to be shocked that it was the Police not the mum who spotted the sunburnt baby was in danger?

[Sonilaa]

bbc story here

poor baby, I hope he recovers well!

They were just talking about this on the news, and whether people feel they could intervene if they saw something like this...I honstly don't know if I would...

A horrific story, YANBU.
It clearly doesn't occur to some people just how serious sunburn is, especially in children. She has already put her LO at increased risk of skin cancer
Lets hope she has learned a lesson from this- sure it has made a few others think too.

That's just awful isn't it?
I too don't know what I'd do if I saw it

Perhaps telling the life guards is an option in a situation like this? I would imagine the child was very dehydrated and crying and in some distress. And lots of pain. Perhaps someone did call the police and that's how they arrived.

As for the mum it's neglect, simple as that.

According to the news report just on it's more likely the baby woulld sleep than cry. Maybe that's why the mum was unconcerned.

But if you're going to take a baby to the beach, at least take a parasol or one of those pop up sun tents, make sure he/she is shaded the WHOLE time, and that they have plenty of cream on. Surely it's common sense?!

this is one of the comments from the newspaper article if true people knew and did nothing as usual, everyone is to frightened to interfere nowadays.

'I was on the beach when this happened. At first, I just saw her carrying the child whilst having a walk on the beach only in a blanket, not even covering him. I do not have kids, but when she walked passed me, I thought she has to be going to the tent next to us (some other young mum's were sharing a tent for shade)... NO! 4 hours later, everyone was cheering as the community police came on to the beach to take her and the child away. People honestly cheering (maybe not all of them knew why), but the people nearby certainly knew why they cheered. Someone must have told the police as you could not spot them in that crowd.
There is no one in this society and this generation who do not know about the effects of sun damage, smoking, unhealthy eating habits etc!'

its crazy, to get burns and blistering skin is just dreadful, how could she not see what others could?

stupid woman. v v v stupid woman, and whoever was with her aswell.

it is common sense, and she clearly doesnt have any.

i hope the baby is doing well and makes a full recovery.

i hope SS get involved, if she can be this dumb, then i wonder what else she is doing that is equally as stupid.

We spent the day on the beach when ds2 was about 6 months. He did not come out of the tent for longer than 20 mins at a time.

It's not rocket science is it?
So sad, really hope he's going to be ok

I got seriously sunburnt as a child and on one occasion had huge blisters down my arms. Needless to say I had skin cancer at 23.

My mother was crap to be honest and the dangers of the sun were not highlighted back in the seventies.

Any mother who lets their child get sunburnt these days is negligent and a baby FGS should never be in the sun.

stupid woman. dd4 wasnt allowed out in the garden on sunday until late afternoon (garden gets no shade till around 4pm), and even then had suncream on and a hat.

What a horrible thing to happen.

Mine always have t-shirts, hats and suncream on and areb't allowed in the direct sun for very long at all.

Alot of people think I'm OTT when i get the hats out and shout the kids every couple of hours for cream but i'd rather be seen as over protective than have a burnt child!

Poor baby, I hope he recovers.

DH told me about this earlier on this morning and my first thought was that the mum may have some sort of SN, because who wouldn't keep their child in the shade with factor 50 on, on a very sunny, hot day. Although it is not just the mothers job what about the father, wonder if he was there?

We were in the garden over the weekend and both DD1&2 were lathered in factor 50 every half an hour or so. The DD's were in the paddling pool with a shade over it and sun hats on with long t shirts and leggings. I am so anal about sun protection.

I used to see sunburned children (never babies, that's a new low) on the beach from time to time when living in Australia. I had a "good samaritan" attitude for a while and would politely enquire with the parents as to whether they had noticed the kid's sunburn and would they consider leaving the beach or covering up.

Normally I would get a strongly worded or even threatening rebuke, in an English accent. I learned to stop interfering after a few of these incidents.

It appeared to me at the time that amongst a certain section of UK society, it was considered the done thing to begin your holiday with a sunburn, so as to hasten the tanning process. Subsequent visits to the Canaries and Balearics have confirmed my observations.

This incident in Brighton takes the biscuit. Hope they throw the book at the parents.

Qas the father there too? Is it just the mothers fault?

I was in Brighton on the day this happened - DS (six months) was smothered in suncream every two hours, had a sun hat on and a sun shield up on the buggy. He was kept in the shade when possible, and when not (we were out with friends ) was only out of the buggy for 10 minutes max. at a time.

Didn't it say on the news (I think) that she'd put sun cream on the child first thing in the morning and didn't think it would need reapplying? Its pure stupidity, I'm actually quite irrationally angry about it. I hope that poor baby is okay.

As to the original question - I think the parents should be greatful that the PCSOs did notice and did something about it. Don't want to think about the possibilities if they hand't

I think its they are going to be talking about it soon on Radio 5.

I really don't know what I would have done if I'd been there on Sunday, I would definitely have told a lifeguard/policeman if there's been one around but it would have been very difficult to get the right way to mention it to the mother/parents without coming across as judgey/nosey whatever.

With hindsight I'm sure everyone there wishes they'd done more. Well done to the PCSOs, lets hope the baby recovers fully, I heard on the news that he's left hospital, it didn't say if he was back with the mother.

29 has this woman got no brains????

I would not let her have a plant let alone a child.
Yes I know accidents happen, DS2 (who was 8 at the time) got burnt last summer despite having factor 50 sun block on and it being re- applied and us only being on the beach 3 hours, at 8 it is hard to keep them in the shade all the time when he wants to go body boarding and so on,

But a small baby on a beach all day with no real shade I hope SS get involved, I think she should be charged with neglect

i can't believe people knew about it for 4 hours and did nothing until the PCSOs arrived, though.

it sounds like it wasn't just people coming and going and not knowing how long the child had been in the sun for- otherwise why the cheering?

it's complicity, isn't it? allowing a crime to be done.

why could somebody not stand in such a way that they were shading the baby? (in such a way that it wouldn't hinder the mum's sun, or she might have been vocal) if she did make a comment, then they could say "the baby's getting a bit burnt and i notice you don't have any extra shade with you".

why do people worry so much about saying something? you're never going to bump into the woman again, are you?

A similar thing happened in Norway a few years ago, only worse. A woman spent the day on the beach with her baby, left the beach, went to a bar, got drunk, still holding her 6 month old sunburnt baby, the baby still in the same nappy as earlier on in the day. The baby was taken into care. A good call I think. There is no excuse for having such bad judgment and such lacking parenting skills in 2010.

I would have said something. I would have assumed she didn't realise how dangerous it was.
I am pathalogically helpful though and always have things like spare calpol, plasters, water and little tubes of sunblock....

ultimately though people don't like confrontation. And while many of us state that "oh I would have said x/y," in reality, most probably wouldn't.

Just look at threads on here from people talking about others having a go at them over the way they have spoken to/treated their children, and we never get the whole story I'm sure, and the responses of "yanbu people should mind their own business."

The woman is an idiot and should be charged with neglect

a very sad story. poor baby. is there actually a sun cream available for babies under 3 months though? i have a 99% uv protecting shade for soon-to-be-born but cannot find a cream for newborns. i was worried about sun protection before this case but now i am probably going to be totally paranoid and as i have other dcs staying indoors all time will not be an option!

i'm assuming and hoping for the sake of the child, from he quote about the 'chearing' people may have said something but it was ignored.

Thankgoodness someone got the police involved.

There is a whole world of diffrence between a baby being slightly red and 40% burns from being out in the sun all day. The bottle of sun cream even says to re-apply every couple of hours or more.
Stupid woman, i really hope ss get involved and educate this silly woman