Boy, 8, came home from school with severely sunburnt head & sparks debate with mums arguing WHO is responsible
A MUM has sparked a heated debate online over who is responsible for keeping kids sun safe at school after sharing pictures of her severely sunburnt son.
The Australian mum posted photos of her eight-year-old son’s scalp looking bright red and tender after a day at school.
She shared online that she felt “annoyed” the school had let him play so long without sun protection.
The frustrated parent admitted she was at first upset with her son, then the school, and asked the internet if teachers should be responsible for reminding kids about hats.
In a Facebook group the mum wrote that she was “pretty annoyed that in 33-degree heat my child’s school didn’t make sure he had sun cream or a hat on at lunchtime”.
She added in the post, “I know he’s eight and should do it without reminder, but he doesn’t always.”
The post finished with the question, “Do you think the school should be responsible for reminding the kids or not?”
The mum’s post attracted more than 330 responses, with many firm in their belief that the school should have enforced the common policy of ‘no hat, no play’.
Another mother shared a similar story.
“My son came home the same yesterday … and he has a hat and sunscreen in his bag and he absolutely should been reminded to reapply at lunchtime and for afternoon sport etc.,” she said.
“I don’t give a crap how old a primary school kid is … remind the class … ‘no hat no play’ would be my parting words to my class every lunch time.”
Another added, “Every school/daycare/kindy my kids have gone to have had a ‘no hat, no play’ rule … Regardless of how old he is, they have a duty of care while he is on school grounds. I’d be p*ssed as hell.”
NHS sun safety guide:
The NHS website says to spend time in the shade when the sun is strongest. In the UK, this is between 11am and 3pm from March to October.
Make sure you:
- spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm
- make sure you never burn
- cover up with suitable clothing and sunglasses
- take extra care with children
- use at least factor 30 sunscreen
You can read more about the sun safety guidelines
Following the hundreds of comments – including some that said her boy should have been sun smarter – the mum clarified her grade three son did have a hat and sunscreen in his bag.
“Yes he’s old enough to know better … (but) I do feel though that the school should be reminding students especially when so hot,” she said.
The mother that at first she was angry with her son, then she turned her attention to the school.
“When I saw how burnt he was I was so mad. Initially with him, but then the school,” she said.
“He knows he has to wear sun cream and a hat, we always do when we go out. I asked him why he didn’t have a hat or sun cream on and he told me he had lost his hat.
“He told me he played footy on the oval all of lunch time. I asked him if any of the teachers had told him to wear them, but they hadn’t.”
Her son’s head was bright red – and the colour kept deepening for the next 24 hours while she treated him with Nurofen and Aloe Vera spray.
It took nearly five days for the burn to look better. When she approached the school about the incident she was stunned at the response.
“The day after it happened I mentioned it to a teacher and asked who was responsible for making sure hats and sun cream are worn and was told it was up to the kids,” she said.
Most of the feedback on her post was from parents saying the school needed to remind students.
“Around 90 per cent of people thought it was definitely up to the teacher to remind the children and that he shouldn’t have been allowed out without a hat,” she said.
“The saying ‘no hat, no play’ came up a lot.
“There were a few people who thought that at age eight he should be old enough to remember himself. I took on everyone’s comments and was glad to hear what everyone had to say.
“Some people were even thoughtful enough to suggest some ways to make him feel better, like putting milk on the burns, which I never knew.
“I think my son has definitely learnt a lesson with what has happened!”
This article originally appeared on and was reproduced here with permission.
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