A Queensland mum has shared a very important lesson.
Posting her story on Facebook, Jessica Mead, one of the mums behind OMG I’m That Mum explained how her 15-month-old son received a second-degree superficial burn on his foot.
'On Sunday we were down at the beach front and the kids were playing happily on the grass with no shoes on.
‘I had put Jackson down on the grass to play with a scooter and next minute he raced out to the playground and started screaming," she wrote.
Important Reminder! On Sunday we were down at the beach front and the kids were playing happily on the grass with no shoes on. We'd just stopped to have something to eat and in the process of packing up to go home as it was starting to get very hot. I had put Jackson down on the grass to play with a scooter and next minute he raced out to the playground and started screaming. That ear piercing scream where your 'mumtum' sinks. He had no shoes on and the surface was boiling!! Instead of moving, because after all he's still only a little toddler, he just stood there screaming, it was like his feet were glued to the surface. I ran so fast (so Kell tells me, although I feel like I was watching it all unfold in slow motion) to grab him. We came back to the shady tree and I tipped water on his feet and gave him a feed and he calmed down momentarily and then started screaming again. I looked at his feet and one foot had blistered immediately, it explained why he was so hysterical. I ran to a nearby tap and let it run on his feet for a while but couldn't calm him down. So we raced back to Kell's (WORST car trip) and jumped in the pool and just kept him cool. After 40 minutes we hopped out and he finally fell asleep. Dr came, second degree superficial burn! Poor little dude was so frustrated as he couldn't walk properly. Although he quickly learnt to walk on his heel later that day and yesterday. Today he is pretty much walking normally again. He's doing lots better and the most important thing from here is wound care to avoid infection. I feel like an idiot, something that should've been so obvious but it happened so fast. I have learnt some very important lessons that's for sure! 1. Accidents involving children can literally happen in 10 seconds! 2. Brush up my basic first aid skills 3. Mum guilt, it lingers even when people tell you it was an 'accident'. #lessjudgementmoresupport because we are already so hard on ourselves. And it's so easy to be a 'spectator' and judge these stories from the sideline but remember hindsight is a wonderful thing and we all make mistakes. 4. We did have a laugh, Kellie and I are sometimes pretty hard on our husband's and the risky things they do when playing with the kids or that they are so carefree with foods etc, all these things our husband's do and the kids are totally fine. Queue over-cautious constant nagging mum and bam, still an injury occurs! Anyway, let this be a reminder to all parents to check the surfaces before kids play, and if I'm not already stating the obvious, hats and shoes aren't negotiable in summer!
Adding: "He had no shoes on and the surface was boiling!! Instead of moving, because after all he's still only a little toddler, he just stood there screaming, it was like his feet were glued to the surface.'
Jessica explains they rushed her boy home and sat with him in the swimming pool trying to soothe the poor boy's feet. Eventually the doctor arrived and treated the second-degree burns to the poor tot's feet.
Since the incident, the mum said she learned some very important lessons that day and wanted to share:
- Accidents involving children can literally happen in 10 seconds.
- Brush up my basic first aid skills
- Mum guilt, it lingers even when people tell you it was an 'accident'.#lessjudgementmoresupport because we are already so hard on ourselves. And it's so easy to be a 'spectator' and judge these stories from the sideline but remember hindsight is a wonderful thing and we all make mistakes.
- We did have a laugh, Kellie and I are sometimes pretty hard on our husband's and the risky things they do when playing with the kids or that they are so carefree with foods etc, all these things our husband's do and the kids are totally fine. Queue over-cautious constant nagging mum and bam, still an injury occurs!
Some people have been critical since the post was published, with one person writing: 'Story should be titled Irresponsible Mother Takes No Responsibility For Own Child’s Injuries with a sub-heading of Parent forgets to have child wear shoes.'
Thankfully most people are sympathetic with the worried mum:
Thankfully, Jackson seems to be on the mend and mum says he's back to running around.
This article first appeared on Practical Parenting.
