AIBU - Nursery and Suncream

[Tespondent]

WIBU to ask nursery not to reapply suncream during the day?

I apply a 12 hour suncream in the morning, they constantly reapply during the day and today I've picked up DD and her (pretty long) hair is greasy and covered in cream, clothes are stained with green/yellow around the neckline.

Her hair is tied up in a pony tail and it's literally stuck to her back.

As others have said, you can’t expect them to trust your child is protected (and she may not be). They have procedures that cover all children because exceptions are difficult to manage, so only allowing exceptions when there is a risk of harm if they don’t is reasonable of them.

You could try plaiting her hair, putting it in a bun, or getting it cut short. My kids had pixie cuts at that age and it was really practical in so many situations.

Oh I do love a good mumsnet debate haha.

My DD is very well looked after, she is bathed and showered every single night without fail but neither me or her have the time or the energy to wash her hair every night too.

The clothes staining doesn't bother me, but there was so much cream on that they were green and stuck to her 🤣

Her hair is always tied up very neatly, the style today was like in this photo. She also has a hat on religiously in the sun to keep her face and back of her neck covered.

Totally appreciate that nursery need make sure the kids don't get burnt, it was just unpleasant to see her come slithering out like a greasy wet snake today 😂🙄

YABU suncream will need reapplied, their hands and face will be washed, sometimes they play in water, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Washing your child’s hair is a pretty small price to pay to ensure they aren’t sunburned.

Put her hair in a bun, buy a baseball cap. If she not looking like a slippery snake after sun cream, I don’t think you’re putting enough on. You need a lot more than you think. Having greasy hair for a couple of days isn’t going to kill her, but not having adequate sun protection could do.

OP I don't think you understand how sum cream works. It was over 20 degrees here today and will be hotter tomorrow and Thursday. Are you seriously prioritising not having to wash her hair over preventing sunburn?

Put her hair on a bun.

I had a real issue with nursery putting sunscreen on my DD who is allergic to suncream. In the end had to get the dermatologist to tell them to stop, and keep her covered up and out of the sun instead.

They do go a bit mad with it for some reason...

That’s completely different. She’s allergic to it? It’s like nursery giving peanuts to someone with a peanut allergy.

You can never go too mad with sun cream where little children are involved, their skin is so delicate, why risk burning? You can’t make them wear gloves and balaclavas in the summer, but if them will always get exposed to the sun.

I wonder what on earth the reason could be??
Maybe not wanting a load of toddlers getting sunburnt...

Yes but when a little one has an allergy and has been told not to have it by the dermatologist, I was honestly gobsmacked that they kept insisting she needed it on, and putting it on her against the doctors advice...

That’s ridiculous. They often do water play at nursery and they will wipe their hands and faces a lot throughout the day. 12 hour suncream IME never lasts 12 hours and especially on younger skin- who cares about greasy hair and clothes? Mine looked feral today as they had so much suncream in their hair but I’d rather just wash their hair every day and know they’re safe in the sun

So you don't wash out food, paint or sand. Neither has time to wash it despite bathing everyday but you can put it up into a style like this. Ok

@jannier of course we do, that doesn't tend to get in her hair frequently though. I'm not sure I get your point on time though? We do her hair in the morning, and shower/bath her in the evening.

We get home at 6pm cook, eat, play, bath, read, bed. Not much spare time to wash and dry hair there 😆

So there's a bit on the loose bit below the purple bobble? So just wash that. Would take 2 minutes. It would only take 5 minutes to wash all her hair. Why are you making that such a big deal?

@DappledThings this is actually what I did 😊 thanks to someone's clever suggestion earlier in the thread

When I worked at a nursery school and then moved to a primary school we wasn’t allowed to apply sunscreen the children had to do it themselves thank goodness! I hate the stuff

It was still me repeating myself😂

Tie her hair back and put her in old clothes simple

Far better to have greasy sun cream hair than burnt young skin.
Nursery are just doing their job and protecting your little girl. I don’t trust that these 12 hour creams really work tbh.

I think making sure she's got sun protection is far more important than avoiding greasy hair.

They can't risk that and also don't have time to undress them or be carefully with hair.

I would send older clothes that possibly already have suncream damage and maybe try a higher ponytail or plait or a messy bun.

TA big time - nursery have a duty of care. They can't just go "this mum believes her child's sun cream will last all day, so we'll risk it." Also you don't 100% know that it will. I can't really believe you want to risk your child getting burnt because you can't be bothered to wash her properly!

Put her hair in a bun and provide them with blue lizard suncream. It’s factor 50 and doesn’t stain.

It would annoy me, as we only use suncream on our children when absolutely necessary. Otherwise we teach them sun sense ie suitable clothing - sleeved/collared tops, hats. And to be in the shade during the hottest part of the day. They are also outside a lot so build up resilience......
Touch wood they rarely burn.......
A lot of suncream for children is actually sunblock which isn't good for children because they then don't get enough vitamin D into their systems....

They come back caked in paint, glue, mud, all sorts after being at nursery anyway, surely?

Nobody is getting enough vitamin d, most people are deficient and everyone should be supplementing at least October - April
it takes way more sun exposure than you think to get levels up and there isn’t enough in food either
building resilience isn’t a thing, I could be outside constantly but I’m a redhead so I’m never going to be tolerant to the sun. A base tan is just damaging skin