Have You Guy Seen This? Sunburn At Daycare - Just Horrible

[Play Care]

ds was at a reputable dc center last year. I've pulled my kids out of programs for far less than this and in some instances, I paid a hefty fee. I can't understand keeping your child somewhere that you didn't feel 100% comfortable.

Edited to add- I also would never knowingly let this happen to a child in my care!

I've never had a child in my care get a sunburn. Ever.
I wonder how long they were at the splash pad. We did sprinklers today, but for about a half and hour. And now during the most intense part of the day, we are inside.

[BumbleBee]

Something is fishy about this story. NONE of the other kids were burned according to the article.

Idk, something just isn't adding up here. I'll be following this story for sure but something is off.

I feel badly for the kids, those are awful sunburns to have. I know mom claims it happened at daycare BUT there's no proof or really way to prove that.

Given that no other children had any sunburn at all according to the article, it's possible they got sunburned while with a negligent family member or even mom and mom's trying to pin it on the daycare.

Whomever the children were with when they got those severe sunburns was being negligent, plain and simple. The question is who were they with.

[midaycare]

All I can say is, those pictures are horrific.

I'm not one to make a fuss, but if those were my children, I would make the biggest fuss ever made.

That is, assuming this all happened at the daycare.

[Thriftylady]

There is no doubt this never should have happened. I got burns like that at a water park in my teens with my church youth group. MY fault totally, but it is torture.

On the other side if mom really had things she was worried about such as kids not being given drinks, she should have already pulled the kids. That is the part that always amazes me.

[CraftyMom]

That is terrible! I would be furious! The mom should have pulled them if she felt it was a neglectful environment. That being said, the daycare holds responsibility for these children when in their care and they are responsible for the burns on these kids. They would have noticed them starting to burn and they did nothing to stop further burning. If the boys wouldn't listen and keep their shirt on, they would not be able to stay. What I noticed, is that the boy's forearms, hands, upper neck areas, and faces didn't seem to be burned. It was mostly on the chest, backs, and shoulders. Makes me think that sunscreen was applied to the areas where their shirts don't cover, and when they took their shirts off, they exposed the skin that had no sunscreen. Many failures on everyone's part, imo. Mom for sending them someplace she didn't feel was safe, the daycare for obvious reasons, and even the boys to a certain extent. They are old enough to understand sunburn and I doubt it was the first time they have been burned, so they didn't listen and this is what happened. Again, the daycare staff should have enforced their own rules, so they are ultimately responsible, even if the mom should have known better than to keep sending them there.

Just to add, my son went to a preschool for 3 days before I pulled him. I would pick up in the heat of the afternoon (95+ degrees out) and they would be outside with no shade and no water. The kids were just standing around because everything was too hot to play with anyway and they were hot. No sunscreen and when I would get him in the car, he would have a headache and say he really doesn't like going outside after lunch, just before, in the morning when it is not so hot. I asked his teacher if he could stay inside with another class and she laughed at me and said "as long as it is nice, we go outside!" I told her that 95 degrees with no breeze or shade is not safe and since they did nothing, I said he would not be back. It is my job to protect my child (he is very sensitive to heat exhaustion), and when the school did nothing to help me with that, it was my job to get him out of there.

I noticed the bolded part above also. Seems like mostly their backs and shoulders to me, the chest a little but not much. Were they laying down? Weird. It seems like their faces would be burnt also. Did they take nap outside maybe? These are the types of burns you see on people that fell asleep in the sun

[Crystal]

I noticed the bolded part above also. Seems like mostly their backs and shoulders to me, the chest a little but not much. Were they laying down? Weird. It seems like their faces would be burnt also. Did they take nap outside maybe? These are the types of burns you see on people that fell asleep in the sun

I think that maybe sunblock was applied while they had their shirts on and was not applied to chest and back after being removed.

I honestly feel that the daycare bears the blunt of the responsibility in this and I am shocked at all the judgement being passed on the Mother. How do we know that the Mom had not addressed her concerns with the daycare and been told that her children were mistaken, that they had indeed been given fluids and she then chose to believe the adults? How do we know that the mother didn't excuse the occasional rude or innapropriate remark she overheard as perhaps the provider was having a bad day and this wasn't her usual behavior. Sure, in hindsight, Mom now sees those things as alarming, but it seems to me that she was likely giving the providers' the benefit of the doubt. Who knows if Mom did or did not put sunblock on the children? Who knows if the staff had expressed that the children would be out in the heat all day or if Mom was under the impression that adults who should KNOW better would use their best judgement and bring the children in when the weather reached too high of a temp? Perhaps Mom assumed that what are supposed to be competent adults would put sunblock on the children periodically. Perhaps Mom assumed that any competent adult would KNOW that a fair skinned child would be highly susceptible to burning severely. Perhaps Mom assumed that a competent provider could handle making a child comply with keeping their shirt on.

Regardless, these children were in the care of the daycare providers and THEY should have properly cared for the children. And, if Mom was irresponsible and didn't bring sunscreen and they did not have any to provide for the children, they should have refused care. As NannyDe says, parents can't give you permission to do the wrong thing.

[Thriftylady]

I think that maybe sunblock was applied while they had their shirts on and was not applied to chest and back after being removed.

I honestly feel that the daycare bears the blunt of the responsibility in this and I am shocked at all the judgement being passed on the Mother. How do we know that the Mom had not addressed her concerns with the daycare and been told that her children were mistaken, that they had indeed been given fluids and she then chose to believe the adults? How do we know that the mother didn't excuse the occasional rude or innapropriate remark she overheard as perhaps the provider was having a bad day and this wasn't her usual behavior. Sure, in hindsight, Mom now sees those things as alarming, but it seems to me that she was likely giving the providers' the benefit of the doubt. Who knows if Mom did or did not put sunblock on the children? Who knows if the staff had expressed that the children would be out in the heat all day or if Mom was under the impression that adults who should KNOW better would use their best judgement and bring the children in when the weather reached too high of a temp? Perhaps Mom assumed that what are supposed to be competent adults would put sunblock on the children periodically. Perhaps Mom assumed that any competent adult would KNOW that a fair skinned child would be highly susceptible to burning severely. Perhaps Mom assumed that a competent provider could handle making a child comply with keeping their shirt on.

Regardless, these children were in the care of the daycare providers and THEY should have properly cared for the children. And, if Mom was irresponsible and didn't bring sunscreen and they did not have any to provide for the children, they should have refused care. As NannyDe says, parents can't give you permission to do the wrong thing.

I don't blame the mother for the sunburn, that is clearly on the daycare. The sunburns should not have happened, and even if the kids were told not to take shirts off, was nobody watching them all day? There are issues there.

I do blame the mother for saying there were issues, one as serious as children not being offered or given enough water to drink and coming home complaining about it and being super thirsty. Dehydration is SERIOUS, it can even be deadly. I do blame mom for not pulling the kids right then. If it wasn't serious enough to do something about that day, it wasn't serious enough to complain about now.

[Crystal]

I don't blame the mother for the sunburn, that is clearly on the daycare. The sunburns should not have happened, and even if the kids were told not to take shirts off, was nobody watching them all day? There are issues there.

I do blame the mother for saying there were issues, one as serious as children not being offered or given enough water to drink and coming home complaining about it and being super thirsty. Dehydration is SERIOUS, it can even be deadly. I do blame mom for not pulling the kids right then. If it wasn't serious enough to do something about that day, it wasn't serious enough to complain about now.

I understand what you are saying and agree. However, how do we know that the Mom did not address it with the provider and the provider assured her that was not the case and Mom gave the benefit of the doubt? Perhaps Mom brought it up in the media interview because in hindsight she may now believe that the provider was not being truthful based on this latest expereince. The Mom is clearly emotional with what has happened, and I imagine she is beating herself up over all of this. No need to pass the "bad mom" judgement on her.

[Thriftylady]

I understand what you are saying and agree. However, how do we know that the Mom did not address it with the provider and the provider assured her that was not the case and Mom gave the benefit of the doubt? Perhaps Mom brought it up in the media interview because in hindsight she may now believe that the provider was not being truthful based on this latest expereince. The Mom is clearly emotional with what has happened, and I imagine she is beating herself up over all of this. No need to pass the "bad mom" judgement on her.

She says in the interview she "thought about leaving". If you say it is bad enough to think about it and you don't do it, you have no right to say a word about it later. She was put on notice.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

I think that maybe sunblock was applied while they had their shirts on and was not applied to chest and back after being removed.

I honestly feel that the daycare bears the blunt of the responsibility in this and I am shocked at all the judgement being passed on the Mother. How do we know that the Mom had not addressed her concerns with the daycare and been told that her children were mistaken, that they had indeed been given fluids and she then chose to believe the adults? How do we know that the mother didn't excuse the occasional rude or innapropriate remark she overheard as perhaps the provider was having a bad day and this wasn't her usual behavior. Sure, in hindsight, Mom now sees those things as alarming, but it seems to me that she was likely giving the providers' the benefit of the doubt. Who knows if Mom did or did not put sunblock on the children? Who knows if the staff had expressed that the children would be out in the heat all day or if Mom was under the impression that adults who should KNOW better would use their best judgement and bring the children in when the weather reached too high of a temp? Perhaps Mom assumed that what are supposed to be competent adults would put sunblock on the children periodically. Perhaps Mom assumed that any competent adult would KNOW that a fair skinned child would be highly susceptible to burning severely. Perhaps Mom assumed that a competent provider could handle making a child comply with keeping their shirt on.

Regardless, these children were in the care of the daycare providers and THEY should have properly cared for the children. And, if Mom was irresponsible and didn't bring sunscreen and they did not have any to provide for the children, they should have refused care. As NannyDe says, parents can't give you permission to do the wrong thing.

I agree that if these burns happened at daycare, they are fully responsible. I just think it is odd that no other kids were sunburned. I also find it odd that the mom had issues with the daycare, knew they were going to the splash pad in that type of heat, and yet she decided to leave them there anyway. I am not meaning to excuse the daycare, but when it comes to my child, they are ultimately my responsibility. If I know an environment is not good for kids and yet I continue to send them there, then I hold responsibility for putting them in a bad situation. An extreme example would be knowingly having a pedophile babysit my kids. I know it is unsafe, yet I do it anyway because of cost or convenience. When my child is hurt, I would not be able to sit back and place sole blame on the pedophile, as I willingly put my child in harms way. Again, an extreme example, but this mom admits to warning signs and she chose to ignore them. Doesn't make the daycare less guilty, but it certainly does not absolve the mom of any guilt either.

[Play Care]

I think that maybe sunblock was applied while they had their shirts on and was not applied to chest and back after being removed.

I honestly feel that the daycare bears the blunt of the responsibility in this and I am shocked at all the judgement being passed on the Mother. How do we know that the Mom had not addressed her concerns with the daycare and been told that her children were mistaken, that they had indeed been given fluids and she then chose to believe the adults? How do we know that the mother didn't excuse the occasional rude or innapropriate remark she overheard as perhaps the provider was having a bad day and this wasn't her usual behavior. Sure, in hindsight, Mom now sees those things as alarming, but it seems to me that she was likely giving the providers' the benefit of the doubt. Who knows if Mom did or did not put sunblock on the children? Who knows if the staff had expressed that the children would be out in the heat all day or if Mom was under the impression that adults who should KNOW better would use their best judgement and bring the children in when the weather reached too high of a temp? Perhaps Mom assumed that what are supposed to be competent adults would put sunblock on the children periodically. Perhaps Mom assumed that any competent adult would KNOW that a fair skinned child would be highly susceptible to burning severely. Perhaps Mom assumed that a competent provider could handle making a child comply with keeping their shirt on.

Regardless, these children were in the care of the daycare providers and THEY should have properly cared for the children. And, if Mom was irresponsible and didn't bring sunscreen and they did not have any to provide for the children, they should have refused care. As NannyDe says, parents can't give you permission to do the wrong thing.

Every post I read here has acknowledged the burns 100% the day cares fault *if* the story is true.

The issue lies with mom claiming she had serious issues with the day care - including the fact they were even going to the splash pad that day - and yet continued to send them and was only "thinking" about pulling them.
IMO mom is shooting herself in the foot with her own comments.

[nanglgrl]

I wonder if these children had a sensitivity to the sun. I had a friend in grade school that would blister within minutes of being in the sun and her sister was the same way. They had to wear full clothing to the pool.
I had a child sunburn once. It wasn't bad but in the process of putting sunblock on many littles and trying to wrangle them all I put the sunblock on my hands, put my hands on the child's back and then I didn't rub it in...this fact became apparent as the sunburn developed around the two non-sunburned handprints on the child's back. I now require parents to put the first application on in the morning before drop off. I reapply in the afternoon.

[MyAngels]

I find it disturbing that the daycare workers were actually making fun of one of the boys for crying about being in pain. It makes me wonder if the workers considered these kids or family as a "problem family" and didn't provide as good of care as they should have.

[Crystal]

Somewhat of an update to the story:

http://www.freep.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/29/daycare-sunburn-texas-brothers/30827515/

Apparently there was sunscreen but they ran out. Children were asked to put shirts back on and the boys didn't want to. They were in the sun "most of the day". Center has shut down. The burns were so severe that doctor's said it could have been life threatening.

[renodeb]

Such a heart breaking story. Lots of angels to consider: Young single mom, probably couldn't afford to switch daycares, kids shouldn't of been in that heat in the first place, no other kids were sunburned?, why wouldn't they have sunscreen with them?, why wasn't it applied at the center. According to other articles I read this center had many other violations against them already. I heard the center is closed down now. SO sad that those kids have top go through this.
Deb