primary schools and suntan lotion

[1dilemma]

So what does your school do?
What about those dcs who are very fair?
dc1 in reception and burnt today, this will be ongoing as younger sibs follow through.

Any idea how I can get school to help apply it?
I'm guessing it's only going to get hotter....

agreed bluenose, but I just don't remember getting burnt as a child.

of course we should protect our kids but is the odd half hour etc in the sun so deadly that we have to slather on factor 50 and dress them up like the French Foreign Legion?

We are going through this at dd's nursery at moment, they get precious little time outside as it is, now they must be spending half of that time finding each child's labelled bottle of suncream and hat before they go out!

We used factor 6 when I was a child, and that was the most expensive, for pale skin.

Early 90s a chap at work (ginger and freckled as it happens) was applying some thick white factor 15, and got the comment "factor 15? What's that, a bandage?"

The stuff we can get now, it's so good - I have some factor 50. 10 years ago I had some factor 20, you couldn't sweat through it.

Hmm, but Harpo today my DD (Reception, 5 in July) had playtime at 10.30, then PE, then lunchtime so outside once she'd eaten, then they were measuring/checking/tending/fiddling with their plants (project) so outside yet again, then afternoon play at 2.30 - they were outside a lot in the most intense time of day for the sun's rays. I'd applied the Boots own brand 'Once' stuff in the morning, thank goodness.
Also, I have horrendous memories of sunburn as a child (in the '70s), of blistered sunburn and not being able to bear having shoes on because my feet were so badly burnt.

take your point VW, I think the problem is a bit of the old 'mad dogs and englishmen'.

we still expect to be able to do all this stuff at the height of the day, when the sun is really strong.

D told me the lunch staff had put some suncream on him at lunchtime today, and you know what, it made me a bit cross. I know thewy are trying to protect the children but he's not fair skinned, I put suncream on him this morning, and quite frankly I see no need for most kids to be plasterd in sunblock, or how is their skin meant to get a tan - it's own natural defence against burning? I grew up in a desert, no one ever wore suncream on a normal school day, and we'd spend all lunch break outside. I never burnt from this exposure.

I know there is usually nothing wrong with playing it safe, but I do think some people take it too far in this country and don't let their children develop a natural barier against the sun naturally.

The media and suncream manufacturers have a lot to answer for with theri scaremongering.

to the op. i wouldnt be worried about getting the school to apply suncream. i would be worried about ensuring the school keeps them out of the sun.
does the school have permanent shading areas in th eplay gorund? if not, why not? do the kids have access to water fountains in the playgournd and the field? and i dont mean the ones in the toilets, but actually on the field. if not, why not?
and why oh why do they kick the kids into the mid day sun on a field in the first place.

would you accept a chidl comin ghome with frostbite? or chillblains?

I guess it depends on how you view the 'function' or otherwise of a suntan, OMDB. Some people say that a suntan is actually an indication of the damage already done to skin. I'm not an expert at all in these matters, but I guess I do worry about it for the reasons given in my other post. I would have been pleased if staff had put suncream on my DC. Each to their own.

agree with combination of OMDB and stitch

I'm not sure about the natural barrier, but I do reckon the suncream industry is a bit of a con - I've read that nothing over factor 15 is necessary so why are we bombarded with so many different factors and methods of application? and why so expensive?

and re what stitch said, yes, they should be playing mostly in the shade when it's really hot, drinking water etc.

we expect to be able to take 'fluorescent kids' out in the midday sun just by virtue of a bit of sunblock and a hat!

the suncream industry is just that- an industry , a business who's only purpose is to make money, not protect us form cancer, that's why there are so many varieties and types available to us.

Exposure to sunlight has important health benefits and, I'm no expert but iir the cancers it causes are functionally benign.

overmydeadbody
you are wrong
sunburn is an important causative factor in malignant melanoma, one of the most horrible forms of cancer, with a very bad prognosis if not cuaght early

read here for info

it is VERY important to protect kids from sunburn.

I have seen 20 and 30 year olds with melanoma. its horrid.

and the rate is increasing because of sun exposure

luvaduck, which is exactly why it important to stay out of the sun in the first plac.e

absolutely
i was disagreeing with omdb comment about sun causing benign cancers. sorry if strong worded but its important!

I agree, it is very important to protect kids from sunburn, I never said you shouldn't, but they don't all need to be slathered in sunblock to be protected, that was my point, a little common sense and a low factor suncream will do.

Melanomas are the least common of the three skin cancers. Certainly there has been a big increase in reports of melanoma, but this has not been corresponded with a change in mortality, and as melanoma diagnosis is subjective, it is up to the histopathologist looking down the microscope, an studies have found that they have become more defensive in their labelling, being overcautious and prognosing melanoma in moles and lesions that 30 years ago would have been labelled as minimally suspicious or borderline.

Until we have better diagnostic criteria it is impossible to determine whether the reported increase in melanoma is genuine.

According to the Emeritus Preofessor of dermatology at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, there is no hard evidence that UV exposure is the principal cause of malignant melanomas.

Worldwide, the greatest rise in melanoma has been experienced in countries where chemical sunscreens have been heavily promoted (Garland, Cedric F., et al. Could sunscreens increase melanoma risk? American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 82, No. 4, April 1992, pp. 614-15). Makes you wonder whether slapping a thick layer of chemicals all over our bodies is really the best option.

95% of skin cancers are basal or squamous cell epitheliomas, and although they are called 'cancers', they are functionally benign - they do not spread from the skin and kill.

when ds3 had a very bad fall (at school) and stitches in his face he had to have sunblock applied hourly and his 1-1 did that (but hard to say no as was at school!), other than that (and given most kids don't have 1-1) it is a case of we apply morning and that's it.

We cannot, and shouldn't, rely on sunblock to protect us from skin cancer.

We should ensure that we and our children do not get burnt by the sun, but we don't need to go overboard and view sunshine as an evil terror we muct be protected from. Humans and the sun have been living together just fine for thousands and thousands of years.

like luvaduck I have met youngsters with melanoma (worked for (Macmillan Cancer Relief) and as my kids are pasty white, I think I will stick with the current advice- sunscreen and a massive hat!

There are these suntan sticks like a roll on you can buy which is much easier and less messy for even little kids to apply. Used to give it to my dds when they were in infant school. I think it came from superdrug but not sure if it's still available.

I slather ds who is in year 3 in piz buin all day factor 30 and he also has a hat.

When I was a child and I'm very fair and burnt to buggery on many occassion, it was called sun tan lotion and it was also thought the lowest factor gave you a better tan. I think there was a coconut oil factor 2. I also remember going to greece on holiday and as I was soooo pale a local advised the best thing for me was to slather up in oliver oil

boots do a ONCE cream which supposedly lasts for 6 hours. It comes in little pouches and is not too gloopy so each DC can have one in their school bag. Mine (6 & 5) put it on before school and can reapply it at lunchtime if necessary. Reception teacher happy to squeeze it into their hands, to avoid a total mess (!) but cannot apply it.

our school has done sun awareness with the children this week.
They have suncream dispensers in the classrooms and encourage the children to apply before playtimes.
We have been asked to provide a sun hat - and I assume they (ds only in reception) are reminded to put them on.

thats fab chasing squirrels

that once stuff comes in a spray dispenser as well btw that my kids find easier

Thanks guys
It will be sunblock here too
As i said dc is very very fair and has allready burnt, like others I too have memories of blistering sunburn, spending summer holidays crying and it being too painful to even sleep under a sheet even that alone is something I don't wish to subject my 5 yr old too.

We do now know that these episodes increase chance of cancers later.

I have also seen people in their 20s die of malignant melanoma and know that most cancers are bccs/sccs but have also seen peole with half their face eaten away due to these.
I think sniffy and OMDB perhaps provide better advice for those who also are not fair/have olive skin
stitch they do have shade and quite a bit but it is very dark and therefore not the most enticing place to play, water fountain yes and bottles to fill during the day, unfortunately no field since I'm inner London! . (I'd forgotten about the lovely field next to my primary school we used to go there to play rounders).No I wouldn't accept frostbite, I am going to have to raise this with school that's why I wanted to see what other schools do.

to the others who say why the fuss now we were allright as children, I guess our views change as we know more

What do schools do for children with sunsensitive conditions? Can anyone save me a google and tell me what eczema does in the sun I can't remember but I think it gets better...

Oh and sorry if this has been asked allready I should have searched first

Chippy any idea why the teachers can't apply it?

Mine came home and absolutely parroted what the teacher had said about wearing a hat and how easily you could burn complete with stroking me on the back of my neck to show where it was so sweet.

We coughed up the £2.50 for the school sunhat same day of course

I'm sure one of the teachers on here can tell us the exact reasons why - seems to be a general rule about not touching the children, cuddles when hurt etc. to protect both parties.

peachy, will look out for the spray. is it eeay for little ones to handle?