As a parent in Chandler, Arizona, it's hard not to cringe when I walk my child to school at the end of July and realize he will spend 40+ minutes outdoors in a high or extreme UV index heat. With many Arizona schools following a modified year-round school calendar, most kids are heading back to school in July and August while the temperatures and UV ratings are still at extreme levels (average UV index in August in Chandler is a 10).
While some parents are vigilant about applying sunscreen before kids head off to school, most kids are not reminded to wear sun hats, sunglasses or re-apply sunscreen before they head out to the playground. Most new schools are not built with shade as a high priority, leaving many playgrounds out in the direct sunlight.
With a high percentage of sun damage estimated to occur during childhood and the incidences of skin cancer growing drastically, does it make sense to send our children outside during extreme UV heat index? If the weather was extremely cold, many schools would keep the children indoors or find alternatives to outside recess and P.E. Shouldn't we do the same for extreme heat?
Many parents and teachers may argue (and they would also be correct) that recess is a vital part of a child's schoolday. Children need the exercise, free play time and socialization. What are the alternatives?
The Center for Disease Control has released many tips for parents and school administrators regarding sun safety . Some of these tips include:
- sun safety education to teachers and students
- scheduling outdoor activities around the hottest times of the day (is this possible?)
- making sunscreen application and hat and sunglasses a routine part of outdoor preparation
- sending children to school in sun protective clothing and wide-brimmed hats
Since Arizona is 2nd in the world (after Australia) for skin cancer incidences and children are back in school earlier then years ago, I would love to see this issue addressed seriously and immediately.
For more information on helping your child's school become more sun safe, please get vocal with your school district and visit the SunWise website to see how to help enforce Arizona's mandatory sun safety education in schools.
2 comments:
Gina, Have you taught cooking classes for the City of Chandler?
I relate to your article here. I am a melanoma survivor and am hyper-vigilant about protecting my kids. I wish they had a sunscreen policy in place or stayed inside more at school. My son Haydn is sunscreened before school and does wear a wide brimmed hat:)
Thanks
Gretchen
Hi Gretchen. Yes, I did teach cooking classes for the City of Chandler. Was Haydn in my class?
Thank you for your comments. I am confident there are many other parents who share our views and I hope to see the issue addressed more seriously. I hope my sons wear their hats and sunglasses but once they go off to school, it's outside of my control. I just hope they make good choices based on what I've taught them.
Congrats on surviving melanoma and passing on good sun habits to your kids! I hope you find some great products at www.sunsationalstyle.com to help protect your family.
Post a Comment