What would you do if you were caring for a child who came to nursery with round burn marks?

Question

What would you do if you were caring for a child who came to nursery with round burn marks?

Answer 1

Burns that cannot be explained are very suspicious: in particular,

cigarette burns, which have a typical circular appearance, and iron

burns, which appear triangular or linear. if a child trusts you enough to tell you that s/he is being abused in some way, however unlikely you may think it

is, it is very important to take seriously what the child says. Make a written note of what the child actually said straight away. If a child tells you something that has happened to them, give them time to talk, and listen to what they say. Never give a promise that you can't keep, or say you will keep information a secret. Offer reassurances to the child, let them know that you will help them.

Often, when a child has told a trusted adult something of their story, they may attach to that person and be very anxious. Reassure them that you are not going to forget them and leave them alone with their problem. When you make notes for monitoring purposes, always include the date,

what you noticed or heard a child say, and sign it in a legible manner.

Write clear factual observations, not opinions. It is important to make notes immediately, or as soon as possible, following the observation or

disclosure. If a child discloses abuse in a clear way, or you have other reasons to believe from their presentation that a recent and serious

abuse has occurred, you may have concerns as to whether the child should return home that day. In this situation, you must inform the directress

immediately, and also inform the Social Services Department and, if necessary, the police child protection team, to ensure that an immediate

investigation is done. Hope this information will be useful to you

Answer 2

You must treat this with extreme caution in the best interest of the child. Your job as a childcare worker is to monitor the child's over all wellbeing, look for changes in behavior or anything that might be considered unusual. Keeping WRITTEN records of "suspected" abuse. You should have a Protection Policy and guidelines for staff and parents alike. If you don't then discuss the issue with your supervisor or employer before proceeding. Regardless, you must follow the law, suspected child abuse is just that "suspected". Seek professional advice from child services asap. It is very distressing to watch but you cannot do this alone!

Answer 3

Is it ringworm?  Is the child old enough to be asked what happened?  Take pictures of the wounds and document what you have seen.  When the parents come to pick up, ask them what happened.  She is they have a shady answer or something that seems to make sense.  When the kids I care for get hurt, their parents almost always show me as soon as they get to my house and say, tell her what happened.  Make sure you ask the child if they are even close enough to be able to tell you.  Then you can compare what they said with what the parent says.  Here is a link to a picture of ringworm http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/...

Answer 4

IMMEDIATELY report it to Child Protective Services!!!! You are a mandated reporter (meaning you are obligated, BY LAW, to inform CPS as soon as abuse is even suspected; it is a crime not to). It will not be told to the parents who turned them in.

I would not confront the parents; that will send up a red flag and they may not bring the child back to nursery, and thus be lost to follow-up.

It's better to be safe than sorry in a case like this.

Answer 5

Seems like most have responded as I would.  We had a child come in with cigarette burns.  I recommend taking a picture of it.  It came in handy with us since the child left before Child's Protective Services came to investigate with us before discussing the situation with the parent.

Answer 6

document document document

as a child care worker, you are a mandated reporter of any suspected child abuse - you are not required to KNOW something is going on -just have a suspicion. Report it now to your local welfare office.  Good luck to you and the child.

Answer 7

report it to my boss. if you are the boss, then report it to child services/police. you have to be a voice for the child. good luck

Answer 8

try to get the information from child if he can speak.

causally ask his/her parents about the marks.

report ot the local group abt the same.

try to observe the bahvoir of the kid...

Answer 9

Are they definitely burn marks? How does the child seem? Happy, withdrawn? What do you think of the parents - do they seem caring? This is a very difficult thing to make a judgment on but the child comes first. If you really have concerns, contact the authorities and have a confidential talk with them. At least then you've made them aware that you are worried about the child.

Answer 10

Ask the child about it, if she/he is old enough to talk. If the child isn't confront the parent's about it or call child services.

Answer 11

I would call child protection services and show them the suspected burn marks.  If someone is burning a child, it needs to be stopped now.  I would also notify the local police department.  Take pictures of the child and the burns.