Aibu to think that children should be allowed to wear sunglasses at school

[thisisme2018]

My DD is in reception class at Primary school. In preparation for the hot weather today, I sent her to school with her water bottle, hat, sunscreen and a pair of sunglasses.

She wasn't allowed to wear the sunglasses at playtime because apparently it's against school rules on health and safely grounds.

Is this standard in most Primary schools? The schools are very quick to make sure we provide water bottles, hats and sunscreen for the children. Aibu to think they should be allowed to protect their eyes with sunglasses?

this slapping on of Sun cream at the first sign of sun is madness, kids desperately need vit D

Sunscreen use does not cause vitamin D deficiency.

According to my consultant dermatologist, the greatest cause of vitamin D deficiency is our modern indoor lifestyle.

How patronising Growbagsforever with your huge laugh at the OP.

Eyes need the same protection as the skin outside, and early exposure to UV, as explained to me by my optician at my early onset of cataracts at 47, is one of the main causes.

I’d have a word with the teacher. Of course they should be allowed! My eyes really hurt if I have to walk around without sunglasses on a very sunny day.

Light coloured eyes are very sensitive to light, children should wear sunglasses to protect their eye health. Of course the school should allow children to wear sunglasses.

Yes @Voice0fReason skin is also designed for outdoor use...this slapping on of Sun cream at the first sign of sun is madness, kids desperately need vit D. By the time they've eaten lunch at school they are outside for all of 30 mins FFS.

They also ‘desperately’ need not to get skin cancer as adults.

What foolish, anti-science posts. And what sad schools you must have experienced - when DS1 was in Reception they free-flowed outside pretty much all day if they wanted to, and even though he’s older they spend much larger parts of the day out of doors.

My eyes are also "designed for outside use", but I find bright sunlight very uncomfortable and it gives me a headache. My optician confirms that light blue eyes are particularly sensitive to bright light and sunglasses are a good idea. I have no Idea why anyone would think that a four year old eyes were any less affected.

I'm definitely going to be talking to the school about it today. I stand by my belief that if my DD or any of the other children want to wear sunglasses, they should be allowed.

The only way to delay the onset of age related macular degeneration (and cataracts for that matter) in those in whose family history they are indicated is to wear UV protective sunglasses (or UV protective contacts).

I have 3 grandparents and 2 parents who practically went blind in their 70s. I wear sunglasses EVERY day - as do my children.

was just coming on to say that a major cause of cateracts is UV light so the earlier and more often you protect your eyes from it the better.

it sounds a ridiculous rule to me. i see no difference between sun glasses and any other type if kids need to wear those.

they dont have to be expensive to have UV protection.

Great example of 'ignorance is bliss' there (and is sarcastic and feeling superior and erm...Wrong!) grobags
I just hope you can justify to your kids why you didnt protect their eyes and skin when they are burnt older.

My kids always had sunglasses at primary school, there was never any problem.

Our school- granted it’s in Australia, provides and expects all children to wear hats and sunglasses when it’s sunny. All children should be allowed to. Sun damage to eyes is a very real thing, and should be taken seriously. The effects won’t be noticeable when young, but it can have a long reaching effect.

Sunglasses are banned at DDs school unless prescription. I assume it's to stop them getting lost, swapped and fiddled with during class.

skin is also designed for outdoor use...this slapping on of Sun cream at the first sign of sun is madness, kids desperately need vit D. By the time they've eaten lunch at school they are outside for all of 30 mins FFS.
@Grobagsforever lunchtime is the most dangerous time of the day as far as sun exposure is concerned. Children's skin is thinner than adults and particularly vulnerable to the effects of UV. The damage they receive as a child is not always visible but it is permanent, there is no way to reverse it. It is scientifically proven to be a cause of skin cancer in adults.
30 minutes unprotected exposure to high UV (which is has been the last couple of days) in the middle of the day WILL cause harm. They can get enough vitamin D in a 10-minute walk to and from school.

But let's put skin aside and go back to eyes.
Can you explain what the benefits of UV exposure to eyes are please? Because I am only aware of potential harm. Short-term with headaches, photophobia, eye strain etc. Long-term with macular degeneration, cataracts and blindness. Damage to the retina from UV exposure is the leading cause of age-related macular degeneration and blindness. But hey, eyes are designed to cope aren't they?

I live in South Australia....H.O.T. here in summer and not one of the kids in our primary wears sunglasses to school. Broad brimmed hats provide enough protection.

This site below says sunglasses should be saved for water based activities where the glare is extreme, or skiing.

I wear them here in Australia when I have a long walk....because I hate hats.

The website below says that broad brimmed hats provide enough protection to eyes and that it's important to allow the sun to get into your body for it's beneficial effects.
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/09/16/sunglasses-myths.aspx

I dont have references for this (I'm sure they could be found) but the proportion of children of young people finishing education with sub-prime vision is increasing. This is particularly evident in the Far East countries with very high education standards. In some FE countries there is an extremely strong correlation between academic success and short-sightedness at 18.

There are two theories why this maybe happening. One is that intensive studying for many hours means that the children only focus on near objects, and therefore do mot exercise their eye muscles to accommodate to distance vision. The other is that intensive studying for many hours equates to many hours indoors, and therefore a lack of exposure to UV light.

Good job skin cancer is totally fictional eh, growbags. I'd better leave it their, as a redhead whose mother died of malignant melanoma. because if I say any of the things I want to my post will be deleted.

Citing mercola.com is all that persuasive and definitely not evidence....

the school I work at doesn't allow them

The reasons are
the would constantly get lost and broken
They wear a cap so their eyes are in the shade which is sufficient
small children do actually fall over, and off play equipment and bump into each other a lot more than adults do and at higher speeds. there aren't many children at school that wear glasses, but I often have to treat a bruise/cut on the bridge of a nose or under the eye where their glasses have dug in during a 'tag' collision.

Does your school ban prescription glasses too then?

I work in a primary school and children are allowed to wear them.

no they don't

Everything is about weighing up varying risks / benefits in a school and different schools make different choices. I was explaining the reasoning not necessarily endorsing it.

The benefit of wearing prescription glasses is the child can see and take part in their education, the risk is they get small cuts/bruises as I described treating . They don't tend to lose them as they cant see without them and you get to know what they look like anyway as they have them all the time.

the benefit of wearing sunglasses is the additional uv protection over the uv protection provided by a hat whilst playing in the shade (we open up indoor areas on really hot days too)

It wouldn't make much difference to allow sunglasses and since a substantial number of parents don't send a hat, water bottle or bother with suncream I imagine a lot wouldn't bother with sunglasses either, so it wouldn't be a big issue.