I have asked the parents to apply the first application of sunblock to thier child before dropping off.


My question is, how do I know if the parents did or not? I don't want to risk the kid going outside without and i dont have time to apply sun block first thing in am. My DCK all arrive at 830am to eat and then we are outside at 915am. What could I do to enforce this? I thought of maybe putting a board next to the sign in sign out log that the parents could check off a box that says I applied sunblock to my child..If they dont do it then I know that I need to???? I don't know

what do you guys do?

One last thing, where we live it gets up to 115 degress in the summer and I want to make sure that none of the kids suffer a sunburn.....I have also been told that if I do allow for a child to get a sunburn it could be considered abuse or neglect.....
I need to make sure I cover my butt.....

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ask the child if they have it on. and you could probably smell or feel that sunblock has been applied.

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i guess I could do that too... One of the other things is that sunblock takes about 30 min to activate so that would mean this child would have to sit inside while waiting for it to work. With all of the other things that I need to be doing, I don't know how I would work applying sunblock into my morning routine.... any ideas?

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The only piece of advice that I could offer is that you won't really know if the kid has sunblock on or not unless you can either see it, smell it or put it on yourself. Even if you ask a parent they could always say yes when they really didn't just so they could get out of doing it if they forgot or something and in the case of asking the kids directly ... well how comfortable are you with relying on a Childs word? I mean most of my kids don't like sunblock and I can bet that of I asked them if their mommy put sunblock on them already that I'd get an immediate "yup" just sovthey could try to weasil their way out of getting any put on them. I know it takes time bit I would rather be safe than sorry which is why I apply sunscreen myself.

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I'd have the parents provide the sunblock and then you apply it every day. That way you know for sure that it is on each child in your care. Saves you money as well from buying all that sunblock yourself.

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I really dont have time in the morning to add it in, but I think I am going to ask the parents to purchase the spray on kind so that I dont have to sit there and rub it in each childs face, glove, deglove and then reglove in between each and every child...

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At check in time have the bottle of sunscreen by the sign in sheets. Let the parents know that effective (date) that all sunscreen will need to be applied by parent at sign in time. If parents say I'm running late or whatever let them know you don't have time to do all the children and that their child will not be able to play outside if the parent doesn't apply the sunscreen.

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i was going to suggest the spray kind. and even when the parents may have, i'd spray them anyways. i'd ask each parent to bring a bottle as well for each child.

the only thing i can suggest is first thing in the morning make sure they have it on, and put a long sleeve, thin sweater or shirt on them to cover their skin while it's activating. if it's the right material, it won't over heat them first thing in the morning even if it's super hot.

other than that, you can only take the kids or parents word for it.

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I don't apply it all the time. It gets up to 115 or higher here too. (we'd never go outside when it's that hot though)

We are outside every morning without sunscreen.

Then, if we are going out to use water tables or something that means they will be out in the sun for a while, I apply it to everyone anyway. So, hopefully the parents put it on, but if not, it's not really a big deal.

The only time I've ever had kids get a sunburn was when we used the slip in slide. (apparently, I didn't account for the friction removal of fresh sunscreen)

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Ooh.. I was thinking of trying that new Neutrogena spray on "wet" sunscreen for kids. Has anybody tried that? Is it worth the extra money?

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I have not priced it out, but i am going to ask each family to bring one bottle of spray on sun block. I also have some families from different cultures that would flip even if their kid got a tan.... So I have to make sure that some of the kids are even free of sunspots...lol

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I always had the parents bring me 2 bottles per child at the beginning of summer. I don't always use it, but when I do, I have all the kids line up on my patio and I spray away.

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I would just sniff them lol sorry but that's exactly how I know for sure.

I use both kinds but often wonder if the spray on is as effective as the rub on. I haven't had a sunburn yet so I assume they are equal?

Also would it be rude of me to request the spray on kind only? I have always supplied it but now that I have more kids I would really like some help paying for it so I am thinking about asking the parents to supply it. I know it should really be their choice but if they don't mind I prefer the spray on. What do u think?

I'm sorry to threadjack I just wanted to post while thinking of it and not create a whole new string.

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The spray kind is a life saver.

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I ask all the parents to provide the same kind.

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My jaw kind of dropped about sunburn being considered neglect?!?

That just sound ridiculous to me!

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Have a checklist next to your sign in sheet that states whether sunblock has been applied or not and a place for their signature. (And don't let them "forget" to check and sign it.)

You can't always go by what the kids tell you because sometimes they think yesterday was this morning, etc.

I don't understand the laziness of parents that can't be bothered to apply it to their children in the morning. It takes a whole 2 minutes per child. When you have to apply it to 10 or more yourself, there goes 20 minutes or more. You all could be out having fun already!

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Why not request all parents provide one bottle of spray-on sunscreen and 6 weeks later request a second bottle so they don't feel like they're spending $25 in one spot on just sunscreen. KWIM?

I personally would do it myself and not request parents do it. Some parents may allow their own child to put it on and they're going to miss a lot of places. Some parents may not do a good job putting it on themselves either. I once didn't get my back shoulders very well and ended up with a hand shaped burn which was as far back as I could reach! LOL

I would spray the sunscreen on them after they take a bathroom break after breakfast. At 9 am you're not going to get a burn in a few minutes while you wait inside and also wait in the shade. The suns rays are strongest later in the day and that is when I would be more concerned, of if you're having water play that would be important as well.

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I live in sue happy California. I actually know a lady who sued her ex husband to get full custody of her child because the father neglected to apply sunblock to their daughter when he took her for a day trip to the beach. Crazy. Yes. The lady is crazy, but if you think about it, a sunburn is extremely painful and can cause serious burns.
So I want to cover my bases..


Abigal good point about the sun not being so hot at 9am.

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People are definitely sue happy in CA.

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I totally agree but it's true here too. I have heard things but never had an issue personally.

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I would just do it yourself but that's because I could see parents saying they did it and haven't done it or didn't apply it full coverage.

I have 8 kids here and we eat breakfast at 8:30 then do potty/diapers and head outside for the morning. When I say morning, I mean until lunch and sometimes after, so we definately need sunscreen daily.

I have a sunscreen stick for each child and do their faces as they arrive and then after we get shoes on when we go out the door the kids all sit on the front steps and I have them come over onto the grass to use the spray sunscreen to do their arms, legs and necks and ears.

I figure at 9:15 the sun isn't even all the way up yet so they'll have at least 30 minutes to let it activate.

We do the same routine after nap time before going outside for snack time. I do their faces as they get up and potty/diaper and then just need to spray them down once we get outside.

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I have all parents supply sunblock, but I apply it... this way I am certain all kids are covered.

This year I requested NO spray on kind. I apply in doors about 15 minutes before we head outside and the spray on kind is not in house user friendly plus I still find that I have to rub it in to faces, necks and ears anyway.

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I put the sunscreen on them myself, the short amount of time it takes gives me peace of mind instead of counting on the parents to do it.

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I request spray on or aeresol suncreen for each child and I apply it myself. I use one bottle at a time and the kids line up. It doesn't take long to get them all greased up.

If I had to check I would need to be able to smell it. Freshly applied block smells for a bit so it if I couldn't smell anything I'd reapply just in case.

As for the neglect thing I had a day last year where we all got burns. I applied sunblock but it was one of those overcast warm breezy days with deceptively high UV so everyone had a burn to some degree. I felt AWFUL but thankfully none of the parents blamed me.

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I have a few parents who bring the spray kind and a few who bring regular. I take the spary to the pool for quick re-apps and I use the reg for outside play at home.

I much prefer the regular sunblock to the spray kind....I can't use it on faces and have to get both kinds out anyway.

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Im reading all this thinking, I am so thankful for my entire play space being shaded until about 430 pm when we just come inside.

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