Being Sunsmart at school isn't always smart

[Mark]

Here's an article I wrote about a recent unfortunate experience regarding my own son getting sunburnt whilst at school sport - it's called Schools's not sunsmart & fail to protect kids from skin cancer

As you can see by the article, I'm not at all happy with the school and quite frankly wasn't impressed by the lack of sympathy I received by the school when I reported it.

So I thought... stuff'em I'll use the power of the pen to make my point and hopefully this will help to ensure other kids don't get burnt whilst under the care of teachers!

 

[Letsgokate]

Have to agree the school seemed to be neglectful in making sure the kids were well covered with sun cream and taking the necessary steps to protect themselves in the sport. My hubby and I drove past a school sports day last Friday in the terrible heat. We felt so much for the poor kids all trying to squeeze under the shade of the trees. You wonder why they can’t have sports days in winter in our climate.

Good on you for standing up for you son and yourself. There were plenty of times I had to get in my kid’s teachers faces.

There does seem to be a lot more pressure put on teachers, parents and children these days. Kids can’t be kids and teachers are often expected to play a parental role. Your children are fortunate to have loving parents who care and protect their kids. Unfortunately there are some kids who aren’t so lucky.

Maybe the school is short staffed, at least at the sports event and needed more teachers or volunteer parents to make sure the kids were being sun smart and enforcing the sun cream rule, apply or don’t play. And make sure they were drinking plenty of water.

Your poor son, he looked rather burnt and none too happy. Hopefully at the very least the school will make sure they have more people at the sports events who can help enforce sun safety.

Interesting to see what feedback you get from the school.

 

[Mark]

Good on you for standing up for you son and yourself. There were plenty of times I had to get in my kid’s teachers faces.

Thanks Kate, yeah I don't like getting confrontational but sometimes ya just have to speak out.

Interesting to see what feedback you get from the school.

Yes... I'll let you know

 

[Flatland]

I can understand your concern. Being a kid in the 50's where summer holidays were spent at the beach getting fried and return to school was a contest been kids as to see who could peal off the biggest piece of skin from your sunburnt patches, I now as an adult have a yearly removal of skin cancers.
But having said that being "sun smart" is causing another problem. The number of Aussies who are seriously short of Vit D is truly amazing and most people are totally unaware of their deficiency. Low Vit D is a major cause of osteoporosis, which is actually a major cause of death. The little old lady who breaks a hip will survive the hip operation without trouble, modern medicine being what it is but will she be alive in a years time? No statistically she will not see the anniversary of her fall. So while yes get your kids and yourself to cover up in the midday sun make sure you get at least 15 minutes sun exposure in the morning. You do not have to burn skin to get your daily dose of Vit D. Vit D is also necessary for a large range of bodily functions and is increasing shown to be very important in the body's defence against cancers of all sorts

 

[Letsgokate]

Low Vit D is a major cause of osteoporosis, which is actually a major cause of death. The little old lady who breaks a hip will survive the hip operation without trouble, modern medicine being what it is but will she be alive in a years time? No statistically she will not see the anniversary of her fall.

Very true my grandma was one of these statics. She was a healthy 94 years old, well on her way to reaching 100, she was a great great grandma. Had a small fall, fractured her pelvis. I think it was more the meds they had her on for pain relief that actually caused her death as they put strain on the heart.

Did you see the news story on the channel 9 Weekend Today show Mark, talking about "Busting Sunscreen Myths", was very interesting.

https://www.9now.com.au/today/2016/clip-civojlbxi009l0gq9ahd1ajo5

 

[Flatland]

My Mother was also one of the statistics. Healthy 80 year old fell broke hip, repaired, no problems. getting back to her normal life, died in her sleep about 8 months after her fall. It seems to be that breaking a hip when you are a mature person is too big a strain on the body. Whether it is the fall, the operation , the meds for pain or anything else flowing on from the fracture that actually causes the death the stats are that something like (forgotten exact figure) 90% of osteoporotic hip fractures are dead within a year of the fracture, which is why it is so important not to get the hip fracture in the first place.

 

[ClissAT]

My Mother & I were both diagnosed with melanoma 5wks ago.
We both lived in the sun all our lives due to our work & leisure activities.
My Mother died aged 88yrs 2wks ago (or was it 3..I've lost track of time).
The primary melanoma was never found & could have been a simple small lump somewhere out of the way. But a very large secondary lump grew in her brain in just several weeks causing her to loose cognitive ability.

The multiple metastasis through out her body caused her intestines to rupture which caused a quick death. My Mother did not suffer due to the fast actions of some of her specialists & the palliative care ward at Caloundra hospital.

However my prognosis is very different. My life expectancy at this stage is unknown but I wont live to be nearly as old as my Mother. I wont be having major treatment but I will partake in some trials being conducted by Qld & Australian labs.

So the damage a kid sustains in their early years is what does it.

I would also like to mention that any cosmetic that contains microbeads should be avoided at all costs. Microbeads are already being found in fish guts & flesh. This happens in 2 ways.

1) People swim in the ocean & the microbeads wash off & fish consume the water the person swam in.

2)But the biggest way is via the sewerage treatment system where fish gather & consume the outfall contents. The microbeads get into the water via human urine from people who have applied the microbeads to their bodies through the use of cosmetics or sunscreens. Microbeads can block various microscopic channels in our bodies so please read the labels carefully.

 

[Flatland]

ClissAT I wish you all the best in you treatment. They are doing a lot of really good work on melanoma lately so hopefully you well gain from this. Certainly you are right that being burnt as a child is not a good thing for you health. My comments about Vit D was not meant to be a "go out & fry yourself message".
Your comments about micro beads is something that we should all take note of.

 

[ClissAT]

Sorry Flatland, I wasn't referring to your VitD comment.
Even though I spend all my time in the sun I am still VitD short so receiving sunlight does not ensure enough for modern day living. Different bodies metabolize at different rates.
Everyone should have their levels tested & take a supplement if levels are down.

 

[Mark]

So while yes get your kids and yourself to cover up in the midday sun make sure you get at least 15 minutes sun exposure in the morning. You do not have to burn skin to get your daily dose of Vit D. Vit D is also necessary for a large range of bodily functions and is increasing shown to be very important in the body's defence against cancers of all sorts

Yep agree with you about sun exposure in moderation.

However my prognosis is very different. My life expectancy at this stage is unknown but I wont live to be nearly as old as my Mother.

Hopefully you will with the current advances in technology and treatments.

 

[ClissAT]

Many treatments are worse than the disease & I'm not interested in undergoing any of those.
But I will go into trials of treatments from Aussie bush & oceans.
Nothing to loose & something to gain.

 

[ClissAT]

Mark have you had any reply from the school to your article yet?

 

[Mark]

Mark have you had any reply from the school to your article yet?

Yes Clissa, the principal rang me with an apology and said his staff were briefed about the incident and they are implementing a sunscreen stand at every sporting event from now on.

I actually should edit my article to reflect his response.

I'm happy about the school changing its sunsafe policy - it's a good result.

 

[ClissAT]

Seems like 'naming & shaming' pays off sometimes!

Perhaps now is a good time to go for a similar change across the state.

 

[Ash]

Nicely done Mark. Good to see a positive result in the end, albeit belated and reactionary!

 

[Mark]

Nicely done Mark. Good to see a positive result in the end, albeit belated and reactionary!

Yeah thanks Ash - at least something happened...

 

[carrie]

The skin damage , eye damage and immune system is alarming. Even those in their twenties develop cancer . Check this article

 

[Letsgokate]

Great response, often we don't like to complain but sometimes it pays off.