I’ve always thought it rather silly the way Texas mothers slathered on the sunscreen whenever their little darlings ventured into the sun, noonday or otherwise, all in the name of preventing skin cancer. Going the pioneers one better: they only wore long woolen trousers and shirts and broad-brimmed hats to keep their skin pristine.
But troglodyte that I am, I grew used to sunscreen as Mrs. Charm joined the crowd with young Mr. B, starting in pre-school and continuing to the present and his status as a rising high school freshman. Little did she know. The second-largest public school district in San Antonio has now banned sunscreen as “dangerous.”
“Sunscreen is a toxic substance, and we can’t allow toxic substances to be in our school[s],” said North East Independent District spokesperson Aubrey Chancellor. “They could possibly have an allergic reaction [or] they could ingest it. It’s really a dangerous situation.”
Which suggests to me that either the threat of skin cancer was overblown all along or the school district really does deserve its Nanny-of-the-Month award from Reason Magazine.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 