School banning suncream, am I unreasonable to query this?

[sydenhamhiller]

Sorry, loooooooong :o

DC 1 and 2's primary sends home a weekly newsletter. Friday's states: children are not allowed to bring suncream into school. As it happens, last week the news had been about skin cancer on the increase, so I approached the HT and asked about the ban.

The HT's response was: "Well, the children were just messing around with sun cream all the time, it makes such a mess and takes up so much time - you can just get that 8 hour stuff you know." I was slightly taken aback (surely suncream is in their bags, in the cloakroom?), but just said "well, it's been all over the news about the rise in skin cancer in the UK, and they do recommend frequent application of sun cream. DC1 does after school sports 2x a week after school, and he has caught the sun a few times- it is a long time from the first application at 8.30 to 4.30."

HT's response was: "well, I suppose we could look into some kind of arrangement, maybe he could store it at the school office...."

Now to be honest, I know I am being unreasonable: DC1 hates applying sun cream, and never remembers to put it on if someone does not nag. But that's not the point, is it? Australian primary school teachers manage this issue. With skin cancer on the increase, and sun damage irreversible, I just don't think banning sun cream is the right policy decision. I've never queried anything before (DC are Y5 and Y3, but as a friend had skin cancer 15 years ago in her 20s, I feel strongly about this.)

I realise some people might tell me to get a grip; DH is rolling his eyes at me! I just wondered whether any of you lovely Mumsnetters can share your UK (or even English) primary schools' sun cream/ hats/ protection policies with me?

If the child has a decent sun-hat on then sunglasses are less of an issue. Sun cream is for arms and legs as well as faces, ears, necks etc (one of the reasons that I don't think the base-ball type hats a lot of the schools here have are really adequate).

I work in a school nursery. We ask parents to apply the 8 hour suncream before their children come to school. We also ask that children bring in a hat every day. We also limit the amount of time children spend outside in the sun. We have a large shady area and make the most of this in the afternoon. If children are sensitive to the 8 hour suncream we ask parents to label a bottle of one their child can use, and give it to us to look after.

Re sunglasses for children.
When we had sun awareness training in school a couple of years ago, it was mentioned that unless they are proper sunglasses as opposed to toy type ones, they should not be worn. Apparently toy sunglasses can be more harmful than not wearing any at all. All to do with the pupils dilating and letting more harmful rays in if children wear toy sunglasses. Or something similar, I can't quite remember the scientific bit behind it.

Yes, of course sunglasses that don't protect from UV light are exceptionally harmful. It's not the darkness of them that's protective, it's the UV-protection film on them. Otherwise, it's like putting baby oil on your skin and saying it's sunscreen...

As for sunscreen, my children wear trousers all year... So that just leaves their arms. They could manage suncream on those. Even in my childhood, though, I never, ever remember burning my arms or hands. It was always my face, neck, or back, mainly from spending too much time swimming, and the top of my chest. Those are, therefore, the areas that bother me the most, because they are the areas you can easily burn without sunbathing. I find it hard to take the arm thing quite so seriously when I've never had experience of arm burn!

I'm just waiting for the day they discover that covering yourself daily in sun cream is just as harmful as sun damage. They have so many chemicals in them and I'm loathe to smear them on sensitive skin daily. As others have said, teaching sensible behaviour in the sun is surely a less chemical and more sensible approach.

Definitely encouraging sensible behaviour is best. I hate sunscreen and think there's something going wrong if the supposedly best option is covering your child in all day sunscreen every day from May to September in the UK. Some celebrity making legionnaire sunhats a fashion statement would be helpful!

Idaclaire - you're just wrong about being so relaxed with you, and particularly your young daughter, being out in the sun. To apply sun cream to your daughter only once or twice a year is sheer madness. The sun is a lot more harmful than it used to be, for environmental reasons. And it is harmful even when it doesn't cause sunburn.
Covering up what can be covered up is certainly the best way, I agree. But some schools forbid that, because they don't think that girls wearing trousers and long sleeves, or any child wearing a sunhat, is smart, or they can't be bothered with children wearing hats.
Our primary has almost no shade, has tarmac everywhere, which reflects the sunlight making it worse, and used to make children eat lunch outside, so they had a full hour in the sun at the worst time of the day. About one child in a hundred wore a sun hat, and most girls wore skimpy sun dresses every day. Things have improved slightly since I campaigned, which needless to say made me unpopular with the school.
NB schools like to play the Vitamin D card - as in it's fine for us not to have any sun protection policy because children need lots of sun because of Vitamin D. It's used as an excuse for not acting.

NB the rate of skin cancer is as high in the UK as in Australia - the sun is far hotter in Australia, but they take it seriously whereas we don't. Eg school children have to wear proper sun hats, and if they forget their sun hat, they're not allowed outside to play. And they sell sun cream in massive bottles and use the appropriate amount.

I am not mad. I understand the risks of skin cancer.

I said I apply cream to myself once or twice a year. I control my sun exposure pretty strictly. I use cream much more often on children, as I have said. But still, it is not madness to consider that 20 minutes three times a day in a leafy, shaded playground with woods, stream, nature reserve and covered seating areas/tree lined adventure playground, with good sleeves, leggings and sun hat a sensible exposure to sun.

I am not speaking about the school you describe but an entirely more child friendly environment.

Wow Ida that sounds like a fantastic playground!

As someone who has had skin cancer, I do think suncream is importnat. however, I put normal suncream on my very very pale chidlren in the morning and they have never been burnt at school. I think the small amount of time they are outside means that an application in the morning is usually enough ( unless they go swimming). I know our school are very sensible though about rationning time in the sun and encouraging the children to sit in the shade etc etc

How completely utterly ridiculous. Our school asks us to send kids in with hats, suncream, sunglasses... though according to my kids, they are not allowed to wear the sunglasses in school. They never get reminded to put on the suncream, so that too is a waste of time. One application seems to be okay for my kids - I use ordinary suncream rather than the 8-hour stuff - but I would far rather they reapplied at lunchtime.

My 4yo YR DD puts her own sun cream on. She has a small tube in in her book bag and a small mirror, so that she can see to do her face - but apparently the teacher/TA will help if asked. She also has a wide-brimmed hat. I do put suncream on her in the morning, but it's allergy cream so not 8hr stuff. The school reminds parents to put suncream on children before school, to send in hats, water bottles and to cover up shoulders etc - as far as I'm aware nothing's been said about taking suncream in. We haven't been told DD can't, and when she put it on herself the TA asked if she needed help, so I guess it's up to the parents.

I was a child in the 70s - my mother put high factor suncream on us every morning before school. Don't think it had a numbered factor at that point though - but certainly by '85, I had SPF50 suncream. I think it was a little unusual, several of my friends' mums were still basting themselves in vegetable oil. On the plus side, both my mother and I are often assumed to be approx 15 years younger than we are, so there's something to be said for sun cream and avoiding the sun generally! I've been sunburnt twice in my life - once was in Snowdonia in February. Now I put suncream on all year round...

I live in Australia and I've done lots of supply teaching here. I have never put sunscreen on any children at school. If a child asked me to put it on them I would say yes and do it. But that's never happened.

They all wear hats. No hat and you have to stay in a shaded area. All school are strict on that. Hats with a brim. Not caps.

There is usually sunscreen in the classroom. I know there is in my dd's classroom as I noticed it last week. I know my friends dd, who has sunscreen allergies has her own, attached to her bag.

With my own children, the sunscreen is in the bathroom and they put it on their faces, back of neck and arms before they go to school.

My DDs are both allergic to most regular sunscreen - they come out in hives that cause their eyelids and lips to swell and are painful. We've found one sunscreen that they don't react to but it's a factor 25 and isn't an all day cream.

For DD1 (9), a before-school, supervised, application of sunscreen tends to be sufficient as she isn't outside for much of the day at all and has lunchtime clubs that keep her out of the sun on 4/5 days. She has a hat, sunglasses and a tube of sunscreen to use before going outside and is pretty sensible about doing so.

DD2 is in Reception, is blonde and has very fair skin. Her Reception teacher initially said that teachers couldn't help with sunscreen application because they weren't allowed to touch children, I expressed surprise (I'm a primary school teacher too) and said that DD2 would have sunscreen put on before school and would always have a proper sunhat (legionnaires style or the old-fashioned brim ones) but that she may need help applying extra cream before going out at lunchtime. I also said that if it was problematic, someone would need to take DD2 to DD1 who would help her. It's been fine and DD2 is helped to top up the sunscreen on days that she is outside during the hottest parts of the day.

Meanwhile, my Y6 class think they are invincible and will never burn. I've always reminded children to bring sunhats, sunglasses and sunscreen to school, will remind them to take/apply them at the start of lunch time and tend to have a spare bottle of sunscreen in my desk for children to use if they want/need to and know they aren't allergic to it. They are old enough to use the internet and have seen images of what skin cancer looks like on different skin types so most of them will cover up in some way. And all of them wore the school legionnaire's caps for sports day last week if they hadn't brought their own - reluctantly at first but willingly once the sun got hotter!