Tanning Beds: Do Your Kids/Teens Use Them?
May 5, 2009 by Eliza Ferree
Filed under Family, Parenting
This morning, I read a very sad story about Kelly Thompson. She’s only a 10-year-old little girl but suffered burns over 70% of her body after using….brace yourselves parents this may shock you….a tanning bed. She was actually in a tanning bed for 16 minutes, unsupervised. The BCC is reporting that there was no one staffed there when she entered.
IMG: Sxc.hu
“She was under-age but there was no staff there to stop her from using it. And there was no-one to give advice on using these potentially dangerous machines.”
This was one very lucky girl, even if she did get burned. Doctors said if she’d spent 2 more minutes inside the dangerous machine (at least for her) she would’ve been facing getting skin grafts. Dr. Len Lichtenfeld has wrote a post explaining that those that use tanning beds before 35 increase their chances of getting melanoma by 75%.
A sign on the door at the Electrik Avenue tanning centre reads: “Strictly over 16s only.”
There was a sign there that prohibits those younger than 16, however knowing children they won’t always obey especially when there are no adults present.
She was using the tanning bed to get herself that beautiful, golden tan just in time for summer. But now she’s been told she must stay out of the sun for the next 10 years in fear she will get skin cancer easier. Was it worth getting into the tanning bed? No.
What do you think of allowing your child/teen to use a tanning bed? Do you use one? Do you encourage your child to use one?
Here’s what some others are saying on the topic:
- Parent Dish wants to know if your kid using a tanning salon too.
- MomLogic is stating Kelly’s Mom wants all unmanned salons to get staff. I agree with this.
Wow. Where was the staff? How did she turn it on? That’s way too young. Where was her mom?
no staff there, my understanding (I could be wrong) is that this is kind of like a booth where they just trust ya. No clue hoping someone that knows can comment more ont hat part. She just put her money in the machine and got in it and closed it. When her money ran out it turned the machine off. Kind of frightening if you ask me. Her mother wasn’t there, she’d given Kelly money to go to the fair with her cousin. They got there but the fair was closed so they (being kids) went somewhere else.
That’s pretty young to be going to the Fair without an adult, too. Sarah is days away from 11 and I wouldn’t send her to the Fair by herself.
Here in Orange County, theres a tanning salon on on every corner
Ten years old??? So sad!
it is very sad. Thankfully she lived but she has a ton of burns from it. Hopefully this will wake the companies up and maybe tighten the staff on them.