Sunburn at Daycare

I wouldn't complain to the director, but I would start putting it on my child before I drop her in the morning on sunny days. And take a bottle to daycare with her name on it.

I would be more likely to complain if my child was stuck indoors all day on a sunny day. I prefer that my kids be outside as much as possible in nice weather, and I send them in to school prepared for that.

I would start putting some on her in the morning and showing her how to reapply as needed. Most places wont let the adults do it for the kids because of the fear of claims of inappropriate touching, it protects both the kids and the adults to not allow for it.

S.:

Welcome to mamapedia!

It is YOUR responsibility to apply sunscreen to your daughter before she goes to school/day care.

Yes, the school/day care can apply more. However, it's YOUR job to prepare your child for school/day care.

When I worked at Kindercare, parents had to sign a sunscreen notice. They had to bring in their own bottle or can of sunscreen. It was the PARENTS responsibility to apply it BEFORE school/day care. We would re-apply during the day - however - due to touching, allergies, etc. we would have to re-apply with myself (Assistant Director), another teacher or the Center Director....and apply with gloves...oh joy.

Why should the school have to tell you when to bring in sunscreen? You can easily look at the calendar or even a weather channel or app to tell you what the weather will be like. Think in advance. Be prepared.

Most daycare centers have a schedule for outdoor activities. All day seems a tad excessive....

In my state, law states that daycare workers are not allowed to apply sunblock to children. It's the parent's responsibility to make sure that the sunblock has been applied prior to dropping the child off.
My advice would be to watch the weather, apply sunblock when necessary, and provide a lightweight long sleeved shirt for going outdoors. It's what we have to do!

You want to blame the day care instructors for the sun? Or make all of the other kids stay inside because your daughter didn't have lotion? It's YOUR job to make sure she has it on in the morning, or if the note was sent home for you to provide it to school, you should have done that. I always sent it to my son's daycare. I also sign notes for my kids that they can have it applied at school when it's needed.

Hard lesson learned for you and I'm sorry your daughter is burned. I know how painful that is. But you need to know your responsibility in this as well.

Nope wouldn't complain. Because its YOUR responsibility to make sure she was prepaired for the weather. You can look at the weather and make sure next time she's covered.

I guess I come at this from the perspective that it is my job, as a parent, to prepare my kids for whatever weather we have that day. Since I know that it only takes 15 minutes to burn, and my son's school has outdoor recess twice a day, 30 min each time, that if I don't want him to burn I should put sunscreen on him, or to have him wear clothing that covers his skin. I don't wait for the official letter from the school to come to start dressing him according to the weather. When it is cold I send his hat and gloves; when it is warm, I put sunscreen on him and put his bottle of it in his backpack for further applications if needed.

ETA: How long were they outside? If they were, indeed, out all day, then YES, the teachers shoudl realize that kids are going to get burnt. I'd talk to the director, but wouldn't necessarily send a formal complaint.

Back in April, our school said that the days are getting sunnier, please make sure your child is sunscreened in the morning and dressed appropriately, including closed toe sandals. DD's daycare did accept sunscreen for her, but they mostly wanted her sunblocked before she arrived for morning playground time. I would provide the school labeled sunblock for your daughter and maybe even a hat.

You can speak to the director and nudge her into sending out the notices, but it might also have been that they were caught off guard that day, if it's not been so warm til now. I would also send my child in longer shorts and tshirts vs sleeveless tops.

Why would you wait for the formal note from the daycare? We all knew the weather was hot yesterday for Chicago. My daughters daycare is given a hat and sunblock to keep at the daycare for weather like this.

Did your daughter have her own bottle of sunblock at school yesterday to be applied?
If so and they did not put it on her, then yes complain

If no, then how can they put it on her if they did not have it?

They can not apply sunblock to kids with out it bieng thier own, or a formal apprval from the parent. WHy, some kids are allergic and they can in trouble for doing that with out permission.

Also, it would be pure tourcher to not allow the kids out with all the crappy weather we have had thus far.

Lesson learned, get the sun block and hat ready for the next time your little one goes to daycare.

I'd take it as a lesson learned. Definitely apply before drop off on any remotely sunny day. Keep in mind, too, that just because you've ok'd sunblock and have a signed form and supplies there, it may not get done.

Our oldest was in summer camp and went to the pool for the afternoon. I assumed he'd be fully covered in sunblock, since we'd done all of the right things, signing the form and providing a high SPF sunblock. Well, turns out, since these are school-aged kids they just ask them to do it themselves. Our son HATES sunblock and when they asked him if he'd put some on, he just told them yes. He was bright red in all the areas I hadn't covered in the AM when I picked him up. I learned then that it was up to me to get him pool-ready that morning and not to trust that anyone in camp would ensure he was protected.

I would definitely put a high SPF sunblock on every morning just to ensure your child has a base coat on to help get through the day.

You need to find out what their policy is.
My kids' school was not ALLOWED to put sunscreen on the kids (probably paranoid about "inappropriate touching" accusations.) The kids were allowed to have it at school and they were encouraged to put it on before going outside, but that was it.
I would suggest getting your daughter some sunscreen and teaching her how to apply it herself. Four isn't too young to start instilling good self care habits!

At our daycare facility we are required to sign a waiver/release for sunscreen and it is our responsibility to supply it for our children and to apply it in the morning and my kids reapply their own in the afternoon.

2 weeks ago I took in a bottle and asked for my waiver b/c they had not yet set them out near the sign-in book. So I took the initiative to ask and be prepared. My kids = my responsibility. My boys (9 and 4) know that when it warms up and the sun starts coming out they need to apply sunscreen. They both have fair skin and burn easily so from a very early age I have drilled it into their little brains to lather up or they'll burn.

You're lucky she got ANY sunscreen. In my state its treated as medication and cannot be applied without it being brought from home and permission forms being filled out. I'm sorry your little one got burned, but maybe you should've applied sunscreen before leaving home.

ADDED: I understand that sunscreen needs to be reapplied but at least its a start. In a perfect world she would'he brought sunscreen in for her child without needing to be prompted, but she can't expect the daycare to "protect" the children without a parents written consent, as sunscreen is considered "medication". In the end, its the parents responsibility. Now, if she had provided written consent and sunscreen and they failed to ensure it was applied, that's a whole different story...

I am confused. Was the aide applying sunscreen to her own arms or to "her" your daughter's arms.

They are required to have releases to put sunscreen on your child and while I think they should have reconsidered the amount of time outside due to that fact, you need to realize that every person views things differently. Meaning you think the sunburn is 'severe' but if she isn't blistering the teacher may not see it as a big deal (not that it is right, just she has a different perspective!).
she should not have "blown you off" but what did you want her to do after-the-fact? were you just complaining because you were upset about your child's sunburn or did you come in and tell her what you want to have happen in the future?
-Ms. X I am upset that Jane got a sunburn yesterday. Moving forward please apply sunscreen on her if you go outside.
-her - we need a note. until that time I am not doing that
- you - Well, then I will sign the note. Do I get that in the office or can I write one right now?

I would just recommend that if you do want to complain to the director find out 1. what their policy is about heat, outside time and application of sunscreen. 2. speak to her or complain in a way that focuses on future actions to prevent a similar situation from happening. Use the current situation as an example, but don't harp on it and 3. be prepared to not fully be happy about the outcome and be pleasantly surprised if you do.

Some places can't even put sunscreen on your child without a doc's note. So many kids have bad reactions. If they put sunscreen on them and then the child reacted they could get sued.

So ask your doc's nurse if she'll get the doc to write a prescription for Brand XXXX rated 50SPF waterproof sunscreen to be applied every XX minutes (be specific here, like every hour or every 30 minutes but something reasonable) then give it to the Director along with a picture of her sunburn. This way she has proof that your child was not protected from burning. Then if it happens again you have legal grounds, but I wouldn't do anything unless she required medical attention.

They are NOT going to keep the whole class inside if your daughter burns easily.

You will have to supply the sunscreen. It has to be the same one that is in the prescription though or they won't follow the orders since they don't have the item to use.

What the prescription does is give them a medical order, they have to follow this if they give any meds at all in their center. Then they have to give the exact med, that's why you can only send the one listed on the prescription.

It's pretty irresponsible on the teacher's part, but my guess is that it was not done intentionally.

Just so you are prepared, they cannot put sunblock on your child without your written permission to do so. If they haven't sent home those slips yet, then the woman who did put sunblock on your child may get in trouble. I know... common sense, but the issue is that some children have allergies and very sensitive skin and technically it's considered a topical medication. At my son's preschool, we had to "check off" what they could apply... Neosporin, Chapstick, Sunblock, Moisturizer (we lived in upstate NY), diaper cream (babies), etc.

I would not send a "formal complaint", but I would definitely pick up the phone and call.

So you are mad that they put sunblock on her and mad that she burned as well?

I am so confused.

If you put no sunblock, and a child gets wet you are to reapply, or if they are out for a while you reapply. So, seems logical for her to be putting sunblock on when you picked up.

Why would you expect them to apply, or even HAVE, sunblock ? Parents should be prepared for the weather. It was awful nice of that teacher to apply what she had to the kids. Since there was a slight burn it was probably not applied well enough, either more was needed, it needed to be spread more evenly or it was not done soon enough before heading outside.

Did you expect them to stay inside cause there were some kids without sunblock? If that was the case these kids would not go out all summer since some parents never bring it.

I'm not just being flippant with you, I am honestly confused by what is making you mad. And what would you accomplish by going to the director? Do you want to make sure they are using it or not using it? My head is spinning.

In the future apply a liberal amount of sun block to your child prior to heading out to daycare. Put her name on a container and give it to the teacher when you drop your child off asking them to reapply after nap time. Or dress your kid in spf 25 clothes that cover all body parts. Because they WILL go outside.

Also if it was that you thought they didn't apply it, it was the first really sunny day of the year, teachers are human and we forget sometimes. Especially if we don't burn, or our kids don't. It's a flaw, you know, being human, but sadly even teachers are human. If you have NEVER forgotten sun block on yourself or your kids then I guess you can still be up on a pedestal otherwise, just let this go.

Where my son went to day care they said right up front that they didn't have the time to put sunblock on everyone.
Besides that - some kids get allergic reactions to some sun blocks (if they are applying to many kids, it's easy to get lotions mixed) - so they shy away from applying it at all.
It was up to the parents to put it on the kids before they arrived and although it didn't always last all day, it worked pretty well.

Maybe ideally it should be applied every hour - but almost no one does - and if the kids are not sweating a lot or swimming it stays pretty effective all day.
How about your daughter wear a loose tee shirt that offers more coverage (down to her elbows rather than a tank top or something that doesn't cover her shoulders) and you put sun block on her in the morning before she goes to day care?

You can complain all you want but it's not going to change how they deal with the issue.
If anything the aide will most likely be reprimanded for applying anything to the kids and she won't be doing it again.

I would talk to the director. If she was not the one that put it on your daughter she may not have known that anyone had put some on any child. But if it's hot like that they should not have had them out that long without sunblock!!

In respnse to the comment that you should put sunscreen on your child before dropping them off:
Sunscreen needs to be reapplied every hour. Most say they last about 80 minutes, BUT sunscreen does not protect right away. The containers even say to apply them at least 30 min. before sun exposure.

BUT research is finding that sunscreens can be more damaging than the sun... doesnt mean I will avoid putting it on my fair skinned baby if we are going to be outside for a while. I don't want to ruin the fun after just 30 min at the splash pad!

I would! Sunburn at a young age leads to increased risk of melanoma as an adult.

Well, I had a similar situation last summer when my 6 year old was in summer camp at a daycare and I did complain. They had gone on a fieldtrip to a State park. It included swimming as well. I applied sunscreen to my son before I dropped him off. I also put a bottle of spray sunscreen in his bag that he was taking for the day. I alerted the teacher that he had the sunscreen when I dropped off and that he would need it reapplied sometime during the day.

I picked up that afternoon and he was pretty crispy. Not blistered, but pretty miserable for a few days. I went to the Director the next day and showed her the sunburn and expressed my frustration that I put sunscreen on in the morning and sent a bottle for his use througout the day and he STILL got burned because no one bothered to reapply after swimming. She was immediately apologetic and suggested that I buy him one of those sunshirts/swimsuit combos since he was so fair and did burn easily. I immediately did so. I never had the same problem again. It wasn't a nasty encounter, but she did see my point when I laid out the facts...

I wouldn't stop there-I cannot impress on you enough, how damaging and dangerous it is to get sun burned-especially at that age. I would not allow someone to care for my child who did not have the sense to know that a full day of sunshine for any unprotected skin, much less a baby, is harmful. They are as much telling you that they do not care about your child. I would not take my child back there.

My son's summer camp can not even put sunblock on them - they ask you send the spray kind so the kids can do it themselves.

She may have said no one was putting block on because they are not allowed to so no one should have been.

I think you need to talk to the director about the sunscreen policy and confirm your information before making a stink.

I do agree that if the children did not have proper protection available they should not have been outside.

I would complain. The daycare my daughter was in was very conscientious about requiring sublock and applying it. I hate when places try to cover their asses by pretending you're in the wrong for pointing something out. I know they don't want to be held responsible, but acknowledging that your daughter was burned in their care would have been nice. Are they accountable? Depends on their sunblock policy unfortunately. If they have one for sunny days at all, seems like they should have kept the kids from burning. But if they have a certain date for starting it which hasn't arrived yet, then you may be out of luck.

The safety of the children comes first. I would go to the director personally and let them know what happened. Make it clear that you provided what was requested and you expect that your child will be properly protected in the future. Ensure that they understand that you will file a compliant with the state if your daughter ends up sunburnt again.