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boysx5 03:56 PM 06-25-2010
do you have the parents put it on before they come or do you do at your house with sunscreen they bring? I have the parents bring it and I put it on in the am when we go out today I had a mom call after the dad picked up to say that her daughters legs were red and did I use sunscreen I said yes I put it on this morning and we were out after four today and she was in the shade but did play in the grass and it was hot out so it could be from the heat. I think I'm going to send a note saying that I will no longer put on sunscreen and that the child will have to come with it on in the morning so this way they are sure it is put on. I also don't like the new sprays that are out there I know I use them on my boys but feel like its eaiser but I don't think it lasts as long
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tmcp2001 04:09 PM 06-25-2010
I have one family that provides sunscreen - the other three do not. I sunscreen EVERY child at my own expense every time we go outside (except after 4pm because our backyard is shaded at that time). Honestly, I don't think most parents even think about it - and they probably don't realize just how much time we spend outside. You can bet they would be concerned if I sent their child home with a sunburn though!

So, to keep the peace I sunscreen their kids!

Also - I thought sunscreen needed to be reapplied every two hours. Doesn't it wear off? So you would need to reapply later in the day anyhow, right? I'd just ask parents to supply a bottle/tube of sunscreen for their kid.
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melskids 04:27 PM 06-25-2010
i ask each parent to bring a bottle and i do it myself. i don't want to chance the parent not doing it, or not doing it good enough, and the child still gets burned on my watch. it would still be my fault cause it happened while the child was in my care. i do it in the a.m. before we go out, and again in the p.m. before we head out again. now i heard somewhere some brands cause cancer. i was going to look up more info about it.....
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Golden Rule 04:47 PM 06-25-2010
I used to have each parent supply their own sunscreen year-round, but no longer do that. I still require them bring Tylenol/Motrin/Bug spray/Swim diapers for their own child.
Once I found a product that just worked the best, I started buying it for everyone. It was just easier and more convenient not having to remind everyone several times. (summer is hard, most parents have kids in multiple places. I don't keep school agers. Juggling gets confusing sometimes. I well know)
I have not had one skin reaction or minor sunburn ever since the switch...could not be happier.
sunscreen.jpg
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momma2girls 06:32 PM 06-25-2010
Originally Posted by tmcp2001:
I have one family that provides sunscreen - the other three do not. I sunscreen EVERY child at my own expense every time we go outside (except after 4pm because our backyard is shaded at that time). Honestly, I don't think most parents even think about it - and they probably don't realize just how much time we spend outside. You can bet they would be concerned if I sent their child home with a sunburn though!

So, to keep the peace I sunscreen their kids!

Also - I thought sunscreen needed to be reapplied every two hours. Doesn't it wear off? So you would need to reapply later in the day anyhow, right? I'd just ask parents to supply a bottle/tube of sunscreen for their kid.
I have the parents place sunscreen on child during the summer, this yr. I do not have any daycare children, except for fillins. Other yrs. I have done this , it has worked well. We would go out and play, sprinkler, splashpads, parks, pool, etc. in the am around 10:00am and try to stay under the shade as much as possible. If they are out in the afternoon after nap, it is only for 10-15 min and try to stay shaded. We do the majority in the am, so the sunscreen is fine when we go out. It should last longer than 2 hrs. also. Some of them say reapply after 4 hrs some say after waterplay.
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Former Teacher 07:57 PM 06-25-2010
The only time we required the parents to provide sunscreen was on swimming days during the summer. It would TICK me off so much the number of parents that would bring everything else for swimming day but not sunscreen. We always had to borrow someone else's. The cruel part of me was like..hey if they dont provide it they don't get it. But then, you are taking it out on the child and the child shouldn't be made to suffer.

Bug spray was different (for some reason, unless the rules changed). The parents had to supply that as well. However we had to have the parents sign a permission form. The children who didn't bring any spray we DIDN'T spray. Of course parents would be upset that their child was bitten however they all did eventually bring a bottle.
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mamajennleigh 10:05 AM 06-26-2010
I have a question for those of you that use the mist- or continuous-spray types of sunscreen: do you rub the sunscreen in after spraying or do you let it dry on it's own? I love the spray style because it makes applying the sunscreen so much faster, but I always rub it into the skin after I spray it.

Also, does anyone have any experience with Avon's Skin So Soft bug spray/sunscreen all in one product? I used it on my kids and it worked really well, but I worry about reactions for the little ones plus it's really expensive!

One other question: when you go out, what time of the day do you go? For example, we are in NC and it has been in the 95 and 98-degree range by around 8 or 9am. I would like to take the kids over to the park at say around 8:30 or 9:00 am but the sun feels pretty brutal by then already - do I just sunscreen them all up and go anyway?

Luckily, bugs aren't too bad around here for another month or so.
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alyssyn 10:27 AM 06-26-2010
I used to use the spray mist but found I was rubbing it in, because when I would spray it ,it would blow away and be spotty. Also not as effective to me personally. I use the lotion with a SPF of 50 and it works great! I just reapply when going back outside. Usually good for at least 80 minutes.
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QualiTcare 11:42 AM 06-26-2010
Originally Posted by boysx5:
do you have the parents put it on before they come or do you do at your house with sunscreen they bring? I have the parents bring it and I put it on in the am when we go out today I had a mom call after the dad picked up to say that her daughters legs were red and did I use sunscreen I said yes I put it on this morning and we were out after four today and she was in the shade but did play in the grass and it was hot out so it could be from the heat. I think I'm going to send a note saying that I will no longer put on sunscreen and that the child will have to come with it on in the morning so this way they are sure it is put on. I also don't like the new sprays that are out there I know I use them on my boys but feel like its eaiser but I don't think it lasts as long
i started having parents put on sunscreen when i worked with school agers in a summer program. there were 40 kids and the sunscreen all had to be locked up just like medicine. it was too much trying to put it all on them, but when we let them do it themselves - someone got it in their eye. that's when i sent it all home and said put it on before you come! some parents would say, "well, it'll be gone by the time they go outside" to which i would reply, "my 2 year old comes to this daycare and i put his on in the morning and he's never been burned." which was the truth. hard to argue that. it worked just fine and made my life a lot easier.
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momma2girls 12:03 PM 06-26-2010
Originally Posted by QualiTcare:
i started having parents put on sunscreen when i worked with school agers in a summer program. there were 40 kids and the sunscreen all had to be locked up just like medicine. it was too much trying to put it all on them, but when we let them do it themselves - someone got it in their eye. that's when i sent it all home and said put it on before you come! some parents would say, "well, it'll be gone by the time they go outside" to which i would reply, "my 2 year old comes to this daycare and i put his on in the morning and he's never been burned." which was the truth. hard to argue that. it worked just fine and made my life a lot easier.
I agree, this is the same thing at preschools and schools- if you want sunscreen on your child, you need to apply it before going to schools. THere is no way a teacher of a classroom, would put sunscreen on 25 children, before going out for recess!!! Another thing that used to bug me, I would have each family bring in their own bottle of it, so every am, I would have 6 or 7 bottles or more inc. mine out, if I didn't use their own, the children would say something, you put someone else's on me, oops I said I will just borrow yours for that person. SOme of them knew their own bottles, it took me 20-25 min to place sunscreen everyone to play outside for 1/2 hr. then there were many times already at 9 or 10:00 in the am, it's too hot out here, and they wanted to go in immediately!!! lol!!!! I told them, I just took a long time to place sunscreen on everyone we are staying out here more than a couple of min.
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MarinaVanessa 12:05 PM 06-26-2010
I provide sunscreen at no extra charge but moms usually will donate a bottle here and again especially through summer. All families have a signed waiver about me using sunscreen on them (and it's in my policies) and I put it on right before going outside and then again every four hours if playing in the sun a lot (especially in overcast weather). That's what the botle says so that's what I follow. If we go out in the morning I apply it and then if we go back out in the afternoon I apply it again. Sunscreen wears off and is soaked up by the skin and needs to be re-applied. If we're using water or it's really hot and the kids sweat sunscreen needs to be re-applied more often as it washes off.

I agree that schools and such don't have that responsibility of applying it but I choose to put it on the kids probably because I used to nanny for a family where the mom had skin cancer from the sun and I got see first hand of the consequences. Even putting sunscreen on your kids before school/daycare isn't enough to last through the whole day since it wears off after four hours anyway (unless in pre-k or K). By noon it's not effective or not as effective but then again they don't spend all day outside. Plus, I don't know many moms that put sunscreen on their kids regularly before sending them out to play (besides me of course) so if you don't want to apply it anymore then don't just note that even if you or the parents did and only did it in the morning then by the afternoon the sunscreen wouldn't be much protection anyway.
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originalkat 01:49 PM 06-26-2010
I do not apply sunscreen for this EXACT reason. In the summer we always are outside in the morning because it is too hot in the afternoon after nap. I do not want to be responsible if I miss a spot on a child and they get a sunburn. Plus, I dislike putting it on in the first place. I sent home a note at the beginning of summer informing them that if they wanted their child to have sunscreen on then they needed to apply it before coming in the morning.I assume that the kids have sunscreen on as we play outside. It is the parent's job to do it. I know they don't like to...but I don't either.
So far it has worked out beautifully!
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Golden Rule 04:36 PM 06-26-2010
Originally Posted by mamajennleigh:
I have a question for those of you that use the mist- or continuous-spray types of sunscreen: do you rub the sunscreen in after spraying or do you let it dry on it's own?

Also, does anyone have any experience with Avon's Skin So Soft bug spray/sunscreen all in one product?

One other question: when you go out, what time of the day do you go?
Wanted to add the newst one in this line that I switched to...just found the picture
sunscreen_500X500.jpg

I always rub it in, just better safe than sorry. (If I had a large group I would probably re-evaluate like many have mentioned, most do last 8 hours now. Parents could, actually, do it before drop off. I just am a bit of a control freak and would rather know it is done. I am often a victim of Good 'Ole Murphy's Law so take few chances)

Combinations are not as effective per our pediatrician. I do love skin so soft bath oil for mosquittos, though. Growing up in florida in the '70's, that is what we used every night (even put it on the dogs for fleas as a dip, worked like a charm) wipe it on, towel it off. Fewer chemical exposures make me happy.

In the summer we go out in the mornings 9-11, in the winter we go out in the afternoons 2-4. I do have a large payroom with outdoor play equipment and mats, and only keep younger kids, though. I know most go out for longer periods.
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MarinaVanessa 09:46 PM 06-26-2010
Originally Posted by Golden Rule:
I just am a bit of a control freak and would rather know it is done. I am often a victim of Good 'Ole Murphy's Law so take few chances)
Yup me too. I'd prefer to have piece of mind and know for sure that the kiddos have sunscreen on especially since we do A LOT of outdoor time. We have wonderful weather in my area and firmly believe that we are pampered. I've often said that if it's higher than 80 degrees it too hot for us and lower than 60 degrees and we're freezing because we usually have weather that ranges exactly between 80-60 . Makes it possible for us to go out in the morning and in the afternoon. Sometimes we pack lunches and take a nice walk to the park and play for a few hours and eat there and everything. I love the sunshine and we spend lots of time in it so I KNOW that if I didn't put sunscreen on the kids that they'd get sunburn.

For some reason all of my DC littles are caucasian and have light hair and light eyes and are of very fair skin. When they first started they were all very light complectioned and after a few weeks they all get that golden glow even with the sunscreen. The DC parents call my group "twinkies" .
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QualiTcare 10:52 PM 06-26-2010
the group i had went swimming 3 days a week. we were outside 3-5 hours at one time (with bathroom breaks/snacks)...and 6-7 hours AFTER the kids arrived is when we went out.

my own children were out for the same amount of time/number of days. i had everyone bring sunscreen because i thought it was necessary, but after switching the rules and having parents apply sunscreen before they came (and me applying it to my own children before we came) i found that there were no problems.

sunscreen is so expensive these days and they have waterproof and high SPF's etc. if any of the kids had gotten burned OR if my own kids had been burned i definitely wouldn't have had parents put on sunscreen before coming to daycare. i just don't think ONE person (aka ME or YOU) should spend 30 minutes of our/the kid's time doing something that the parents can spend ONE minute doing in the morning. PLUS, they can't blame it on US when their kid gets burned because they forgot sunscreen. there were times when a kid would tell me their mom didn't put on sunscreen and in that case i would either have them wear their shirt to swim or use my own to put on them.

sunscreen was a huge issue with our center because of the number of kids we had and the rules about it having to be locked up with the medicine...so i've tried EVERYTHING. i also had a male co-worker that said he didn't feel comfortable putting sunscreen on the kids and i didn't either! having the parents put it on in the morning worked just fine for everyone - including my own kids.
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Lilbutterflie 01:21 PM 06-27-2010
I found a product by OneStepAhead that I wanted to know if anyone had heard of (and does it work?). It's a wristband that the children wear, and when you apply sunscreen (spray or lotion), you also apply it to the wristband; and it changes color. It then changes back to the original color when the sunscreen has worn off so that you know it's time to reapply! I think the cost was like $3.50 per wristband, but priceless if you are a daycare provider like us!

I personally have the parents bring the sunscreen, and I apply it throughout the day as needed. I've never had a problem with missing spots, or the kids going home with a sunburn; but I guess there will be a first for everything! Remember, we are only human.
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jen 01:56 PM 06-27-2010
I provide sunscreen and do the honors myself...except for one who needs the sensitive skin variety, his parents send his.

I apply sunscreen twice a day...once when we go out in the morning and again after nap.
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marycragers 09:54 AM 06-28-2010
Originally Posted by Golden Rule:
I used to have each parent supply their own sunscreen year-round, but no longer do that. I still require them bring Tylenol/Motrin/Bug spray/Swim diapers for their own child.
Once I found a product that just worked the best, I started buying it for everyone. It was just easier and more convenient not having to remind everyone several times. (summer is hard, most parents have kids in multiple places. I don't keep school agers. Juggling gets confusing sometimes. I well know)
I have not had one skin reaction or minor sunburn ever since the switch...could not be happier.
Attachment 51
We also have the kids bring in sunscreen. It's easier to apply it at school, because most parents forget to put it on at home. We do not allow the use of the new spray sunscreen though as we are afraid the teachers might spray it in a child's eyes. We have to cover our butts as much as we can! But whenever the children go on the school playground equipment, we make sure the sunscreen is applied!
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marycragers 10:19 AM 06-28-2010
Totally agree.
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momofboys 10:56 AM 06-28-2010
Originally Posted by Golden Rule:
I used to have each parent supply their own sunscreen year-round, but no longer do that. I still require them bring Tylenol/Motrin/Bug spray/Swim diapers for their own child.
Once I found a product that just worked the best, I started buying it for everyone. It was just easier and more convenient not having to remind everyone several times. (summer is hard, most parents have kids in multiple places. I don't keep school agers. Juggling gets confusing sometimes. I well know)
I have not had one skin reaction or minor sunburn ever since the switch...could not be happier.
Attachment 51
I'm sure the Neutrogena stuff is good but I could never afford that. I have went through almost 4 spray bottles (some were 6 oz, some were 8 oz) SPF 50 for kids/ Target or Wal-Mart brand spray since the beginning of June. I spent almost $5-6 per bottle on them. I imagine the Neutrogena is $8 or more per bottle. Sometimes I think Iw aste a lot with the spray. The lotion is so time-consuming though.
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momofboys 10:58 AM 06-28-2010
Originally Posted by Lilbutterflie:
I found a product by OneStepAhead that I wanted to know if anyone had heard of (and does it work?). It's a wristband that the children wear, and when you apply sunscreen (spray or lotion), you also apply it to the wristband; and it changes color. It then changes back to the original color when the sunscreen has worn off so that you know it's time to reapply! I think the cost was like $3.50 per wristband, but priceless if you are a daycare provider like us!

I personally have the parents bring the sunscreen, and I apply it throughout the day as needed. I've never had a problem with missing spots, or the kids going home with a sunburn; but I guess there will be a first for everything! Remember, we are only human.
I like the sound of that wristband. I'll have to check it out!
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DCMom 11:42 AM 06-28-2010
I have parents donate $5 per child to my Sunscreen Fund. Then I buy the type/brand that I prefer. I put on as needed; I like to know that it is done and it is one less thing for parents to worry about.

I like the continuous spray for the older kids; I spray it on and they rub it in. For the under two set, I use a lotion. I find it easier to apply to little moving bodies.

I do have one mom who will grab the can of sunscreen and spray down her daughter right before they leave to go home...that really bugs me for some reason but other than that, this method has worked well for me~no sunburns, no complaints.
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sahm2three 11:58 AM 06-28-2010
Originally Posted by boysx5:
do you have the parents put it on before they come or do you do at your house with sunscreen they bring? I have the parents bring it and I put it on in the am when we go out today I had a mom call after the dad picked up to say that her daughters legs were red and did I use sunscreen I said yes I put it on this morning and we were out after four today and she was in the shade but did play in the grass and it was hot out so it could be from the heat. I think I'm going to send a note saying that I will no longer put on sunscreen and that the child will have to come with it on in the morning so this way they are sure it is put on. I also don't like the new sprays that are out there I know I use them on my boys but feel like its eaiser but I don't think it lasts as long
I have each parent bring a bottle of sunscreen for their kids and when we are headed outside I have them line up and I apply it. I also make sure and reapply at least every 45 mins to an hour.
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mamajennleigh 12:07 PM 06-28-2010
I did call our pediatrician's office and they seconded that combination bug/sunscreen is not as effective. So, the plan for now is outside in the mornings from 9-11 (although I have to tell you it can be sweltering by 11 some days in July/Aug here in NC) and inside play after nap. I only have a few part-timers anyway so that will work out well for us.

I have two bottles of the continuous spf 50 spray for babies that I'll use up, and although I love the ease of getting it onto their skin, I hate the waste when they wiggle around, along with the scare of getting it into their eyes by accident. All my dck's are under 2, so that would definitely be a factor. I'll just suck it up and put the lotion on after I use up this spray.

I have another question, though, if y'all don't mind. When you are going outside and you need both bugscreen and sunscreen, which order do you put them on in? I love the Skin So Soft (I grew up in South Florida myself) and I find that it is really effective, but it's oily, so not sure when you're supposed to put it on - before or after the sunscreen?

Thanks!
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momma2girls 12:36 PM 06-28-2010
Originally Posted by QualiTcare:
the group i had went swimming 3 days a week. we were outside 3-5 hours at one time (with bathroom breaks/snacks)...and 6-7 hours AFTER the kids arrived is when we went out.

my own children were out for the same amount of time/number of days. i had everyone bring sunscreen because i thought it was necessary, but after switching the rules and having parents apply sunscreen before they came (and me applying it to my own children before we came) i found that there were no problems.

sunscreen is so expensive these days and they have waterproof and high SPF's etc. if any of the kids had gotten burned OR if my own kids had been burned i definitely wouldn't have had parents put on sunscreen before coming to daycare. i just don't think ONE person (aka ME or YOU) should spend 30 minutes of our/the kid's time doing something that the parents can spend ONE minute doing in the morning. PLUS, they can't blame it on US when their kid gets burned because they forgot sunscreen. there were times when a kid would tell me their mom didn't put on sunscreen and in that case i would either have them wear their shirt to swim or use my own to put on them.

sunscreen was a huge issue with our center because of the number of kids we had and the rules about it having to be locked up with the medicine...so i've tried EVERYTHING. i also had a male co-worker that said he didn't feel comfortable putting sunscreen on the kids and i didn't either! having the parents put it on in the morning worked just fine for everyone - including my own kids.
I agree, I went out to buy sunscreen for my own children, and it was $9.00 a bottle! I am already out of it, so I purchased 2 more of them!! WOW!!! It has really gone up in price!!
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