I think I would intervene if I felt it safe for all to do so.
I just wanted to make a point about SS. Many people have the misconception that reporting someone to SS will automatically result in the child be removed from the family. This is always the very last option. I work in A&E and make many referrals to SS....even for minor things like a child accidentally falling down the stairs if no stairgate/stairgate left open. Often the first response is information gathering so the GP/ HV will be contacted to see if they have any concerns. The family themselves may not be contacted/visited initially. Often a lot of my referrals result in the HV going around and just doing a check on the home environment and a little safety education. The referrals are always anonymous (although a little bit obvious who's referred in my situation!)
I would urge anyone who has any concerns on the welfare of a child to contact SS. Sometimes the child may have recently moved into the area and not yet have been picked up by the local SS team especially if they have moved county.
Of course if you see something in the street you dont know their name etc but if it's a neighbour just giving the address and rough age of the child will be enough for SS to work on.
Lots of people can have minor concerns about a child but if no one says anything the bigger problem that is going on behind closed door goes unnoticed...think Baby P.
The other thing to note is that if there is domestic violence between the parents there is a high possibility of the child being involved either accidental (e.g.child being held by mother when she is hit) or more deliberate.
Sorry I know this is a long post but I just want to give people the confidence to intervene via SS where possible. Unfortunately SS dont have cameras in every house and largely rely on other people to alert them to a problem.
If its a neighbour and you really dont feel comfortable phoning SS then maybe thnk about contacting your HV and they can follow it up.
I've been reading this thread and trying to form an answer in my brain, with so little of it it's difficult!
katstar - you've hit the nail on the head - it's a safety issue for me. Whether or not I would directly intervene depends on a lot of factors. If I had my baby with me and the parent in question was being violent or aggressive, or there was any chance he might be hurt, I would think twice. Probably more than twice actually. That doesn't mean I wouldn't do anything at all, but it'd be calling the police or getting some help. I've had to get security in Debenhams before now on behalf of a girl who's boyfriend/husband/etc. had punched her and kicked her when she was on the floor. Wading in myself wasn't really an option, it happened so fast and he was pegging it out the door before anyone could do anything anyway. Of course I went over to help the girl, no one else did in that situation either. It's funny how that happens, isn't it? Luckily I have no experience of having to choose what to do in a situation involving a baby or young child.
I think in the case of the sunburnt baby, I'd do what Rosapenny and Wanna-bump said and offer some suncream, or some help in moving into the shade. Without actually being there, it's hard to say. Personally, I have no idea how on earth you could allow your child to become that sunburnt, it must've been so obvious, so it's hard to speculate as to what sort of person she is, ie. would she reply by effin and jeffin and getting violent because you'd questioned her parenting skills/interrupted her sunbathing or would she be genuinely ignorant of the danger and grateful for the help?
As a teacher, we hear about the process of recording evidence and noticing odd things in children's behaviour all the time and we're sort of in hyper-vigilant mode after cases such as Victoria Climbie and so the safety of a child - any child - is vitally important. The trouble is, the line between keeping a child safe and just differing parenting styles is very blurry. Waving a fag in a baby's face? Personally, I know that's not safe. Every time I see a mother pushing a pushchair smoking a cigarette it bothers me. I have an acquaintance who takes her two littlies, both under 3, outside with her when she has a cigarette at the pub. I wouldn't say anything, because it's not unsafe enough, which just sounds awful. THe amount of children I've taught who literally reek of stale cigarette smoke is shocking. But that isn't something that's any of my business. It's direct unsafe actions, like hitting or allowing a child to do something very, very dangerous (like be cooked in the sun, for instance) that would cause me to intervene. At least, I hope I would. x x x
I wish I had intervened with some things I have seen in work. I used to (well, it's my last week now - yay!) work in mcdonald's drive thru and the amount of children I saw NOT in car seats , with no car seats in the car (most of them under 3, and many under 1) was sickening...half of them arent even strapped in with a lap belt, just sitting on the parents laps or crawling around the car. But the worst thing I saw was a toddler (about 2) in the car with 2 women (in their 30s?). The woman in the passenger seat was drinking a can of fosters (It was only mid afternoon ffs!!!) and the car stank of weed smoke. I wish I'd got the reg and called police. ( x
Replies
I just wanted to make a point about SS. Many people have the misconception that reporting someone to SS will automatically result in the child be removed from the family. This is always the very last option. I work in A&E and make many referrals to SS....even for minor things like a child accidentally falling down the stairs if no stairgate/stairgate left open. Often the first response is information gathering so the GP/ HV will be contacted to see if they have any concerns. The family themselves may not be contacted/visited initially. Often a lot of my referrals result in the HV going around and just doing a check on the home environment and a little safety education. The referrals are always anonymous (although a little bit obvious who's referred in my situation!)
I would urge anyone who has any concerns on the welfare of a child to contact SS. Sometimes the child may have recently moved into the area and not yet have been picked up by the local SS team especially if they have moved county.
Of course if you see something in the street you dont know their name etc but if it's a neighbour just giving the address and rough age of the child will be enough for SS to work on.
Lots of people can have minor concerns about a child but if no one says anything the bigger problem that is going on behind closed door goes unnoticed...think Baby P.
The other thing to note is that if there is domestic violence between the parents there is a high possibility of the child being involved either accidental (e.g.child being held by mother when she is hit) or more deliberate.
Sorry I know this is a long post but I just want to give people the confidence to intervene via SS where possible. Unfortunately SS dont have cameras in every house and largely rely on other people to alert them to a problem.
If its a neighbour and you really dont feel comfortable phoning SS then maybe thnk about contacting your HV and they can follow it up.
Hope this helps x
katstar - you've hit the nail on the head - it's a safety issue for me. Whether or not I would directly intervene depends on a lot of factors. If I had my baby with me and the parent in question was being violent or aggressive, or there was any chance he might be hurt, I would think twice. Probably more than twice actually. That doesn't mean I wouldn't do anything at all, but it'd be calling the police or getting some help. I've had to get security in Debenhams before now on behalf of a girl who's boyfriend/husband/etc. had punched her and kicked her when she was on the floor. Wading in myself wasn't really an option, it happened so fast and he was pegging it out the door before anyone could do anything anyway. Of course I went over to help the girl, no one else did in that situation either. It's funny how that happens, isn't it? Luckily I have no experience of having to choose what to do in a situation involving a baby or young child.
I think in the case of the sunburnt baby, I'd do what Rosapenny and Wanna-bump said and offer some suncream, or some help in moving into the shade. Without actually being there, it's hard to say. Personally, I have no idea how on earth you could allow your child to become that sunburnt, it must've been so obvious, so it's hard to speculate as to what sort of person she is, ie. would she reply by effin and jeffin and getting violent because you'd questioned her parenting skills/interrupted her sunbathing or would she be genuinely ignorant of the danger and grateful for the help?
As a teacher, we hear about the process of recording evidence and noticing odd things in children's behaviour all the time and we're sort of in hyper-vigilant mode after cases such as Victoria Climbie and so the safety of a child - any child - is vitally important. The trouble is, the line between keeping a child safe and just differing parenting styles is very blurry. Waving a fag in a baby's face? Personally, I know that's not safe. Every time I see a mother pushing a pushchair smoking a cigarette it bothers me. I have an acquaintance who takes her two littlies, both under 3, outside with her when she has a cigarette at the pub. I wouldn't say anything, because it's not unsafe enough, which just sounds awful. THe amount of children I've taught who literally reek of stale cigarette smoke is shocking. But that isn't something that's any of my business. It's direct unsafe actions, like hitting or allowing a child to do something very, very dangerous (like be cooked in the sun, for instance) that would cause me to intervene. At least, I hope I would. x x x