To think that children should not be left unsupervised with chemicals?

[PandoraHadABox]

DS (14yrs) was in an after-school detention for admitting to adding to classroom graffiti. Fully agreed that it was wrong and he needed to be punished. Collected him after detention and he complained of having a headache and feeling dizzy. Turns out that teacher gave him a bottle of acetone and methylated spirits and a cloth, no gloves, and was told to clean the graffiti. The fumes were strong so DS had the sense to open the windows. Teacher left him for over half an hour on his own to get on with it. Made sure DS had fresh air and lots of water and he felt better later the next day. I personally think that he should not have been given the chemicals to use, let alone unsupervised. What do you think?

I would not be 'totally ashamed' of my child if they added to a wall of grafitti. I tend to save that level of reaction for important things like kicking puppies or tripping old ladies over. Yes I'd be mad, I'd be pissed off & think they should know better, but totally ashamed...nope.

Annie, I haven't made a complaint, I was just trying to gauge whether it was right - as per Atenco's post.

Well, meths & acetone are pretty mild. He needed to remove the grafitti & washing up liquid wasn't going to do it!

I meant complaining on here 😊

Annie - I said that we were ashamed, not totally ashamed. Yes, he did a bad thing and has been punished, I am not complaining just getting an opinion.

Just as an FYI if you do want to make an issue of it, methylated spirits is actually on the banned list for chemicals that students are allowed to use indoors. It's the best chemical for extracting DNA but we've had to adapt the experiment (science technician) because of this. Methylated spirits (the purple one) has acutely toxic fumes and no longer considered suitable for secondary school use in any context.

Yes i do believe the police would attend
I think you're lucky the school is handling it.

How do you know it was the nail varnish remover fumes that make him feel 'ill' and not the aerosol fumes from when he was defacing school property?

Nail varnish remover isn't pure actone.

Pure acetone will definitely give you a headache if sloshed around in a confined space.MSDS sheet

I hate the smell of methanol/methylated spirits, and you shouldn't really be getting that on your skin either. MSDS sheet 'Absorption through the skin may be fatal'

It would probably have been possible to get the graffiti off by squirting a little on a cloth and rubbing, but an adult should have supervised to check that was what he was doing, and not flooding the place.

Oh.
Actually I think the OP's home punishment has been harsh, not soft or making excuses.

And there is an alternative scientific PoV emerging

Thank you to the posters that have seen my worries regarding the acetone and methylated spirits. This was the only thing I sought advice on. In my original post I agreed that DS should be punished, he is not a mollycoddled child, but despite his failings, he is normally a great kid with parents and loved ones who care.
I am gutted that there are so many haters around and will think twice before ever posting for advice in the future. Thank you.

Ah the smell of acetic acid used make the whole lab crave chips.

Misses point of thread and reminisces about the heady days of bench work

I am gutted that there are so many haters around and will think twice before ever posting for advice in the future

There is good advice here on mumsnet, but there are a lot of people who use it as a Jeremy Kyle show, to point the finger and feel better about themselves. I haven't read all the posts on this thread so this is just a general observation.

I think you have had a hard time on here, OP. I too would worry momentarily if DC came home with headache in these circumstances. I would worry he might have used the solvents inappropriately, without suitable safety precautions.

I can't be the only one here who had to sand a desk, ready for revarnishing, after writing on it in pencil, can I?
I'm not out of the ark, only in my forties...

So he didn't enjoy the punishment?

Perhaps he'll think twice before owning up in the future!