AUBU to think that the teacher shouldn't have only put sun block on the white children in the class?

[IfOnlyIKnewThen]

Just that really. DD8 had sports day yesterday. This morning she asked DH if there is some sun block that is only for white children. When DH asked why, dd explained that one of the teachers called forward the white children in her class and applied sun block half way through the event. When some of the black children stepped forward and asked for it he said that they "didn't need it". Apparently one black child insisted and he relented. DH said that he is going to have a quiet word with the Head when he does the school run to check policy. Seriously hoping dd has the wrong end of the stick.

I have 2 dcs. I have never come across this before. Would others raise it with the school? Not sure it makes any difference but dd attends a very diverse school in London.

This is such balls. Schools aren’t allowed to apply sun cream and certainly not one product on a mix of children, because of the risk of allergies and also of children making complaints about how they we’re touched etc, schools don’t allow teachers to take the risk of accusations being made.

There are a lot of fake posts on mumsnet and I think this is one.

just to pile on as someone who had a familial experience of skin cancer I want to be clear about a few things:

just because they might not visually burn BME children ( and adults) are still at significant risk of skin cancer and should wear sun cream.

When I was very young I didn't realise black people needed sun cream until a friend applied some ( I think I thought it was just about protecting you from burning and that black skin didn't burn). I was just ignorant not racist and it was about 2000 before sun cream was as common place day to day life in the UK as it is today so in that respect I sympathise and assume the TA genuinely didn't get it but it was a bit stupid anyway because any basic training would alert them to the risks of randomly applying something to all the childrens' skin and even worse then saying "only if you are white!"!

TA probably just noticed a few of the children were going red by 1pm and decided to offer them some sun cream.

He'll know to let them burn in future though!

Some people believe any old nonsense post 🙄

What was the TA supposed to do? Leave kids burn because of school policy? That’s madness.

Teacher may have been "told" this by a child or a mother, too. I have been "informed" of this theory by a friend of mine from Ghana who doesn't put sunscreen on her kids because she believes that her kids have less ability to produce vitamin D, and they won't get skin cancer because of their colouring. (We are in Australia, btw....). She isn't going to change her mind about this, despite all evidence presented to her. (And we have vitamin d enriched milk and bread here....)

What was the TA supposed to do? Leave kids burn because of school policy?

Ugh I know. It reminds me of the story of some PCO’s letting someone drown because they weren’t insured to save them or something ridiculous.

OP if you’ve complained about this nice, generous person you are a moron and a jobsworth and I hope you have to deal with someone similarly pedantic in your professional life.

I'm black/white mixed and have actually got sunburnt on the back of my neck when my white ex didn't burn.

When my DCs had sports days at primary school the parents weren't allowed to go over to the children. The whole school was sat on the other side of the school field so there wpuld be no opportunity for parents to apply sun cream.

I know teachers aren't supposed to have contact with children but when DD was in primary would often come home from school smelling of perfume and when asked would say she had sat on her teacher's knee. This was when she was in yr3.

I’m white but have an “olive” complexion so I don’t burn ....I never would think of wearing sun screen here in Ireland, even on the hottest day. I just dont burn, I know it’s still harmful etc, but it’s just something I have never done so I don’t think of it. I too would have just assumed every body else with darker skin than me wouldn’t have needed sun screen either.

My DS is milky white and it was hard to remember at the start to start thinking of sun screen in Ireland.

I don't think there is anything racist about it. Fact is, if you're milky white and have red hair you're probably going to burn much faster than someone with darker skin, or even a dark haired white person. Of course everyone needs sun cream, but obviously some people need it more than others etc. I doubt it was malicious.

I find it quite unlikely this would happen, but also you aren’t in possession of the full facts. Great
For example, DS’s nursery put sun cream on all the children before they go out, but do an extra top-up once they arrive on the kids who burn fastest - the very pale, red headed children, of which there are 4 in DS’s class. That’s not racism, it’s common sense.

Yanbu.

If the TA knew they weren't really supposed to help children with suncream, then understandably they only did the minimum amount eg the children who already looked like they were burning and told the other children (those who weren't already going red) that they didn't need it.

Have to say I was genuinely ignorant of the fact black people needed sunscreen until this post. So even if it is made up bullshit I’ve learnt something.

I’d always thought it was a sliding scale (lily white red heads on one end, black black at the other) and the need for sunscreen dropped off the further along the scale you go. Haven’t ever really thought about it too much. I do have a friend who moans her black DS gets “ashy” if he gets too much sun, I never wanted to ask what she meant!

PrinceArchie

“ashy” means dry and needing moisturiser

@Bluebuilding, thank you!

Double check with the school about the facts before worrying. I’d be very surprised any adult would say that to a child.

I find this very annoying. YANBU.

The ignorance from so called educated ppl is amazing at times.

I was out once and a girl (about 3/4) who had probably never seen a black person asked her mum why my skin was brown.

Her mum stuttered with embarrassment and the best her mum could come up with was that we (us black ppl) were lucky we didnt need suncream.

She was promptly and politely corrected on that point and went even redder than she was before.

I suppose next, the myth will be that we can't get skin cancer... because of some super repellent in our DNA.

Not read all the replies...but I'd certainly raise it with the school. If the black children get sunburn...do they think ignorance is an adequate defence? With health and safety at it's finest...this is terribly disappointing.

If you teach in a multicultural school, it would be best educate yourself on aspects of difference and diversity. In 2019.....it's quite disgraceful that a teacher would come out with that.

If this is what the teacher thinks...what chance do the pupils have.

SandyY2K Read the thread. The school policy is not to give anyone sun cream i.e. everyone should burn. The TA must have been using his own and presumably would have had only one bottle.
Yes, it is ignorant to think black people can't burn and can't get skin cancer. It also ignorant to think that everyone has the same risk of burning and skin cancer though.

Yes, it is ignorant to think black people can't burn and can't get skin cancer. It also ignorant to think that everyone has the same risk of burning and skin cancer though.

This, exactly.