After just a couple of sits bath's and having a baby girl that smells like fish and chips, Mimi seems perfectly fine. PHEW. Poor kid wasn't allowed to sit in a diaper for more than 2 seconds but hey, first time mum even with twins are neurotic. Not gonna stop us from swimming in waaaateeeeww tho. Hell no.
I have something of a conundrum. I disagree with the way a playmate's parents ...parent. They give the kid over to the nanny in the morning and tell her not to return to the home until 5.30pm. Ever. That kid has been out in 100 degree weather and snow storms. I gave the nanny an open invite to come hide out at our house. This week the kid ended up in the hospital. Again. She was having difficulty breathing but the parents sent her out of the house all the same. The nanny came to me and I sent her to the ER.
This is not that they are too strict, or only let their kids eat organic or you can only speak mandarin around the kids. Those quirky New Yorker parents I can ignore.
I can't but help feel that this parenting is neglectful. It seriously endangers their daughter. They left their kid in the hospital over night alone. She's just turned 2. WTF?????
I've only met them once.
Is there anything I can do? Or is it just non of my business?
That is neglect. My heart bleeds for the little one. Maybe call DHS. It is anonymous.
ReplyDeleteSorry I wasn't here to give you calming vibes about Mimi's hooha troubles. You know that baby girls are more prone to hooha infections anyway and the importance of wiping girls front to back. But the hooha is close to where poop comes from, and a girl's urethra is much shorter than a boy's, so girls are simply more prone to "getting" something in a place it doesn't belong. All of this meaning NOT YOUR FAULT. I'm glad to hear though that the sitz baths helped and she feels better.
ReplyDeleteAs for GUILT, we are going to feel it whether it relates to a new job (you), a hugely pregnant belly preventing one from being able to play with her toddler and care for him as she would like to while having to rely on others to care for him (me), and a zillion other circumstances that will arise in our lives. All we can do is acknowledge our guilt, do the best we can, and be proud that we feel guilt (not like the Mandarin-speaking, neglectful parents you discuss).
Speaking of those parents - I don't know, it's a tough thing. On one hand, they are not the loving, attentive parents we all wish they were. On the other hand, they are not so neglectful that, say, they leave the child in a closet all day while they go to work. It's somewhere in the middle. They provide adult supervision and care - but perhaps fail to provide adequate shelter for the girl. (BTW, you are a doll for allowing the nanny and kids to come to your home). You could certainly report your suspicions to the local child protective agency and ask that they inquire about what means of shelter the parents are providing the child during hot and inclement weather, and how the parents ensure that the girl's medical needs are met when she is not in the home. You can probably ask to remain anonymous, but since the nanny knows you have concerns, it could always get back to the parents that you reported them (if you care about that).
Good luck with the new job too!
UGH. If they don't want to parent her I will. The fact that she is two and was left at the hospital overnight by herself should of cued the docs on to something. I'd report it as neglect. If you don't I'd think the nanny can.
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