Suncream should be applied at nursery

[Weefreetiffany]

Sent my eldest to nursery this morning in her raincoat but with suncream in her bag as the forecast said both. I explain to staff that she didn’t have cream on and they said no problem.

got to work and saw a group email from nursery saying if kids don’t arrive with sun cream on their time outside would be limited as staff will only reapply cream in the afternoon. But she only attends in the morning! Surely the time to apply cream is when it’s needed?

I picked her up and it’s clear she hasn’t had cream on, despite her diary saying she’s spent most of the morning outside. Her skin doesn’t smell of cream and she’s quite rosy. And downed two cups of water soon as we got home.

AIBU to be cross they didn’t put cream on her? I want to mention it as I would hope they’d apply as necessary… friends with kids in other nursery’s get the time their kids have cream put on noted in the diary- is that above and beyond or are my expectations too high?

They don’t have time to apply sunscreen to a room full of kids regularly. In all my DC’s nurseries, you applied at home then they did a lunchtime top up as necessary

It means you need to put it on in the morning. They don't have time to put cream on dozens of children.

YABVVU it takes a ridiculous amount of time to apply suncream to toddlers. Do it at home before she goes. It’s very easy to check the weather and put it on if there’s even a chance she needs it.

theu absolutely shouldn’t have let her out without it and I’d be complaining about that.

I think sending them in with suncream on and the staff reapplying it later in the day is pretty standard tbh. There's a limit to how much time you want them to spend creaming up small children vs other forms of interaction tbh. Same w bringing them in in pj's, or in their overnight nappy or without cleaning their teeth/washing their faces.

Nurseries are weird about this. Mine expects you to apply it and will only apply more if your child stays beyond 3pm. They asked for a bottle to stay there for DS and one of the staff members tried to give it back the next day as apparently nobody had told them the policy was changing! I've just been applying it daily since April.

Why didn't you apply it before you took her? Do you really think they have time to cream all the kids, some who probably hate having it done so takes longer?

Yes, standard to send them in with sun cream applied and then nursery reapply it later. That's what happens at our nursery anyway.

friends with kids in other nursery’s get the time their kids have cream put on noted in the diary- is that above and beyond or are my expectations too high?

YABU. This is totally unnecessary.

just put the cream on before you arrive or use a 12 hour protection lne

What's stopping you putting suncream on your own child before you take her to nursery? If she's only there for the morning it's unlikely it would need reapplying before she comes home.

The staff are nursery workers with lots of children to manage. They're not your child's personal nanny.

We are asked to send in wearing suncream which they reapply in the afternoon. They usually go outside after breakfast until 11 and then late afternoon. They aren’t usually out in the hottest part of the day on very warm days.

I think it’s unreasonable to send them in not wearing any.

Thanks for the replies, especially @Porcupineintherough - that makes a lot of sense . Going forwards I’ll apply before we leave. The weathers not been good enough to merit it so far so still familiarising myself with, well, summer I guess.

You should be applying at home in the morning before taking her in. Especially if she only does mornings. You have to git into their routine, they have a lot of kids to look after and applying suncream to all kids multiple times a day isn't feasible.

Whaaaat??? That's ridiculous.

Sunscreen only lasts a maximum of 4 hours and the sun is at is hottest with the highest UV levels between 11 and 3 so that makes no sense! They surely have a duty of care to ensure that all children in their care have sunscreen applied as needed and not by some made up schedule!

I would be putting in a formal complaint about that (I am Aussie - not sure where you are?), my kid would be fried to a crisp by 3pm.

And downed two cups of water soon as we got home.

Wearing sun cream has no effect on hydration or being hot, so her water consumption in the afternoon has nothing to do with it. If she was hot because it was a warm day, she'd have been hot whether she was wearing sun cream or not.

OP

I don't know why you wouldn't put some on her before drop off?

I would expect any daycare or kinder to reapply as needed though.

Our nursery supplies cream and applies when necessary including in the morning. They are forest school influenced though and spend almost all time outside so just reapplying at 3 wouldn’t be enough. Plus they let them play in water in their nappies etc and obviously need more on then. I prefer knowing that they’ll put some on just before he goes out rather than risk it being wiped off after eating etc.

No in all likelihood they are just kept inside until 3pm as the advice to keep out of the sun during the hottest part of the day 11-3 here.

@StoppinBy yes I would hope it would be applied as and when needed but I do appreciate that it’s much harder if you have to do that for every single child it would get a bit much.

I always put suncream on dd before she leaves for school, I know she's wearing it then. Nursery have a lot of kids and not a lot of time to be sun creaming children in the mornings.

That's a very long time to keep little kids cooped up.

Ours go out but sunsmart clothing and hats as well as sunscreen are compulsory in kinder and daycare.

In school, we have a no hat no play rule and I always put sunscreen on my kids - the lower classes are reminded to apply sunscreen through the day at our school.

Absolutely. It's a nurseries place to safeguard children and that includes ensuring they have the right protection in the sunshine.

As a childminder I provide sun protection and hats to ensure all children have what they need (unless a specific one is needed then parent provides)

Sorry but yes you need to apply it first. Even if it’s raining when you take her. It’s not unreasonable to ask that kids have it applied already in the morning. They should have restricted her time though as stated if they didn’t apply any suncream

We have a few children at our nurseries with allergies, and most parents opt to send their children in with their own sun cream. To prevent cross contamination, every child has to have cream applied with a fresh pair of disposable gloves. It takes forever and the plastic waste is horrific. We ask that children come in with sun cream applied and reapply after lunch for any children staying all day.

I agree with others, at this time of year apply it before taking her in even if not sure if it'll be sunny or rain. No harm done if she has it on and the weather doesn't turn out to be very nice.

How old is your child (sorry if I missed it). I worked in childcare several years ago and even then the rule was to apply before coming (and provide hat etc). Or teach child to apply themselves depending on age and always have a bottle in their bag if a top up needed.

Obviously we'd apply it if there was a child who had none rather than let them burn, but times have probably changed since then.

Outdoor time is an essential part of growing and learning, so I guess cream up in the morning, or teach to cream - hopefully without an entire bottle of factor 50 in one go!