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School to Blame for Students Suffering Severe Sunburns?

SS Member Image By drodriguez 08.02.12
School to Blame for Students Suffering Severe Sunburns?
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An event that most kids look forward to all year turned into something of a nightmare for a couple of kids living in Tacoma, Washington. FoxNews reports about sisters Violet and Zoe Michener’s experience at their school’s end of the year “Field Day” when they were not allowed to apply sunscreen during the event.

Because Washington and many other states have a ban against the use of sunscreen on students without a signed doctor’s note the Michener sisters suffered severe burns during their 5 hour long Field Day. The school district’s policy banning sunscreen is said to be due to the possibility of children having an allergic reaction to ingredients used in sun block.

Mom, Jesse Michener, to the two young girls who received second degree sunburns at school explains that she did not send them to school with sunscreen because it was raining when she dropped them off in the morning and didn’t realize it would be sunny later.

When Violet and Zoe returned home they both had noticeable sunburns and blisters all over their bodies and were taken to a local hospital by their mother. Michener feels her fair-skinned daughters should have been allowed to apply sunscreen especially since Zoe age 9 has a form of albinism. Michener is now lobbying the school district to change their policy regarding sunscreen.

What do you think of the school's policy that requires a doctor’s note in order for students to apply sunscreen?

Do you think these young students should have been allowed to use sunscreen during their Field Day event or should their mother have thought ahead and sent in a doctor’s note?

 

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  • paigers91 By paigers91
    08.04.12  

    Personally, I want to know how many doctors have time to sit and write doctor's notes for something as simple as sunscreen.

  • Danniegurl By Danniegurl
    08.02.12  

    Wow this is so stupid. Hello have you heard of skin cancer? You know when you're most prone to it is during your child hood and when you get older you can show symptoms. This is insane. Protect the kids skin!

  • cardreader By cardreader
    08.02.12  

    A note expressing the school's polices regarding sunscreen should have been included in the first week of school in take home papers. All school papers should come home and returned right away. It is the responsibility of the school and parents to make sure papers are signed. I had to chase down lost papers more than once.

  • mariedmandi By mariedmandi
    08.02.12  

    Oh wow....this is just crazy!

  • wormflick By wormflick
    08.02.12  

    I agree the schools are getting ridiculous!!! They are also not allowed to bring chapstick without filling out all the paperwork.

  • msfriendly By msfriendly
    08.02.12  

    Schools are going too far....where's the common sence? If there is a worry about another child using the sunscreen and having an allergic reaction, let the child put their sunscreen on in the nurses office...whatever....ridiculous!

  • arianna77 By arianna77
    08.02.12  

    I think it's ridiculous to require a doctor's note for sunscreen. The odds of a kid being allergic to the sunscreen are much slighter than a fair-skinned child suffering from a severe sunburn when being outside all day. The state that I'm in thankfully does not subscribe to this idiocy, and I send sunblock with my son to school for use in gym class because he, like myself, is prone to bad sunburns.

  • cocoabella By cocoabella
    08.02.12  

    Schools have gone too far with their rules against drugs! they are just ridiculous as this story shows. My son had chronic/severe asthma in elem sch and I had terrible problems with his school b/c I wanted him to carry his inhaler especially while playing soccer and other sports on the playground. They wanted him to run to the nurses office , during an asthma attack, hoping the nurse was in, wait for her to locate his athma inhaler, unlock it and administer it. I had to fight tooth and nail to get them to allow my son to carry his inhaler on person. His asthma was severe, he didn't have time to wait to access the nurses office to gain access to his inhaler. He needed immediate relief so he could breathe ! I finally got them to relent with the help of my son's dr.

  • moonkitten By moonkitten
    08.02.12  

    Their mother should have thought ahead but you can't plan for everything. This story is so ridiculous and it's because of incidents like these that more and more parents are choosing to homeschool their children.

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