to judge: toddler at A&E with severe sunburn

[BigMomma3]

no more than 2 years old, huge bubble blister on shoulder, lobster skin on chest, shoulders, arms, hands and face going all weepy and scabby and . Mother in swimsuit with shorts on top obviously been sunbathing all day with little regard to the toddler.

Had to take DS2 to A&E tonight with a sprained ankle after trampolining (he is fine and is banned from the trampoline for a week) and saw toddler as above. He seemed quite happy but I dread to think of the agony he will probably be in when the painkillers have worn off . I felt quite sorry for the mother as everyone was tutting and the nurse was very off with her. Later her partner/husband came in demanding that his 'kid' be seen immediately (he had already been seen by the nurse and did not seem to be in discomfort) as he could'nt wait around all night. Was tempted to say that his 'kid' should not have left to roast all day in the sun then . I am assuming they did not wait to see the doctor as within a few minutes I saw them outside in the carpark, man & woman shouting and swearing at each other in front of the boy and then the woman running off up the road on her own and it looked like her hair had been pulled because it was hanging out of her clip. AIBU to hope the hospital informed SS?

yes accidents happens. But some 'accidents' are entirely preventable.

I repeat, if the parents took the child out of the hospital BEFORE the child received medical attention, then I think that is a case for SS.

BigMomma3, trampolining can be really dangerous.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1018174/My-broken-neck-proves-danger-garden-trampolines.html

They should be used in supervised gyms with an instructor who knows what they are doing. Equipment also needs regular safety checks. Children should also be supervised by a qualifed coach who can make sure that they learn moves safely.

How was this an accident? Accidents are things that happen suddenly, which might have been preventable but certainly not something that happens over a period of time. Babies don't get burnt like that in 20 minutes in the sun - that was a good hour or more. What kind of person 'forgets' that babies shouldn't be out in the sun without protection?
I know people can make mistakes but FFS, I would be judging too, YANBU.

I may have judged a little at the mans behaviour but would have sympathised with the situation, i slather myslef, hourly in factor 50 sun block and even half an hour in the sun gives my severe burns and sun strok, even with a hat and plenty of hot drinks.

I was in hospital many a time with sun stroke and severe burns, my mum was always trying different methods of protecting me but still allowing me to play in the sun with my friends but nothing worked she was a great mother, i am an adult now and have to stay indoors with the curtains drawn or i burn! The fact is this lady obviously realised and got medical help for her son im sure she will be more aware next time.

You don't even know if she WAS the mother.

You don't know if she was with the child when he got burnt.

You don't know how he got burnt at all.

In fact, you don't know anything whatsoever about this family.

Therefore, YAB entirely U.

there is no reason for a child to get so sun burnt that they blister and scab

you can see a child going red/getting burnt - i have seen many at the local park etc, and i offer my cream to them and often get refused and told to mind my own business

though one lady was grateful and said thanks and applied

the op assumes that the lady was the one looking after the child,esp if she was a bit red her self

whoever did look after that child is to blame for the poor child being burnt

A&E staff have more to do and have seen worse than judge about trampolines. It is, after all, you and your child who have to live with the consequences.

It sounds like this child had very significant burns and should probably waited to see the doctor. The risks of scarring, inappropriate treatment at home, pain, infection and long term risks to skin are not insignificant.

Small children are much better kept covered up rather than relying on suncream alone. Suncream plus a light coloured outfit is the best option as light colours reflect the light too. Only dogs and Englishmen.....

It's true that it is good that she took him to A&E and if I had been the doctor (I once was) I would have considered referral to SS and to the HV at the very least, with follow-up in a hospital clinic. The argument outside suggests a poor relationship between the parents, and perhaps poor parenting skills (particularly as the child was taken out of the A&E department) and although not a cause for concern in isolation may well be an indicator of other difficulties in the family which could be picked up and dealt with in a more appropriate situation (ie at home).

So, no, YANBU.

We've just come back from a holiday where my 4 yr old got sunstroke. He was wearing factor 50, had a hat on and wasn't out in the midday heat. If he wasn't mixed race, I think he would have burned badly, too . It was very scary - had to rush to A&E in a foreign country at midnight because his temp was so scarily high.

We did everything we thought was right, but even an hour in the late afternoon sun was too much for him. I felt terrible.

Would you have called SS on me if you had caught a snatched glimpse of the situation in a hospital waiting room?

or maybe as someone else said.. maybe the child didnt get burned in her care ...he maybe came back from childcare arrangements and sensible mother took him to a&e

Now see bigmomma ..this is why you shouldnt judge ... without your clarification I had an image of your dd falling off an unprotected trampoline ...

I dont know if anyone remembers the tv advert for a newpaper a good few years back...i think it was for the guardian

showed a clip of a man running .. then it stopped. They re- ran it this time showed him pushing an oap.. then it stopped. Then they re-ran it and it showed the man was pushing the old man out the way of a pile of falling bricks.

The tag line on this advert its apt for this kinda situation... see the whole picture!

He who is without sin, cast the first stone...... YABU

No-one is perfect.

OK, there's a mix of people here saying YANBU and YABU for judging, but frankly - what's the point?

You made some assumptions and judged, but surely all that's achieved is to make you feel better about your own parenting. Doesn't help the toddler, doesn't help the parents, and by the way this thread has gone, doesn't seem like anyone here hasn't already recognised the dangers of too much sun on young skin.

So what's the point of judging? Are you going to change your own behaviour as a result of seeing this? Is anyone going to change their behaviour as a result of reading this thread? Will you intervene if you see a similar situation in the future? Or just pull your net curtains back together?

tch.

certain skin in certain conditions can and will burn to blisters in under 30 mins.

the day ds1 got badly burned wasn't very sunny, it was the end of april fgs! i think the residual chlorine on his skin from swimming combined with the stiff breeze aggravated the situation.

he wasn't even red when we got home, slightly flushed but like i said, there was a stiff breeze so that was unsurprising... a while later he started to go red and i applyed aloe vera and ice but even so after a few hours blisters started appearing.

sunburn is not instantaneous, you rarely see/feel it happening til much later, usually that evening and by then it's too late.

and OP... 1/5 kids injured on a trampoline who go to a&e have to be admitted to hospital. over 50% of a&e trampoline injuries are fractures. 10% are head and neck injuries.

if you feel the need to judge, start with your own negligance

The point about judging is that it will identify what is right and wrong, change standards and hopefully improve the behaviour of us all for the better.

How that works in practise I don't know

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MissSunny it was June and it was overcast! Sunbrun does not appear instantaneously - it often takes a few hours to appear.

Some cases are not as medically straightforward as others. Her DS now has to wear UV suits with factor 50 underneath all summer. It may be necessary to understand the range of medical conditions that can cause this to happen before judging.

Good post frasersmummy

'Judgey pants off and mind your own business'

I'm glad not everyone thinks like that. Like the taxi driver who took Victoria Climbie to hspital. he made a judgment. he was one of the few to make the right judgment and to act on it.

If you are not prepared to judge, you are not prepared to act. And sometimes children need someone to act for them when their parents can't or won't.

It's sunburn, not broken bones, starvation and emotional neglect. It was an ACCIDENT. If it had been deliberate cruelty, they wouldn't have taken him to casualty.

you see a very young child in A & E with horrific sunburn
parents who can't be bothered to wait for treatment
.... and you wouldn't judge ??
You wouldn't have gone home and said to your partner, friends
you won't believe what I saw in a & e
You're all too darn perfect for my world then!
I think most people would have judged but for some strange reason don't like to admit it.

I hate seeing little ones out in the middle of a sunny day with short sleeves/ no hat.

I never say anything but i really want to just exactly because you don't always realise till too late. I'm chicken though.

duchesse... I'm sorry but you are very very wrong. Abused children are very often taken to casualty by the abuser. It happens often.

barnsleybelle- that is very probably true, but Victoria Climbie certainly wasn't, neither was that little 7 yr old who died from starvation last year, nor that little 3 yr old who died from pneumonia and malnutrition. But again, sunburn is at worst neglect, if it happens again and again, rather than abuse. There was nothing in this case to indicate that the child was being brought in repeatedly, and therefore no need in my mind for people to be screeching for social services to be alerted.

I am quite certain that the couple's health visitor will be informed about the incident and will be able to provide the appropriate advice about covering up etc.

Also, some prescription drugs make people more susceptible to sunburn. It may be that this child was taking something that increased his sensitivity.

As someone else said further down, there are plenty of properly abused children in this country occupying social services' time without clogging up their in-trays with one-off oversights.