Nursery put Henna on my child.

[Pencilcase123]

When my DH picked up our DD (4) from nursery one of the staff said she had drawn DDs initials in Henna on Dds hand because Dd insisted. DH did not complain.

I am baffled as to why the nursery would have Henna out in the first place. It is brown Henna and I don’t think it is particularly dangerous but I am quite miffed that nursery staff thought it was ok to give my 4 year old a temporary tattoo. Would you complain about this?

"If it’s the natural henna that stains orange it is safe." There's no such thing as a safe substance.

People can be allergic to literally anything and allergy to henna is actually quite common.

I'm allergic to it myself - and yes I mean brown henna - which was applied by a sensible artist at a wedding I went to but I had a dreadful reaction to it.

Dd also has eczema and allergies, 3 times leading to hospital admission, she's 18 now and has thankfully outgrown most but still has a few.

I would not have been AT ALL happy if this had happened to her, a 4 year old is unlikely to be fully aware of possibly vulnerability to a reaction.

And as a former childminder I wouldn't have dreamt of doing such a thing without a clear consent from the parents! Not least because it leaves the childcare provider vulnerable to complaint, even legal action.

Stupid and irresponsible of the nursery both from the perspective of a potential reaction and in terms of their own liability.

"I'm really surprised because many schools won't even give plasters in case the child has an allergic reaction." This is one of the things dd is still allergic to - it's murder!

Hi OP, if your DD has had a previous allergic reaction you need to get your GP to refer her to a dermalogist and do skin prick tests. My DD has eczema and asthma, I would have been horrified if someone had painted her hands with henna. the nursery should have notified you in advance and got your permission.
Also , you need to explain to your DD that there are certain things she can't do.... we made it into a game.. no 🐱 no 🐰, no 🦆 No 🎨

If the henna was produced in the Indian subcontinent it's pretty naive to assume that it is in any way "natural" regardless of the colour.

It will be full of nasty chemicals.

My DC have very bad reactions to fucking everything green coloured sun cream, certain washing powders, soaps, the list goes on. We have to be extremely careful what we use, and can't deviate from known 'safe' brands. I wouldn't have been overly impressed either as this would, most probably, involve cool baths, Piriton galore, broken sleep, copious itching for days on end, broken skin, tears (mine!) blah blah. That's the reality of some parents who have children with sensitive skin. There's a reason we had to fill in consent forms for creams to be applied.
Plus, she insisted? Er no, children don't call the shots in nursery. Do they?

I'm so surprised by the stuff people get annoyed by on here. In real life I always worry I'm a bit uptight but then I go on Mumsnet and think, wow, I'm really not that bad

Report staff and complain to manager of nursery or ofsted if neccessary

Alternatively just write to the nursery manager to say that DD came home with Henna on her hands yesterday and some context would be appreciated, she’s not come back with two tiny swifts permanently inked on her fists FFS.

OP, if the chain you refer to is a Bright Horizons or Asquith this will be to do with Eid. Check your newsletters before you email nursery as typically they will tell you what’s coming up that week and you may have missed the email saying they’d be hennaing the kids and thus your chance to opt out.

Good luck.

Not saying it's right or wrong but it was Eid yesterday so that's why they had the henna - DD's nursery did similar, although not on her hand because she's only 10 months. They did painted handprints and then painted that with the henna to make an Eid card.

I would be annoyed, not just because of the potential reaction but the semi-permanence of it. Would everyone saying its fine also be fine with nursery dyeing a
chunk of their kids hair with semi permanent hair dye, without consent? Some kids might not be happy with a brown /orange mark on their hand for weeks, some parents might not be, however pretty the design is.

Eid? What the fuck??

That's terrible I would be furious. No way would I want our children to have Henna used on them.

Yes, @AmeriAnn Eid. Surely you know what that is?

Here you go @AmeriAnn

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/eid-ul-fitr-uk-when-does-ramadan-end-a4157521.html%3famp

Thank me later

i wouldn’t have minded. both my kids suffer from eczema and dermatitis so would have almost certainly reacted, but its just one if these things. they also react to whiteboard marker etc. its just life, and you’ll sooner or later find out anyway what they react to (and its usually the stuff everybody makes a fuss about)

It was ridiculously irresponsible of them to do this without consent or a patch test and I would be really annoyed.
Both of my children used to have multiples food allergies (we are thankfully down to one now) but both also still have reactions to random stuff on their skin. Like certain sun creams. I couldn't give a damn how low the risk of a reaction to Henna was this was not their call.

🙄 get over yourself

I am a henna artist and I feel this was extremely irresponsible of the nursery.

Assuming that the nursery staff who applied the henna was not a pro henna artist, the henna that was applied was probably shelf stable mass produced henna. This can be very dangerous! "Black henna" is the most dangerous kind, I give it quotation marks because natural henna is never black, to make it black they add dyes (the same kind used in hair dye) and people can have very bad reactions to those. You still have to be careful with henna that appears brown. If it's in a cone that has printed writing on, or any branding then chances are it contains preservatives and more dyes, because safe natural henna is not shelf stable and so is usually mixed up by artists themselves and kept in the freezer. You cannot buy safe natural henna in shops, only from an artist and it will be shipped to you frozen with advice to keep it frozen until you intend to use it.

Even if they were using safe natural henna, they should have asked your consent for something that would remain for so long. I would speak to the nursery and say that next time you would appreciate them asking you, and also recommend that they get in an experienced artist who knows how to apply henna safely and follows strict hygiene procedures too.

I work in a nursery.
We have to get permission for face paints, so they should have done the same before using henna. Also, I'm at the practitioner doing it 'because the child insisted' '. Being able to say a firm but kind' 'no" is an important part of the job.

For some reason it is the religious background of it that I am uneasy about, cannot really get wound up by henna. Is there a day when the nursery celebrates atheism?

“Is there a day when the nursery celebrates atheism?”

No but they do learn ‘British values’ and my son’s nursery celebrate loads of different religious festivals including of course Christianity before anyone makes assumptions.

My older son’s nursery used henna on his hand at Diwali. But it was a party I was at and they asked me first and I said ok. I do think doing it without permission is not on. I wouldn’t complain to Ofsted personally unless there is a wider pattern OP is concerned about.

Do unclench, I can’t believe people get worked up over such trivia

Presumably said by someone blessed with no skin problems

I have eczema and pustular psoriasis, I can sunburn inside and through clothes, henna does not react with my skin. In mauritius you can pick the leaves from a tree and crush them to use.

I have yet to hear of anyone reacting to henna (the black dye they call henna, yes, loads of reactions).

Some kids might not be happy with a brown /orange mark on their hand for weeks, some parents might not be, however pretty the design is.

It lasts days, maybe a week but not months, not if you are washing your hands when you have gone to the loo. Andon me henna goes very dark very quickly. If I was getting married everyone would know my mother in law certainly loves me.

@sashh I'm on multiple allergy Facebook groups. The Henna I googled contained lemon. I've seen parents post regarding their children's allergies to lemons.

So just because you wouldn't react to it. Doesn't me other would t.

I had a reaction to henna, the proper stuff, not the dangerous black henna.
So yes, I would be very concerned that they didn't ask permission. I'd be slightly concerned too that they couldn't say no to a child, that's part of their job!

I wouldn’t give a flying feck.

How do people have the space in their lives to get worked up about nonsense like this?

@StreetwiseHercules usually when something like this has the potential of putting your child in the hospital. HTH.

I am surprised that you weren't asked permission, given you need to give it for facepaints etc. Sounds as though one staff member has gone rogue and probably against the nursery's own policies.

I don't think it would be over the top to speak to them and also clarify what was actually used.