Baby injured at childminders - advice needed please

Yes Emily, please let us know how you got on with the burns specialist today. Can't stop thinking about your little boy and hoping you have managed to get some answers.

OP how is your son today? Did you get to see the burns specialists this morning?

I think the chemical argument can be side stepped, I don't like the idea of using a chemical sunscreen and my kids do react (I have on surprise sunny occasions borrowed from a friend). So I use a barrier sunscreen instead. The only downside is that I haven't found one that lasts all day but tbf I don't think any would due to the getting dirty/washing and sweating repeatedly throughout the day and perhaps it is better to not be complacent that it will last all day long and reapply, which means less likelihood of missed spots.

At 4mo, in April 2011, my DS3 had a reaction like this. It was a reaction to a hypoallergenic sun cream. I have had to patch test every sun cream in the market.

Strangely the one DS3 reacted to is the only one DS2 doesn't react to - so I now have to buy separate sun creams for each of them!

that sounds really extreme. it sounds like an allergic reaction I had on my face once

Decide not decided. Sorry

I think the 'chemical' argument is flawed. The Telegraph article is from 2009 and refers to the EU funded 'NeuroNano' project. It was a three year collaborative project. There don't appear to be any project outputs but I assume it has finished.

Details here:
www.neuronano.eu/sections/AboutNeuroNano

OP really feel for you and your LO. My only advice is wait until you've got all the info before you decided ref CM. That said, it isn't a ringing endorsement...

There is a suncream from boots called once that only needs to be put on in thw mornings and will last approximately 6 hours.

I advise my parents to use this and I top up. I also request long sleeve thin tops and a wide brimmed hat. I top up cream when needed. There's more of a child protection issue if no cream is used. Sometimes you need to bend the rules and what you are told on courses isn't always right

But littlebit, sun cream needs to be reapplied. What happens then? I Agreeon the vit d point but there is a balance., And how on earth do you keep a toddler in only one part of a garden??

I am so sorry this happened OP :(
Just a thought- I have an 8 month old baby and due to this incredibly long grey winter she has hardly seen any sunshine.

I would guess your DS is similar? Born in the summer but kept out of the sun as a young baby, the rest of his life in the long winter... so perhaps if it is a sun allergy it isn't surprising it has only just become evident.

Whatever the cause, I very much hope he makes a quick recovery and that you both have some sleep tonight.

So many people blaming the childminder without conclusive evidence that it was her fault. There are other reasons that this may have occurred - allergy to sunlight or an allergy to something used on his skin. I'm sorry to hear that this has happened to your poor ds OP, and I hope the appt helps him and sheds some light on what happened.

As a cm myself I apply sun cream (parents provide it) as and when necessary, just as I use nappy rash cream (parents provide it) as and when necessary. There really is no difference IMO. My daughter arrived home from school on Tuesday with sunburnt cheeks and nose - just from the 20 min walk home, it was a very easy day to be caught out on. I think that people shouldn't be so quick to judge the CM until the reason this has happened can be confirmed.

Emily, I got it from your OP, where you say that some of your friends think such a careless act is unforgivable and advise you to remove your child from the childminder's care.

You have to reapply sunscreen regularly so just applying it at 7am is useless IMO if you are outside after about 10am particularly if you factor in hand and face washing before/after meals etc.

www.telegraph.co.uk/science/6082488/Link-between-sunscreen-and-Alzheimers-Disease-being-investigated.html

Professor Chris Exley is a leading expert on aluminium and he doesn't believe it's safe to be so readily consumed/slathered on.

"If there is no issue then why are there people on here admitting to having to get parental consent in writing before applying it."

IME parents are asked to sign all manner of consent forms when putting their children into childcare and many of them are nothing to do with child protection issues.

littlebit - I think you sound like a lovely CM but I still don't understand your strict training of not applying suncream. Surely if parents are sensible and send their children to you with hats, long sleeves and trousers you would only need to apply suncream to minimal areas. Have you had to not proceed with taking on a mindee because of your policy or do you find all parents accepting of it?

Outragedfromleeds: more difficult to ascertain of course how many die from aluminium related illness than from skin cancer, but your question to me implies that all skin cancer is caused by the sun.

Oh poor baby :(

My dd was allergic to most sun creams, she'd blister up and look like she had chicken pox, only ambre solaire worked on her

But doughnut, OP is talking about a 10 month old baby, not a toddler or older child. There's no way the cm wouldn't have been able to keep him out of the sun just by ensuring he was in the shade.

Sorry, x posts christinarossetti!

April sun is as strong as August sun.

Sun in April is as hot as August. It doesn't take that long for skin, especially young skin - to burn.

That said, I would be horrified if someone had allowed my baby to get sunburnt, let alone so badly.

I hope that you get good help from the Burns Unit and that your son gets better quickly.

What was/is the childminder's reaction btw?

My policy is that the parents should apply cream in the morning before the children arrive that way I know that they can play out in the morning with no problems. I will apply it again if we are out in the afternoon (parental permission obviously) as I would not want to be responsible for a sunburnt child. I think a bit of common sense is required here. With the best will in the world it is hard to keep a child out of the sun on a gorgeous day. All any childminder needs to do to cover themselves putting sun cream on is to get the parents to provide their own and sign a consent form

Your poor baby! I hope the specialist can advise on the cause and help your little one.

Problem is that not only was your child burnt but doesn't sound like the CM did anything about the supposed sun burn either. Until the heat has been taken out of the skin, the skin still burns which has probably caused it to become seond degree burns. Whatever the outcome tomorrow with the specialist, I would not be taking my child back to that CM. The trust has gone and your baby has suffered unnecessarily.

I hope little one makes a speedy recovery. Bless you both.

Yes, but what about days like Tuesday when it wasn't really that obvious that it was going to be so warm at 8am? And what happens in the afternoon when you've had to wipe the whole of my baby's face and her hands and wrists and maybe legs if she's got a romper/dress on because she's got food all over herself (despite her long sleeved bib) so now the sunscreen I've applied at 8am has been wiped off? Or if she's playing with water in the garden and got herself wet and you've had to dry her off, again wiping off the sunscreen?