We have UV warnings for example today it was recommended to use sun protection between 9.50 am and 2.40 pm and Max UV was 5. Which is low as it's Autumn. (Australia) Peak summer is about 12 or 13. I check it every day, like I do weather forecast, and you can set an alarm too.,

School here is very sun smart. Lots of covered shaded areas to play. Sun shades. Sunscreen applied by teachers and staff. Wide brimmed hats at all times of the year - kids are just used to it.

Rules are generally reapply sunscreen every 4 hours. Broad spectrum sunscreen is best to use to screen out both UVA and B. Both can cause skin damage aging and cancer.

I didn't realise I knew so much about this topic

Dizzy that is untrue. Sun damage is cumulative and a tan does not protect.

People who naturally have more melanin (ie as a race) are less likely to get sun damage or cancer, but you cannot make this happen yourself by tanning. Solariums are banned in Australia now.

A lot of the differences in skin cancer rates will be cultural (if you are comparing similarly pale-skinned populations).

In cultures where people habitually cover their skin against the sun (parts of the Middle East and Africa), or where a siesta is common so people are indoors when the sun is at its highest (eg southern europe), you are less likely to see sun-related skin damage.

Obviously darker skins have more natural protection, although even dark skinned people can sometimes burn.

Solariums should be banned everywhere. They give off UVA that is up to 15 times higher than midday sun.

Suncreams should be used if you are in direct sunlight like children in a playground, but that doesn't mean it should be slapped on and then go and spend all day in the sun. Even with sunscreen people should spend no more thsn 30 minutes in the sun and never in midday sun. My kids spend part if the school day outside, they either play in the covered playground or for young children the teachers apply cream (it's not difficult) and unless they are in the covered area they are out for no more than 20 minutes.. The UK does not practice safe sun care in schools like this.

The human race has a range of skin tones and skin tones can change depending on where you live. People with darker skin, whether natural or the result of living in sunnier climates have more melanin in their skin. You can make your body produce more melanin by eating certain foods too, if you live in a hotter climate your skin will darken. I've never tanned and I don't go out in the sun on purpose to tan ,I wear factor 15 face cream and have a uv umbrella but I still look like I live in a warmer climate. That's inevitable. I would never do it but I could sit outside in 14 degrees for an hour and not get burned, unlike someone on this thread. I am very pale and blond as well. My risk of skin cancer has been reduced because that activity would not burn me as it did to them.