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?

Yes the mum shoukd have taken more fucking care!

Well in my day..
Swimming pools were swimming pools (complete with children in changing cubicles) and gyms were child free zones. The two facilities did not merge in any way.
I would take my kids to the baths, get rinsed in water when we got out (no fancy showers) and we would go home with towel dried hair.

As the kids got a little older I discovered a gym. I would go there alone and enjoy adult time, listening to music whilst my chubby little legs pounded the cross trainer. I would then have a proper shower there and wash my hair, style it and put make up on etc. Walk around without a stitch on, safe in the knowledge there were only women in there and not having to worry if any of my personal items would present a health and safety nightmare to children.

If this is what's it like now - then I'm glad I'm old and don't have to bother with it all.
What a pain in the arse.

Sure you're not the op Areoflotgirl? You seem to be taking it very personally....

I'd be angry if I was in this situation that mother was not supervising here child more closely. If you know a toddler is going to be curious and touch other people's belongings without asking or not listen when told no then surely you don't bring a toddler exercising with you!

Suppose the toddler had opened the makeup bag and spilled expensive makeup or drunk foundation etc... What was the OP supposed to have done then? She had already moved one makeup bag out of the way.

OP I'm sure the mother perfectly understood your English or the gist of it, she's just too lax in her parenting skills to take her toddler away when it's in danger or being a nuisance. It's interesting that whilst the mother was drying her hair (and if the hairdryer was too hot etc could've burned the child) that her child was on a stool next to her (yet moving Around or touching other things) I appreciate that toddlers toddle and are curious but for common sense sake this shouldn't be allowed for safety sake.

The OP hasn't shown herself to be overly not caring about the child, she moved her straighteners and told him not to touch them. The mother was negligent here because she must have realised they were hot (or about to be used), dangerous and was able to convey this to her child in a way he understood (eg safety) and in a language he understood, she also had the opportunity to remove her child too. She didn't.

Totally not at fault OP here.

Her kid, her responsibility. Sick of this idea that we're all responsible for someone's errant toddler.

Dancing the mother is obviously a foreigner, in anger you can scream all you like irrationally, but it's pointless after the accident to scream at OP in a foreign language and expect OP to understand or expect OP to accept your words of anger, but she was venting at OP due to her (the mother's) own carelessness.

There is no comparison between the heat of a hairdryer and that of straighteners. The child (and mother for that matter) may not have used/owned any such "essential" item and not know how dangerous they are. I didn't till I got some.

'There is no comparison between the heat of a hairdryer and that of straighteners. The child (and mother for that matter) may not have used/owned any such "essential" item and not know how dangerous they are. I didn't till I got some.'

Hence, the OP told the child not to touch them.

It doesn't make the mother 'not very bright' though does it superfly. Its pointless shouting in any language after an accident has occurred, its not going to change things is it. It doesn't mean the majority wouldn't shout out in panic in the immediate afternath however, whether it was understood by the recipient or not. Its human nature, particularly if their child has been badly hurt.

MistressIggi most younger women (before I get accused of being ageist yes older women use them too!) living in this day and age would know what straighteners looked like and the fact that they could be hot.

The fact that OP told the child not to touch them (eg not "how pretty they are, touch them!"), the mother should have relayed this to her child is a salient point.

It is in no way the child's fault here but the mother's.

I doubt the burn was that bad. Quick run under the cold water tap, no harm done. What a drama.

Come on dancingdinosaur the mother was obviously cross with herself for not keeping a closer eye on/disciplining her child...

She could also be a chancer, eg, ambulance chaser, therefore not knowing what OP would do after accident, expecting OP to panic once her child had been burned then put in a claim for damages to her child.

And sorry she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer to be shouting at OP in a foreign language. I did mention it was human nature to react and shout though after an accident.

Depends Argy a simple scald from a kettle boiling can be bad enough to cause blistering and pain, especially on young skin.

I don't think straighteners should be allowed in communal changing rooms

You tried to mitigate the risk, OP, and you weren't responsible, but I don't think they are safe for use where children might be.

At the point where you knew the child was not supervised, you should have turned them off.

And blimey, the xenophobia on this thread! Maybe she does not speak or understand English

It happens.

You've done nothing wrong. At worst, you could be called as a witness if the gym was investigated by the Health & Safety Executive. Action could be taken against them because it could be argued that it should be foreseen that allowing customers to use personal equipment could lead to customers using their personal equipment in an unsafe manner. (I'm not saying you were using them in an unsafe manner.)

The business should have a risk assessment in place for what their customers might reasonably do on their premises, particularly when children are permitted on site.

In any case you don't need to worry. It's not your fault that the child grabbed your straighteners and it is not your fault that the child's mother did not heed your warning. Perhaps she didn't speak English, but that is not your fault either.

The staff took your name and address because they will need to investigate what happened in order to prevent it happening again. It will have to be reported to the HSE as a RIDDOR incident because a person was injured. As part of this, they will have to do an incident report to explain what happened. You should be anonymous in this report but they will need to speak to you and the child's mother as key witnesses as, I would hope, there is no CCTV in the changing room.

Misstress

I agree with that:

"I heat my straighteners inside their heat pad thingy if the dcs are anywhere around. Ultimately the mother's responsibility but if you are a human being doing something non-essential in the vicinity of a little one who has already reached for the dangerous object you take a bit more fucking care"

Well I don't know if she's the sharpest knife in the drawer or not, as I don't know her. I wouldn't however make a judgement on her IQ based on her immediate reaction in a high stress panic driven moment. Because that would be pretty ignorant as well.

Yes, If I were in France, with my O Level French, I am sure I'd shout in French in a moment of high emotion. Not.

'I heat my straighteners inside their heat pad thingy if the dcs are anywhere around. Ultimately the mother's responsibility but if you are a human being doing something non-essential in the vicinity of a little one who has already reached for the dangerous object you take a bit more fucking care'

Back before I had children, this wouldn't have crossed my mind. Not because I'm a vile person, but because I had no understanding of what small children were like and certainly didn't see it as my responsibility to curtail normal activity because there might be small children about whose parents weren't policing them properly.

No, I'm sure I would be shouting fuck, fuck fuck in my own language tbf.

NotYoda well that's a whole other thread but when you want to have a go at someone and potentially put a claim in for damages then it'd be a good idea to have some grasp of English.

Does this lack of English extend to not understanding cost of entry for exercise (probably swimming), timetable, safety of pool (eg depth)? I do find that sometimes the "lack of English" comes into place when people want to play dumb.

I had it myself a few years earlier. Was in a shop hurt by someone with a young child (I'd been hurt myself, sprained ankle and recovering so was limping), I had a few cross words for the mother who stared blankly at me, then after her trying to not apologise suddenly (and a member of staff came over to see to me) she switched to broken English and said "I'm very sorry, say sorry to the woman" to her child, who did apologise to me.

Super

Sounds like you'd like to start that thread. Why don't you. I'm sure we'd all love to hear what you have to say

So from the words that she shouted out (we don't know what they are) you have concluded:

1. she doesn't speak any english
2. she wants to claim for damages
3. she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer
4. her lack of english comes into play when she wants to avoid apologising or paying for things.

Nothing to do with a panicked woman scared about the injury to her child.

My oh my, you really are painting yourself in a nice light aren't you superdry. And, no offence intended, but I'm starting to suspect that your own knives are a little blunt....

It was the mother's task to look after her child. Equally, leaving red hot straighteners on a gym bench is just moronic.
What made me choke though was the very idiotic ageism here.
My mother is 65. You call her an old dear or treat her like she suffers from dementia and would freeze you with one look and then took you apart and leave you shaking and weeping in a corner. The times when you could call older women old dears and expect them to know all tips on knitting and baking scones but nothing else is over.