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I certainly hope the district readdressed their policy about the hats and sunscreen. If it was my child I would be having a fit. Anybody can see how fair these girls are and for nobody to intervene in any way is neglect.
5 hours??? are you kidding? I don't care what state they are in- they should have known 5 hours outside even with 1 good slather of sunscreen is ridiculous. I almost cried when I saw the pictures. I am very fair and I too had bad sunburns in my youth. I know how painful it can be.
So you would send your children to field day without putting sunscreen on them? And having them bring some with them? Or wear a hat? Or anything else? You'd just throw a fit at the school? Wow.
The school dropped the ball obviously by not sending the kids inside or making sure they weren't in the hot sun for too long. They never had a field day before. Lesson learned. I'm sure it won't happen again but of course the mom just had to blog about it and to ream the school publicly for not anticipating this would happen. They didn't do it on purpose for goodness sake. It should be noted that mom didn't throw sun screen in a bag with a hat "just in case the sun comes out later" either.
Every school in which I have worked has field day that lasts for about 5 hours. The kids look forward to it all year. There is a permission slip sent home beforehand that describes the day and lists several things that the kids must bring, one of which is sunscreen.
While I think the school/teachers/other parents were totally remiss for not calling the mom and figuring out what to do, this mom's story doesn't quite add up. Sending a child with Albinism off to field day wearing a tank top and no hat? Seriously? This a a parent who claims to know how to deal with this issue, and yet says she didn't use sunscreen because it was forecast to be overcast? Anyone, particularly those with sun sensitivity, know that the presence of clouds means squat. Sorry, but this mom may say she takes responsibility, looks to me like she would like to blame everyone else.
I read the mom's blog. The tank top was put on at school for the school's "Olympic" games. She'd worn regular clothes to school. Hats aren't allowed per school policy.
However...
This woman KNOWS her child has a form of albinism. Why she wasn't proactive about making sure her child would be protected I have no idea. The minute she heard "field day" and "Olympic games" she should have been contacting the school to make doubly sure that her child wouldn't be exposed to excessive sun.
Personally, I think she's trying to spread the blame. In the end Mom is responsible. If you read her blog she says she "assumed" the school would keep them out of the sun, move the field day inside.... whatever.
When you have a child with a medical condition you don't assume someone else is going to do something. You be the mom and step up and make sure she's going to be safe.
So you would send your children to field day without putting sunscreen on them? And having them bring some with them? Or wear a hat? Or anything else? You'd just throw a fit at the school? Wow.
The school dropped the ball obviously by not sending the kids inside or making sure they weren't in the hot sun for too long. They never had a field day before. Lesson learned. I'm sure it won't happen again but of course the mom just had to blog about it and to ream the school publicly for not anticipating this would happen. They didn't do it on purpose for goodness sake. It should be noted that mom didn't throw sun screen in a bag with a hat "just in case the sun comes out later" either.
Every school in which I have worked has field day that lasts for about 5 hours. The kids look forward to it all year. There is a permission slip sent home beforehand that describes the day and lists several things that the kids must bring, one of which is sunscreen.
I believe it was clearly stated that the kids weren't allowed to wear hats, even on field day. That is a failure on the part of the school to not make an exception to that policy on field day. I do fault the mother for not applying sunscreen in the morning, but it probably wouldn't have been very effective by the afternoon anyway, especially on such fair-skinned kids. In addition, most schools do not allow kids to carry sunscreen to school or put it on without a Dr.'s note; it comes under those ridiculous zero-tolerance drug policies.
I'm prepared for the on-slaught of negative responses I'm about to receive but I've got to say it: Is it really that big of a deal? Yes, I know we should apply sunscreen every time we go out and maybe I'm showing my age (or ignorance) but I don't see why this story is newsworthy. I forgot sunscreen a few weeks ago and we were all sunburned. Is that newsworthy as well?
Is albinism a disease that doesn't always present itself physically? That girl is very near the same coloring as our family and none of us have the disease. Because of HER diagnosis I could see why people would be upset about the burn. But if that burn was on anyone else I'd say, "What is the uproar about?"
This was my thought as well. I am African American and have never had a sunburn, and I thought maybe there was something I just wasn't getting or didn't understand. I'm glad to see it wasn't just my ignorance about sunburn, and someone had the same thought as me who has actually experienced it.
My dd's preschool had a no sunscreen policy as well. Any topical ointments had to come with a note from the parents, and then it would be applied. On "water day" when the kids were outside, parents were told if they want their kid to have sunscreen to either put it on beforehand or bring a note. It seems like the parent of a child with albinism would have taken precautions herself to protect her child instead of expecting the school to do it.
Yes, I do agree with that in theory, that the mom is responsible.
However, in an instance where it's a purely environmental issue - then who else can really be responsible except for the people that are physically there looking out for the child?
It's not like it's even a case of being a particular medical issue - all kids are at risk of sun and heat stroke. If the school is going to have such an afternoon, then they need to make sure the kids are protected and have plenty of water and what not while in their care. This goes for all the kids, not just fair skinned kids.
The school has to take some responsibility for not exercising common sense in the moment.
We have a "no hat no play" policy for primary schools in Australia.
This means, hats are a compulsory part of the school uniform, and MUST BE WORN if the child is going outside. No exceptions. Schools usually keep a stash of spare hats for those kids whos parents forget/cant afford/dont care. My kids never thought anything of it because they never knew any different. Also, schools always supply sunscreen for any excursions, and it is compulsory to put it on before they even leave the classroom.
Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world...but in 50 years time we will have one of the lowest due to these measures.
What a great idea to protect children and a wonderful way to create lifelong healthy habits. We live in a very cold climate and our kids are required to wear boots, snowpants, hats, etc. during recess and outdoor physical education in the winter. We also keep a supply of donated outerwear for kids who come unprepared. As far as I know, no child has ever gotten frostbite or hypothermia for lack of warm clothing, even though they go out every day unless the temp dips below 0 degrees.
This was my thought as well. I am African American and have never had a sunburn, and I thought maybe there was something I just wasn't getting or didn't understand. I'm glad to see it wasn't just my ignorance about sunburn, and someone had the same thought as me who has actually experienced it.
My dd's preschool had a no sunscreen policy as well. Any topical ointments had to come with a note from the parents, and then it would be applied. On "water day" when the kids were outside, parents were told if they want their kid to have sunscreen to either put it on beforehand or bring a note. It seems like the parent of a child with albinism would have taken precautions herself to protect her child instead of expecting the school to do it.
African American skin is also susceptible to sun damage. Prolonged sun exposure does damage below the surface, not just where the melatonin forms.
In this instance, the kids were out for five hours. It doesn't matter how much sunscreen the mother would have put on in the morning, it needs to be reapplied - they wouldn't even let the kids put it on themselves, although the teachers thought it was necessary and applied it to themselves in front of the kids.
Is it too much to ask that under these circumstances the teacher gives a call to the parent and asks them to come down and apply some sunscreen, or bring a hat, if they won't let them do it themselves? Or puts the kid in the shade periodically?
I can't see why you would just let the kid burn and not do a single thing about it. Apparently several people were commenting on how red the girl was. This is seriously nonsensical to me.
The teachers should of put the lotion on them. At our school/camp we have permission slips to apply it on when needed. Also ask parents to put it on before hand. We do have to watch skin allergies. Make sure the name is on the Sunblock. If the teachers were educated about "first-aid" they would know the key to it is "prevention"
Their are many ignorant people that are suppose to teach our children. I worked with some people that insist Asian-Hispanic-Black don't need sunscreen. I usually retort and how do you think they get skin canser? My son is Asian and I'm appalled at their ignorance.
African American skin is also susceptible to sun damage. Prolonged sun exposure does damage below the surface, not just where the melatonin forms.
In this instance, the kids were out for five hours. It doesn't matter how much sunscreen the mother would have put on in the morning, it needs to be reapplied - they wouldn't even let the kids put it on themselves, although the teachers thought it was necessary and applied it to themselves in front of the kids.
Is it too much to ask that under these circumstances the teacher gives a call to the parent and asks them to come down and apply some sunscreen, or bring a hat, if they won't let them do it themselves? Or puts the kid in the shade periodically?
I can't see why you would just let the kid burn and not do a single thing about it. Apparently several people were commenting on how red the girl was. This is seriously nonsensical to me.
I know that African American skin CAN get sunburned, it just takes more for it to happen. After I'm in the sun awhile and I start to itch, I know that I've been there too long. The same sun exposure and time spent may have caused a lighter skin person to be burned by then, but I've never experienced it. I do use sunscreen in most cases though, and am not dumb enough to think that it can't happen to me.
I agree that the teachers in the case could have done something. Seems like Field Day should have been organized to protect the children outdoors, with shade, water, and rest. Also, the article did say that students are allowed to apply sunscreen to themselves as long as they have a note, so the mom also could have provided the girls with sunscreen herself. I give the mom credit for accepting responsibility for what she did not do and acknowledging that she could have protected her own kids a little better, and agree that the school plays a part in it as well. It's just one of those stories that I kind of read and shrug my shoulders. Worse things have happened. If this is the worst thing to happen to these kids, I'd say they're pretty lucky.
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