what to use for my daughter so she doesnt get dark playing at school? (Phoenix: salon, scorpions)

[twiggy]

Yes, young white females often want to be tanned to be beautiful, they obsess
about it. Young black females, especially if they are light skinned, do the opposite. They try to stay as light as they can. It seems all girls want to stay in the same color area. Light brown. We are terribly hard on ourselves about looking good! I know it's sad, but video didn't only kill the radio star! If you know what I mean. lol

[aj661]

Originally Posted by Calibelle

Sun is sun. If you want to block it out completely, you would have to put long sleeves,a hat, and long pants on your daughter, or keep her inside. Both are not options, as it is too hot in AZ to wear long sleeves, and school policy doesn't let the kids stay inside during peak hours. If she tans easily, she will still tan no matter how high SPF sunblock you put on her. I agree with Leaving AZ... you are going to give her a complex if you talk to much about it. If she tans, she tans. As long as you block out the bad UV rays with sunblock, you are doing your part to prevent skin cancer.

I agree with most of what you say, except it is not too hot to wear long sleeves and pants. It seems counter-intuitive, but some fabrics are very comfortable. (When I was in grade school, they had something called dress codes. Shorts were not an option for boys. Shirts had to be tucked in and pants had to have a belt.)

Getting a kid to wear clothing that's not fashionable, well, that's another story and bring us back to giving the kid a complex.

[steve22]

Originally Posted by Calibelle

Sun is sun. If you want to block it out completely, you would have to put long sleeves,a hat, and long pants on your daughter, or keep her inside. Both are not options, as it is too hot in AZ to wear long sleeves, and school policy doesn't let the kids stay inside during peak hours. If she tans easily, she will still tan no matter how high SPF sunblock you put on her. I agree with Leaving AZ... you are going to give her a complex if you talk to much about it. If she tans, she tans. As long as you block out the bad UV rays with sunblock, you are doing your part to prevent skin cancer.

This has been a topic I've replied to a number of times. Here's the bad news: the majority (about 90%, in fact) of skin damage due to sun exposure occurs before the age of 18. This is when the skin is most sensitive, and a child of 5 years old should NOT be outside getting a tan if any parent can help it, especially not in a geographic location like Phoenix where the sun's radiation is so constant and intense.

Here's some more bad news: sunscreen will protect against UV-A rays, but not against UV-B rays. THe UV-B rays are the higher-intensity, shorter-wavelength rays that are responsible for causing melanoma, the type of skin cancer that can kill you. In other words: sunscreen can protect you against benign skin tumors like basal cells, which won't metastasize and won't kill you, but not against the deadly melanoma.

The Phoenix metropolitan area has the highest number of malignant melanomas diagnosed in this country each year of any large city, and an alarming number of them occur in fair-skinned young people in their 40's, 30's, or even 20's, who grew up in the area & spent too much time in the sun at too young an age. I saw this way too often when I lived in Phoenix, and it was tragic. Metastatic melanoma is an absolute death sentence, it is absolutely directly related to sun exposure, and sunscreen won't prevent it.

From my point of view, a school policy that deliberately puts fair-skinned kids (those who have the highest risk of developing melanoma) out in the sun in Phoenix during the most intense summer months, during the time of the sun's peak intensity (between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.), is downright criminal. It's essentially akin to handing a child a pack of cigarettes and a lighter before recess every day, as far as the carcinogenic damage it's doing. If I were a parent in Phoenix and that were happening to my child, I'd be outraged.

[wit-nit]

My dermatologist says everyone should wear long sleeve shirts/blouses, pants and a wide brimmed hat if you want to avoid skin cancer in the future,
Plus use a 30+ repellent on any exposed skin.
This is year around recommendation by the Dr.
I can attest to this as I worked outdoors here for over 40 years many times wearing tee shirts and no hats. Now paying the price of neglect I've gone through 3 cancer surgeries on my face and 1 one the upper torso. And there are signs of more to come.

[paulnick]

Thanks for sharing. It's not what you do now, but what you did then.

[Leaving AZ]

If skin cancer is that commen in kids then Im all for trying to pass a law or something that has more indoor activities for kids during peak hours. Today was a Heat advisory day and the kids were all outside for recess I was schocked!!!! But I do hope the OP takes all this advice into consideration and leaves her daughter alone about dark not looking good on her She needs to tell her daughter that she is Beautiful no matter what!

[neelamzaidi]

okay you guys........you are taking it waaaaaaayyyyyy off the topic! I would never tell my daughter that she doesnt look good, never. I am a mom however and worry about her....so shoot me! (okay okay just kidding!) I love my daughter to death, she is all that I live for........dont make me look out to be an evil person.........I am just a mom. I hate school policy here, where they dont give children option to play indoor or out. I know new schools have them, Kyrene Aprende M.S. has that, but Kyrene Cielo E.S. doesnt..........come on 110 outside playing in the heat with no option, thats in humane! Call me whatever you wish, I am just a mom.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by neelamzaidi

lolzzzz thats funny!! Which 5yr old do you know doesnt get dirty, but I ment tan. She really gets tanned real fast and it doesnt look good on her I just bought sunblock spf45 is that good enough or is there anything else I can do. I have asked her to stay under a shade as much as she can.............I KNOW she tries but it must be hard for her..........

I think they were answering these comments. Like I stated before, I think she is of ethnic decent. Indian, hispanic, African American? Caucasians don't worry about getting too dark. They assume you must be worried about skin cancer because thats what they worry about. My husband is Irish and 2 out of my 3 children are white and freckly, one is brown. It was an adjustment for me to worry about their skin getting burned. But growing up in an ethnic environment I am familiar with "getting to dark" and not looking as good "dark". I don't think your being mean, I just don't think you understand that caucasians don't know what you mean. They think your worried about her actual SKIN. I think that there shocked that your 5yr old is trying to stay in the shade, not to protect her from skin cancer(which I think is sad as well, but?, fear seems to sell these days)but to keep her skin from getting to dark because you think she looks better light. I personally think both are preventing her from living a worry free life at such a young age I wouldn't want her worrying about either but thats me. I have the out look of "you never know when it will end" and "too many bad things will happen in your life, why not be happy when there not"
Skin cancer makes good money right now, so? Your daughter won't stay too dark forever, it's not ink, the tan will fade in winter. Five year olds don't care and if she wants to stay lighter when she is older she will. As a teen, I was well aware of lighter is better, you really won't have to teach her that yourself.
If your not of ethnic decent than, I think your crazy. lol People make a living off giving caucasians a tan in a booth, what are you worried about.

P.S. We all sympathize with the heat issue on your last post. I'm afraid your the one of topic on your own thread. You might want to change it.

[ablex21]

Originally Posted by Leaving AZ

If skin cancer is that commen in kids then Im all for trying to pass a law or something that has more indoor activities for kids during peak hours. Today was a Heat advisory day and the kids were all outside for recess I was schocked!!!! But I do hope the OP takes all this advice into consideration and leaves her daughter alone about dark not looking good on her She needs to tell her daughter that she is Beautiful no matter what!

Here in AJ my kids were kept inside for recess because of the advisory. Yay AJ! as it was brutally hot today.

[TurcoLoco]

On the same topic, when I first moved here and noticed all the Tanning Salons, I was absolutely baffled. A Tanning Salon in Phoenix, wth?