My child has been reported to social services

moomoomama27

At the most all that would ahppen would be a home visit, where they will check out hr face, and hopefully, if they have common sense realise that children get bumps and bruises. They may well ask a few questions too, but as yu have nothing to hide, then the case (if one gets opened) will be closed.

I understand that staff have a duty of care towards children, but it seems like 'we' are hearing, more and more of cases like these. Seems like a waste of resources when there is no other cause for concern.

Nicki

bestpud wrote: »

Are things really that bad now??

What a ridiculous waste of resources when services are being stretched to the max!

The policy is probably that if bruises are noticed more than a certain number of times in a set period, that a notification must be made just for a quick doublecheck. OP has said her child is a bit unsteady and often has visible bumps and bruises, so even without anything sinister going on at home, the trigger point may have been reached.

Better an over reporting of things, to be resolved quickly and easily by social services surely, than even one more child being subjected to Baby P style abuse?

victory

Nicki wrote: »

Better an over reporting of things, to be resolved quickly and easily by social services surely, than even one more child being subjected to Baby P style abuse?

Totally agree but is it just one bruise they act on?

adamantine

bestpud wrote: »

Are things really that bad now??

What a ridiculous waste of resources when services are being stretched to the max!

i cant believe that either! my youngest is constantly covered in bruises! at the moment he has a bruise under his eye from god only knows where, one on his arm from falling and landing on a toy, a cracking one on his knee from jumping down on his knees and landing on a toy car and numerous others on his shins from crawling over stuff and climbing the stairs!

kids fall they get bruises its a fact of life!

OP please try not to worry. im not sure what they would do as different areas have different protocol i believe. i know up here in NE scotland if SS are contacted about a child under 5 they call the HV who is asked if they think there is any reason for suspicion and if they say no its dropped if they think there could be something of concern (whether it just be the parents need a bit of support and not acutal abuse of a child or neglect) then SS will visit.

i dont know whether calling SS tomorrow might be an idea or not. why did they call and say they had reported you? that strikes me as odd. surely if someone abusing theirchild that last thing anyone would do is alert the parents that the authorities have been alerted?!

Nicki

victory wrote: »

Totally agree but is it just one bruise they act on?

I think they probably look for more than one in a set period. OP says her child sometimes has them due to being a doddery walker

sarahevie wrote: »

There is a visible bruise on her cheek, I didn't think too much of it as she is unstable on her feet and regularly trips over and we encourge our children to play outside, be active and inevitably she does get the odd bruise.

I don't think for a moment this is sinister, but I can see why if a guideline is breached, they need to follow policy just to make sure no needy child falls through the gaps.

sarahevie

she is incredibly clumsy, and does seem to mark A LOT worse than her sister who's now three.

I think that the children's centre phoned me to inform me that they had referred her because it is policy to do so. I wasn't defensive though, what's the point? Just said that's fine I can understand your concerns etc.

I wish I had never taken her, but it didn't cross my mind that this would happen.

At the time the worker said, that's a nasty bruise, did she fall over, but that was about it. There was no overt questioning etc.

ali-t

victory wrote: »

Totally agree but is it just one bruise they act on?

It might be. In the area I work, I encourage staff to check out whether the injury and the story provided are consistent and this could be a trigger to take action after one bruise e.g. if mum said child fell over and banged head on table, dad came in another day and said child was on bike and child said the dog jumped up at them and did it. Generally the parent would be spoken to first to establish the context.

Like someone else said, it depends how an individual has interpreted the policy. I wouldn't worry about it though OP, it is procedure rather than personal

bestpud

Nicki wrote: »

I think they probably look for more than one in a set period. OP says her child sometimes has them due to being a doddery walker

What 18 month old isn't doddery??

itzmee

I had social services visit me when DS was a toddler. I had an accident whilst cooking where I badly burnt my hand and had to visit the hospital. However I was struggling to get into A&E and keep hold of DS at the same time, resulting in the automatic doors (though we didnt know they opened outwards at the time!) smacking into ds! We both ended up in casualty and I explained that the accident had happened on their premises due to their lack of care in notifying that the door opened outwards, but they still called social services. It didn't come to anything with them but funnily enough, shortly afterwards the hospital put a warning note on the doors!

bestpud

sarahevie wrote: »

she is incredibly clumsy, and does seem to mark A LOT worse than her sister who's now three.

I think that the children's centre phoned me to inform me that they had referred her because it is policy to do so. I wasn't defensive though, what's the point? Just said that's fine I can understand your concerns etc.

I wish I had never taken her, but it didn't cross my mind that this would happen.

At the time the worker said, that's a nasty bruise, did she fall over, but that was about it. There was no overt questioning etc.

That's the problem - people will stop taking their children out for fear of being reported!

And using resources for this kind of nonsense means they won't have time or money to get out and find those who are never taken to places like that in this first place!