mom angry after kids badly sunburned during field trip (school ban on sunscreen)

[pnwmom]

102. I disagree with the reasons. A sunburn is much more likely than an allergic reaction

to a sunscreen that a parent selected and sent with his or her child.

My son had an allergic reaction to a sunscreen and I didn't buy that kind again. After that reaction, he knew to only use the kind we'd determined was okay. He wouldn't have "borrowed" anyone else's. What kid would, after going through the discomfort of an allergic skin rash? This is a situation that requires education, not bans. The teachers should TEACH the kids why it is important not to share sunscreens. The teachers should TEACH the kids about the consequences -- i.e., an allergic reaction. And, honestly, in the real world, where teens and adults pay money for sun exposure at tanning parlors, how often do kids share sunscreens? What is more likely, by far? For kids to share sunscreens, or for kids to not bother with sunscreens at all, even though they should be using them?

WA State no longer has this dumb requirement for a doctor's note. Good for Washington state.

Hats might be a distraction indoors, but what is wrong with allowing kids to wear hats outside? Do we ban shoes because kids might share them and pass on athlete's foot? Do we ban gloves because kids might share them and acquire warts? Do we ban belts because kids might share them and strangle themselves? Do we ban kids from wearing knit caps at bus stops and in the bus and on the playground in the winter -- even though they can spread lice? What about frost bite? Sometimes we take policies to ridiculous extremes, and banning hats is one of them.