Sunburned Kids at School: Who's to Blame?
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Sunburned Kids at School: Who's to Blame?
Violet and Zoe Michener came home from school sporting these severe sunburns. (Photo: Jesse Michener/lifephoto ...It was raining when her children left for school on Tuesday, so Jesse Michener did not slather them in sunscreen, even though she knew they'd be outdoors for field day later that afternoon. But the sun came out around noon and, when the kids came home, two of them were so severely sunburned that they had to go to the hospital. "We've never done a field day at the school before," Michener told Yahoo! Shine in an interview on Thursday. "They were outside for over five hours."
A freelance photographer, she posted pictures and described her daughter's sunburns on her blog. "Two of my three children experienced significant sunburns. Like, hurts-to-look-at burns," Michener wrote. "Violet is starting to blister on her face." Both Violet, 11, and her sister, Zoe, 9, "have headaches, chills and pain" and had to stay home from school the next day. (Her youngest daughter, 7-year-old Eleanor, was also sunburned, but not badly.) The girls did not stay overnight at the hospital, and Michener said they are being treated at home with cool baths and over-the-counter pain medications.
Related: CDC says half of young adults get sunburned
To make matters worse, Zoe, has a form of Albinism -- and teachers and staff at Point Defiance Elementary School were aware of her extreme sensitivity to the sun. She even has a written agreement -- a 504 plan -- with the school because of it. And yet, teachers refused to send the girls indoors or allow them to apply sunscreen themselves, according to her mom.
"My children indicated that several adults commented on their burns at school, including staff and other parents," Michener wrote on her blog. "One of my children remarked that their teacher used sunscreen in her presence and that it was 'just for her.' So, is this an issue of passive, inactive supervision? Where is the collective awareness for student safety?"
Tacoma Public School district spokesman Dan Voelpel told Yahoo! Shine that the school district's sunscreen policy -- which forbids teachers from applying sunscreen to students, and only allows students to apply it to their own bodies if they have a doctor's note authorizing it -- is based on a statewide law.
"Our policy follows the state law which allows district to establish the rules for how medications, both over-the-counter and prescription medication, is handled in the school," he said. "Our policy is that any of that medication requires a doctor's order for kids to take it at school. This is really to protect other students who could be exposed to various medications that they could be allergic to." The federal Food and Drug Administration considers sunscreen to be an over-the-counter medication.
While Michener says that she takes full responsibility for not making them put on sunscreen before bringing them to school that day -- none of her kids have ever come home from school with sunburns before, she notes. She also points out that teachers had other options besides breaking the law: They could have sent the girls indoors when they noticed the burns getting bad, or called Michener and asked her to come to school and put sunscreen on them herself. (The FDA suggests that sunscreen be reapplied every two hours.)
"Something as simple as a sun hat might seem to bypass the prescription issue to some extent," she wrote. "Alas, hats are not allowed at school, even on field day."
"It was an exceptional day, with exceptional inability to serve these kids," she told Yahoo! Shine.
Michener is asking the school district to consider crafting a more "parent-friendly" policy on sunscreens, one that would allow parents to sign a waiver giving teachers permission to apply sunscreen while at school, or one that would allow teachers to act in their students' best interests. Voelpel told Yahoo! Shine that there currently is not a procedure in place for parents who have trouble getting a doctor's note, but "We periodically review our policies as situations change," he said. "I can't say whether this one will be revised based on this case."
Michener says that her daughters' sunburns are really part of a larger problem.
"My biggest beef is that teachers are not able to make good decisions about kids safety," she said. "Fear of litigation is preventing us from living our lives and taking care of our kids."
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I do it too... I'm a skimmer... That's why I pointed it out in a reply. :-)
Quoting SEEKEROFSHELLS:Dumb ass me, speed read, and missed the part about albinism, but went back, and you are right. Damn, that's serious to be out in the sun, and didn't let her go in. SMH with this one. I would be ALL over that school for not letting her go inside.
Quoting Mommy_of_Riley:
Did anyone else see the fact that there is a 504 in place for her daughter to go inside because she has a form of albinism?
The school ignored her 504 and didn't let her go inside.
Quoting collectivecow:Can children not apply sunscreen of their own in school now?
but see the mom was informed that they would be outside all day.
i dunno. it seems like blame can fall on both school and parent.
Quoting Mommy_of_Riley:
LOL!
I do it too... I'm a skimmer... That's why I pointed it out in a reply. :-)
Quoting SEEKEROFSHELLS:Dumb ass me, speed read, and missed the part about albinism, but went back, and you are right. Damn, that's serious to be out in the sun, and didn't let her go in. SMH with this one. I would be ALL over that school for not letting her go inside.
Quoting Mommy_of_Riley:
Did anyone else see the fact that there is a 504 in place for her daughter to go inside because she has a form of albinism?
The school ignored her 504 and didn't let her go inside.
But the school had a 504 on file and didn't let the one girl go inside out of the sun. That can get them in some serious legal trouble.
Quoting Its.me.Sam.:but see the mom was informed that they would be outside all day.
i dunno. it seems like blame can fall on both school and parent.
Quoting Mommy_of_Riley:
LOL!
I do it too... I'm a skimmer... That's why I pointed it out in a reply. :-)
Quoting SEEKEROFSHELLS:Dumb ass me, speed read, and missed the part about albinism, but went back, and you are right. Damn, that's serious to be out in the sun, and didn't let her go in. SMH with this one. I would be ALL over that school for not letting her go inside.
Quoting Mommy_of_Riley:
Did anyone else see the fact that there is a 504 in place for her daughter to go inside because she has a form of albinism?
The school ignored her 504 and didn't let her go inside.
Quoting collectivecow:When I read the word: HUH - It generally implies that someone doesn't understand something. Couple that with the "I did not ask if the kiddo could put it on himself" and I figured it was a misunderstanding.
I did not find anything you said inflammatory but I would LOVE to know how you came to that conclusion lol. .Quoting Aislinn:Quoting collectivecow:I don't think if I asked YOU specifically: My question was geared towards whether or not schools would allow children to put on their own sunscreen if brought to school.
Quoting Aislinn:Quoting collectivecow:Can children not apply sunscreen of their own in school now?
Huh. I did not ask if the kiddo could put it on himself. I am thinking no because I was told if I send sunblock, I have to send a doctors note.
Um, what? Are you being bitchy because I answered your question? And, again, I was told if they bring sunblock, they must have a doctors note, so they answer to your question is NO. What, exactly, did I say that you found so inflammatory?
No, "Huh?" would imply I did not understand something. Punctuation is your friend. That sentence in red, that makes no sense, is where the confusion came from.. And I still answered the question, so.... Only on CM could someone get bitchy about sunblock.
Even if the mom would have put sunscreen on the kids the sunscreen would have worn off well before field day was over.
I know when I was in school (a long time ago) out parents would send in sunscreen with us and the teachers would apply it several times throughout the day. I burn very very easily. Even with tons of sunscreen on I would come home looking like the girl who's face is burnt in the picture up there. We were also allowed to wear hats and sunglasses on field day as well.
I don't understand what is happening to our schools, but it is a crying shame.
Quoting desertlvn:I say Mom is to blame.
As a teacher I soooo don't want to be rubbing chemicals and unapproved substances on children. I also want parents to know that when children are outside for H2O day or field day EVERYONE'S faces get red.... not just kids getting sun burns. If I had my way, these special outdoor play days would be eliminated, but until then, please provide your children with everything they are going to need for being in the sun, or write a note asking for your child to stay inside.
I agree with this I am part of a crunchy mom group locally, and they are very specific about what type of sunscreen they approve for their kids. If mom knows the child is albino, she should know to always send sunscreen if the child is going to be outside.
I thank god, I live in the Great State of Texas. The whole elementry school went to a water park. I was a chaperone, along with many other parents. I helped the kindergarten teacher put on sunscreen for those that needed it, as well as get life persevers and put them on.The teacher knew her class and other chaperones were helping with the sunscreen. They are in Texas, they would burn! Side note: when I got there, bus had already dropped off my Spawn, didn't know where he was at .He is in 4th grade. Went to the bottom of the biggest, fastest slide and waited. In a short time, down the slide he came. See, I know my kid!
Holder to investigate....Holder
- desertlvn
on Jun. 21, 2012 at 7:18 PM