Child at gym burnt hand on my hair straightener

[Geraderaus]

I had a rather alarming thing happen this morning and would appreciate your take on it. I was at the gym in the changing room after a work out. I was drying my hair like I do there regularly and had plugged in my hair straighteners and they were sitting on the surface in front of me. I do this regularly, it's allowed to use your own things like this in the gym and many people do.

A woman with a toddler about two years old came next to me and she stared drying her hair. We were both stood up and the toddler was climbing on a little stool. The toddler reached across to my hair straightener (heating up, the plates were very hot) and I quickly said "no don't touch that!" And moved them to my other side further away from the child (who had not touched them by this point). The mother saw this and batted her child's hand away. The mother was not speaking English to the child so not sure if she understood me it in the context it couldn't have been more obvious what was said.

I continued to dry my hair and the child was toddling about and trying to grab things like my make up bag which I just kept moving away from him but it's a small area and it was all within his reach. The mother seemed to tell him off once or twice. When I was still drying my hair the toddler lunged at the straighteners and they fell to the floor burning his arm, probably quite badly. I rushed as best I could to grab them and move them but it happened in a split second and was too late by then. The mother was hysterical and screaming at me in a language I didn't understand, she was furious and other people came over including staff.

The child was taken to hospital and gym staff have noted my name and contact details. Can there be any repercussions for this? What did I do wrong?

My mother is 63 and wouldn't know what straighteners even look like. They are a hazard IMO. Not just for kids but for anyone. Still the mothers fault definitely, she should have gone elsewhere with the toddler. I bring my toddler all the time to my gym. He either comes swimming with us or he can go in creche. He loves it. It's a very family friendly gym.

I think this gym will probably just ban kids in the changing room or apply an age limit or put up signs that kids need to be supervised by parents & use the facilities at their own risk. No gyms ban hair straighteners in my experience as it tends to put adult women off going to the gym during peak times

Wouldn't say 220degrees GHDs are every day item!

Yes 220 degree hair straighteners ARE are a daily item for plenty of women. I and nearly all of my female colleagues have to straighten my hair every day - some of us even need to bring them to work so we look polished for meetings.

The mother is responsible for the safety of the child and the gym owes a duty of care to all it's members that they are safe. They can't sue OP as she had nothing to do with the child. OP has done nothing wrong. She did her best and it was up to the mother to control her child.

I think the mother is ultimately responsible. However, if I was using straighteners somewhere with a toddler around, I would also think it my responsibility to ensure they were not within reach of the toddler.

We are now responsible for ensuring other people take basic care for their own and their children's safety around an every day item?

TBH I think we should take care when using potentially dangerous items around anyone.

If you were using, say, a blow torch and someone was arsing about around you, you would not carry on regardless, you'd stop and tell the person to stop arsing about or tell the parent to get their child to stop arsing about. You also wouldn't leave said blowtorch sitting on a shelf getting hot whilst faffing about with something else.

But i don't believe the story i the OP is quite how it happened.

You can get heatproof holders for straighteners e.g. :
www.amazon.co.uk/d/Home-Kitchen/Polder-BTH-7030-213-Hot-Sleeve-Pink/B00G2CBO0K/

Or the gym could get more permanent ones...

I think the OP is the child's mother's personal injury lawyer trying to get a feel for his chances. It's not looking good.

I personally dont think people should be using hair straighteners in a public place as it is a bit risky. What happened was an accident but I think hair straighteners placed on a slippery counter are are a hazard. I really don't think you should have been using them when they presented a risk to a small child who was obviously misbehaving nearby with the mother who was not paying attention. Its everyone's responsibility to look after children. This issue is one of entitlement. What would you have done if it had been your child playing nearby, would you have had them turned on. I cant believe people put their own vanity above a child's safety.

I agree that the op is partly responsible as well, along with the mother and the gym for allowing the use of straighteners where toddlers get changed.
If I'm drinking a cup of tea at a toddler group for eg it is ultimately other parents responsibility to make sure their children don't knock it over. That doesn't mean I would leave it on the floor or the edge of a table though because people do have a moral, if not legal, responsibility to keep things they are using from hurting others - whether they happen to be related to them or not.

A 63 year old is an 'old dear'?

And someone else thinks there will be cctv coverage in the changing rooms, that would be alarming for those concerned about 7 year old perverts.

The gym will have public liability insurance. The OP took reasonable care and the mother was negligent in not taking reasonable care of her child so the OP has no cause to fear she would be held liable. The injury is probably not all that bad it the straighteners just hit him as they fell to the floor -- the trip to A&E was probably precautionary because the child was shocked and crying and there was a red welt on his arm.
If I had been the mother I would have moved away to the other side of the room and found a way to distract my child and hurriedly finished and left. There is a time and place for toddlers for toddlers to explore their environment.

. I can understand the mother's upset. However, you did nothing wrong. You're allowed to take your straighteners in to the gym, so. Youve not broken any laws, and. You did tell the child until you were blue in the face not to touch them. Yes fair enough. He was only a baby. Learning boundaries. He has no sense of danger. His mother should have kept him away from your things.
Poor little lamb, mind.
Its like when you see kids running around in restaurants. If a poor waiter/ess or anyone for that matter spilled a hot drink on them. The parents would go apoplectic. Yet they're the ones allowing them to run about.

We are now responsible for ensuring other people take basic care for their own and their children's safety around an every day item?
Straighteners aren't an everyday item in my gym. I've never seen anyone use them there. And I do think that if you bring an item that can cause injury into a public place (with no age restrictions) then you're responsible for keeping everyone safe round about it. How big an inconvenience would it be to turn them off? Or move them to a place where they can't be knocked down? There have been so many campaigns around the dangers of hair straighteners.

I and nearly all of my female colleagues have to straighten my hair every day - some of us even need to bring them to work so we look polished for meetings

Bizarre how many women in the same office need 220 degree heat to tame their hair. More than once a day too. I dont believe it.

My mother is 63 and wouldn't know what straighteners even look like. They are a hazard IMO. Not just for kids but the old dears at the gym too.

I'm guessing the average 63 year old can restrain themselves from touching other people's stuff though?

I use a straightener most days and I'm a SAHM. I've seen them at the gym before.

I think most women in their 60s know what hair straighteners look like! And would not appreciate being called an old dear!!!!

Just hope the ambulance chasers are not aware of this they will try their best to pin the blame on you when it's obviously the parents fault for not supervising her kid. Who takes a child to the gym anyway

I think this thread is bullshit. No sign of the op.

People do have lives outside of Mumsnet, you know.

Hmm, whilst its the mums responsibility to look after the child, personally I would have felt a moral obligation to turn the straighteners off, or pointedly moved somewhere else, if the child kept grabbing my stuff. It might be annoying but I'd feel pretty bad if a child got hurt if I could have prevented it, even if the mother wasn't doing much about it.

Our local gym have children in the changing room because they run swimming lessons for them. Tbh I'm surprised the gym allow people to plug in their own straighteners at the gym.

OP..?