Need Advice

[stephenthomas]

As many of you know I photograph Children mainly 4 year olds to infants I am in Daycares and Preschools . Wednesday I was at a daycare and Noticed a 3 year old with a black eye . I see children with bumps scrapes and bruises all the time .When i was posing this child I notice she had bruises on her back . I did not say anything to her or ask her questions . But I did tell the Daycare owner what I had noticed . Daycare said she notified the proper authorities . By 10.30 when I am packing up my equipment I feel weird Like a void is left . I feel good reporting it to the owner . She knows what to do mayby she talks to the Parent first ?? I dont know, What would of you done ??? Should I have done anything different

[SJHester]

Steve,

If you are feeling empty, i think that is your inner voice saying you need to know that it is reported. I would drop a line to CPS and just be sure.

I hate to see kids get abused.

Best of luck.

Steve

[toverman]

Do what your conscience tells you to do.

However, as the parent of young children, they can get black eyes from all kinds of things. My 2-year-old took a spill on Halloween (before it got dark) and his eye instantly bruised. We felt horrible that we were right next to him and weren't able to stop his fall, but that's life.

[stephenthomas]

I will see this child with his parents , In a couple of weeks , I will see then , I dont want to jump the gun . But still wondering???

[Colyn]

A couple of years ago I saw a neighbor hit his daughter in a way that a parent should never do. I turned him in and he was prosecuted. To this day I have no regrets for what I did.

[Atfulldraw]

don't wait two weeks.

call today.

[janikphoto]

This is like the third thread that I've seen - all by different people - that misspelled advice in the subject line . Is it that hard to get right?!?

As far as the topic at hand. I have three boys. They get bumps and bruises all the time. Some of them look like they were beaten up, but they weren't... just normal kid stuff happening. My middle boy has very fair skin and is the most wild, so his bruises look the worst.

This doesn't mean the child you saw received the black eye from normal play. Maybe so, maybe not. You could never know without asking some questions first. I'm sure the daycare owner or CPS will ask those questions. It will probably turn out to be nothing, but it's better safe than sorry when talking about the safety of a child.

[CaptainTom]

If it was enough to bother you, I believe you are morally obligated to report it to CPS. The owner should be legally obligated, but probably won't want to lose a client.

[stephenthomas]

Update --- I left a message for the Owner to call me, She called me this morning, She said it was a No Brainer, she had to report it CPS was Contacted that day , The Owner thanked me for following up . I trust she did report it , I do not know any further details . I know this stuff happens , I hate to see it , But most of all you can see it in a Childs eyes , when they are abused
I will keep you posted if I know anymore

[CaptainTom]

Good job. Not much more you can do.

[janikphoto]

You won't know much more. CPS may interview the daycare owner and/or workers, but won't be able to share many details due to privacy issues...

[dwilliams35]

That's always a tough one... I know if when I was a kid CPS was nearly the entity it is now, my parents would have been locked up for good: although they never laid a hand on me...the bruises, cuts and broken bones were quite symptomatic of a kid who had never heard of a playstation and thus actually played outside, made modifications to his bike which looked like they were engineered by a 8-year old, (as they were), and found out what poison ivy, fire ants, and burns were they hard way... That being said, CPS has it's purpose, and hopefully they can intervene if needed: hope this works out for the best for all concerned: it's a shame that anybody has to make such a judgement call..

[texkam]

Here's the law.
https://www.txabusehotline.org/
Texas Family Code - Section 261.101. Persons Required To Report; Time To Report - Texas Attorney Resources - Texas Laws

[Rson]

I have a 2 year old and 6 month old.....the 2 year old has bruises all over and a scar on her belly.

From the outside....looks bad.

In reality, the scar is from when she climbed the counter and grabbed a curling iron. The bruises are from countless play days with her buddies and her getting knocked down, kicked, falling from play things and tripping on her shoes. All are results of her play days with kids her own age.

Tread lightly and follow your instincts. A lot of time they[instincts] are right, but without knowing the whole story sometimes they are wrong.

[janikphoto]

Originally Posted by Rson

I have a 2 year old and 6 month old.....the 2 year old has bruises all over and a scar on her belly.

From the outside....looks bad.

In reality, the scar is from when she climbed the counter and grabbed a curling iron. The bruises are from countless play days with her buddies and her getting knocked down, kicked, falling from play things and tripping on her shoes. All are results of her play days with kids her own age.

Tread lightly and follow your instincts. A lot of time they[instincts] are right, but without knowing the whole story sometimes they are wrong.

I'm not quite sure that I would leave a hot curling iron in the same room as my baby... maybe we need to make a second call to cps?!?