Ds has got sun burnt at school

[RoooneyMara]

Ds is 10 and was on a kind of sports/open day today at another school.

No one sent a letter about it or anything.

He has come home with sunburn across his face.

Normally I tell him to stay in the shade when it is hot - clearly they weren't able to do this, being outside much of the day.

Hats are pointless when they are doing activities outside - they just fall off.

Suncream doesn't last very long...what can you do?

I feel really upset about it.

I think my earlier post demonstrated how hard my colleagues and I go to armlock encourage appropriate clothing. I also badger them to play in the shade. Some of them mainly boys look at me as if I'm nuts.

And my point was that parents shouldn't assume that they only need to provide suncream and hats if a note home has specifically mentioned a trip out. At this time of year, classes can go outside on any pretext - to make up for all those wet plays we moan about the rest of the year.

Good to hear it clam.

What I said was mainly in reference to the doubting there is enough time to remind about applying suncream. I think in this type of weather you have to allow for this. Loco parentis and all that...

I think UK schools could do with getting some advice from Australian schools and adults with some better public education on sunscreen use and protecting yourself from the sun and advice on how dangerous is is getting burnt in the UK (and how easy). Looking on the Sunsmart website for Victoria, Australia (www.sunsmart.com.au/default.asp), I don't see any mention of All Day sunscreens, but lots of advice on applying factor 30+ sunscreen every 2 hours regardless of what the label on the bottle says. This applies whenever the UV levels are above 3 - today in the UK, UV levels are at 6. Australian schools must therefore have worked out some way of ensuring there is time for adequate sunscreen application, that schools have adequate shade, uniforms provide good sun protection, children are trained how to apply sunscreen effectively and regularly reminded to apply sunscreen, etc, etc. Particularly for sports, even at adults' sporting events, people are reminded about the importance of seeking shade, regular announcements reminding them are made and sunscreen is provided for people who arrived unprepared. The attitude that it's the 10-year old's responsibility or all the parent's fault if the child is unprotected and sent out on a half-day sporting event clearly doesn't cut any ice in Australia, given the potentially serious consequences.

More education for everyone on sun safety and the importance of vitamin D, given the fact that UV levels in this country have been creeping up over the last 50 years, would be very useful indeed, I think.

www.sunsafeschools.co.uk/?o=off
Looks like the UK does have an organisation to encourage schools to become more "sunsafe."

I note the website refers to 15-20 minutes a day exposure of unprotected skin to the sun to produce enough vitamin D. It doesn't say how much of your skin needs to be exposed - just the face? Just the arms and face? Or do you need to be wearing shorts? At what time of day? Other websites have suggested this is actually at midday!... At what times of year is this amount of sun exposure required, given that between October and March there isn't enough UV in many parts of the UK to really make vitamin D? How is one supposed to manage unprotected skin if wearing all day sunscreen? At what times of year is 15-20 minutes exposure enough? And how long does one need in the UK for adequate vitamin D production if one does not have bare skin, but has all day sunscreen on? And if the sun is strong, should schools be taking children out in it without sunglasses? I know skin cancer is awful, but melanoma of the eye, cataracts and macular degeneration are awful, too.

The advice is pretty naff, in general, imo.

By that, I mean advice from any source when it comes to what is the right thing to do for someone based in the UK.

Along with the once stuff that does seem to see my kids through sports day, Boots also sells sticks of solid sunblock f50 that looks like a solid deodrant-it is clear and my kids can easily apply it without the mess/leakage that occurs with other stuff.My cream averse ds1 age 11 who has asd will put up with that one and can put it on himself.
I think you have to take kids through how to apply suncream and why we need it
As for the trip-how odd!

Hmm. Ds1 has so come out in a rash with all sunscreen products we've tried so far with the exception of Sunsense toddler milk, which a dermatologist recommended. It's not at all easy to put on, though, as it's pretty runny, even if in roller form.