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Original poster

Boy taken from mother after she hits him with hairbrush

29 replies

SuziSeis · 11/04/2009 22:43

story here

If this is the full story i think it is terrible...

two hours a week she sees him for now...

She HAS done wrong dont get me wrong - but two hours a week?

thoughts?

OP posts:
tigermoth · 11/04/2009 22:56

It can't be the full story. I read about this earlier and it raised lots of questions in my mind.

Original poster
SuziSeis · 11/04/2009 22:59

the headline suggests it is but..i have to agreee Tigermoth

OP posts:
Tigerbear · 11/04/2009 23:02

Very sad indeed. Agree with OP, she has done wrong, but - without wanting to get into the whole smacking issue- my Mum smacked my brother and I a couple of times when we were very young and it did hurt a bit, but would have been very ed if either of us had been taken into care for what she had done!

edam · 11/04/2009 23:05

I've seen this reported in a couple of different papers and it does sound like a complete over-reaction. Except that in one it said the child was in pain when he spoke to the teacher, suggesting she'd really walloped him.

IF it was just a one-off, regrettable cuff with the hairbrush in a stressful situation, and she apologised and doesn't normally hit her children with implements, then I'd worry about what message it sends to the kids - when this boy's a teenager and wants to stay out all night will he say 'you can't stop me, I'll call SS'?

Or could the son understand the removal from his home as a punishment for him - OMG, I'd better not tell anyone if this happens again, I might get taken away and never see my mother again?

Original poster
SuziSeis · 11/04/2009 23:13

yes ....

i agree with you Edam about the messages it sends out

I did wonder if there were bruises or something not mentioned but seems tragic

( coming from the perspective of one who has been on receiving end of many a brush)

OP posts:
Sidge · 11/04/2009 23:17

I think there must be more to this than has been reported.

I can only guess that he suffered injuries or disclosed treatment by his mum that the police decided warranted emergency police protection, which would then lead to emergency foster care.

However it's all speculation as we don't know the full story.

hester · 11/04/2009 23:23

The report I read said that while the hairbrush incident was a one-off, the family were already involved with social services and this was the culmination of a much longer story.

I have no idea whether the action taken was justified or not, and of course we will never have sufficient information to judge that.

edam · 11/04/2009 23:26

Oh, OK, that makes more sense. Would have been very scary if SS were waiting to pounce on any parent who lost it while trying to get everyone out of the ruddy house on time in the morning. (Not that I have any intention of hitting ds much less using a hairbrush.)

Original poster
SuziSeis · 11/04/2009 23:33

lol edam but yes i am pretty sure there is more to it

sensationalist journalism

OP posts:
solidgoldshaggingbunnies · 11/04/2009 23:47

Even the bare story in the Telegraph suggests that there were already serious issues with the family/mother's mental health.

Original poster
SuziSeis · 11/04/2009 23:49

cant find it in the telegraph

keep unwittingly finding my way back to 'woman rubs chilli peppers in her eyes' article

OP posts:
MollieO · 11/04/2009 23:54

There is a comment in the report

"He said he was not scared of his mum, although she was really stressed out and thought she needed help as she wanted him to be perfect."

Sounds like there is more to this story than has been reported, at least in this paper.

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 12/04/2009 11:58

These stories are never as simple as they are reported - you will never hear the truth/other side as the authorities are bound by confidentiality.

Trust me though, SS don't remove children for one off incidents.

deja vu anyone?

Original poster
SuziSeis · 12/04/2009 20:53

what is the deja vu bit Kat?

OP posts:
ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 12/04/2009 21:14

several threads on here recently about social services taking kids away for spurious reasons that got quite heated!

Original poster
SuziSeis · 12/04/2009 21:23

i just do not mumsnet enough these days

real life grrr it really gets in the way

OP posts:
Stuffed · 12/04/2009 21:38

This can't be the whole story. It doesn't say what state the house was in, ect when SS turned up.

Original poster
SuziSeis · 12/04/2009 21:39

would that matter stuffed ( liking the name! )

OP posts:
Stuffed · 12/04/2009 21:59

I don't mean the house jsut being in a mess - I mean, reading between the lines, it sounds as if the mum wasn't copng all round, even though she was trying hard. The boy has had a bath and she wanted his to look perfect for school. Somthing seems odd about that. I'm now resigned to DS1 not brushing his manky hair most mornings.

But maybe I'm just grufty.

Original poster
SuziSeis · 12/04/2009 22:19

i see

grufty is good too

OP posts:
nametaken · 13/04/2009 12:05

I doubt very much whether the smack with the hairbrush was an isolated incident.

Stuffed · 13/04/2009 14:09

My Grandmother hit my father with a hair brush once. She was otherwise a very, very gentle person. The hairbrush incident was still talked about whe my father was in his 60's and my grandmother was in her 80's.

There must be more to this.

tengreenbottles · 13/04/2009 18:25

the article in the telegraph ,suggests that the mother has been 'ill' for two years and that this was a one off occurence but that she was really struggling to cope . the social services spokesman said they were working closely with the mother to get her son back home .

AbleSister · 13/04/2009 18:27

yes think there is dEFFO more to the story..

teh " looking perfect" thing is odd

Northernlurker · 13/04/2009 18:28

Stuffed - we still talk about the time my grandma smacked my sister - for persistent refusal to put on brown polyester trousers! It was the one and only time she ever smacked any of us.

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